New York Giants Training Camp, Aug. 14: Practice Takeaways

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Despite head coach Ben McAdoo’s protestations to the contrary, Monday’s training camp practice appeared to be a difficult one for the New York Giants offensive line.

Left tackle Ereck Flowers (yes, here we go again) had a tough time with defensive end Olivier Vernon. He was beaten on a few occasions, including the one below, and was removed in favor of Chad Wheeler for one play after committing a false start.

Right tackle Bobby Hart had an OK day, except for committing a false start penalty. He escaped being removed because the penalty came in the final play of a drill.

D.J. Fluker, still trying to earn first-team reps at right guard, had a rough day. He committed a false start penalty, and got replaced, gave up at least one pressure and got pushed back in a short-yardage run situation.

“Today was a good day for ‘em,” McAdoo said of the offensive line. “They were low, they fired off the ball, the offensive and defensive line got after each other. We didn’t have anything post-snap, which was nice to see. They can learn how to play physical football while being committed to discipline and poise. ... We got better out there today.”

McAdoo, though, was not pleased by the false starts.

“The second half of practice our focus went down,” he said. “It was a long practice, a heated practice and our focus has got to go up. It wasn’t good enough there in the second half.”

Owa Odighizuwa Update

After skipping OTAs for apparent personal reasons, defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa had had a quiet training camp.

“He’s fighting to catch up,” McAdoo said. “He has a ways to go yet. He’s not where he wants to be just yet. That doesn’t mean he can’t get there.”

Injury Updates

• Defensive tackle Corbin Bryant left practice with an elbow injury.
• Linebacker Keenan Robinson worked briefly on the field during team drills in a yellow, non-contact, jersey.
• Linebacker Mark Herzlich (stinger) didn’t work as much Monday as he had on Sunday. McAdoo called him “a non-contact practice player.”
• Linebacker Devon Kennard was limited.

Placekicker Update

Monday was Aldrick Rosas’ turn to kick field goals. He made 3-of-4, pushing his final kick just right. That one was from beyond 40 yards, though the exact distance was impossible to gauge from my vantage point.

Defensive End Competition

There is a pretty intense competition brewing for defensive end spots behind Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul. The aforementioned Odighizuwa is part of that. So are Kerry Wynn, Devin Taylor, Avery Moss and Jordan Williams.

“I think we’re going to have some hard decisions there,” McAdoo said. “We have a lot of guys who have been productive in ball games, and we have some young players who have a good upside to ‘em.”

Play Of The Day

So, umm, yeah, this happened.

Upcoming Schedule

The public portion of training camp is now over. The Giants hold the final practice of what will be considered training camp on Tuesday beginning at 10:55 a.m. ET. The Giants will be off on Wednesday.