Giants practice report, 7/29: Plays that tell us the story of Sunday’s practice

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Practice No. 4 of training camp is in the books for the New York Giants. Let’s look at some of the plays that tell us the story of Sunday’s padded workout at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

Donte does it again ... then goes down

Donte Deayon, bidding for a job as a backup cornerback, intercepted Davis Webb for the second day in a row. This time, Deayon made a nice catch to take away a deep ball along the left sideline intended for Amba Etta-Tawo.

Unfortunately, a few plays later Deayon appeared to injure a hamstring defending a pass during a red zone drill. He did not return to practice after that.HNNhnyn

Webb fires a rocket

Webb showed off his arm, and his athleticism, on a throw during a 7-on-7 period. Flushed out of the pocket and running right it looked like the second-year QB was going to have go throw the ball away. Instead, he cut loose a beautiful deep ball to Kalif Raymond just inbounds for what might have been a gain of 40 yards or so.

Webb, as ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan mentioned to me during practice, is throwing the ball very nicely on the move. That’s part arm strength, part athleticism and part fundamental footwork.

Lauletta shows his touch

Kyle Lauletta has seemed more comfortable the past two days, and has thrown the ball better than he did in the spring. During a red zone drill he showed beautiful touch on a ball lofted to the corner of the end zone for a touchdown to a crossing tight end, who I believe was Rhett Ellison, for a touchdown in a very tight space.

Side note about Webb and Lauletta. Media had a really good view Sunday of an early-practice individual passing drill. The difference between the way the two young quarterbacks get the ball out was striking. Webb has the superior arm and often waited until a receiver made his break before letting the ball go. Lauletta, known for anticipation and accuracy, was often letting the ball fly about a step before his intended target made his break.

Really, a noticeable difference in how the two go about trying to achieve the same result.

OV shows off his hands

How will Olivier Vernon, transitioning from defensive end to outside linebacker, do when he has to drop into coverage. Sunday, he showed some pretty good hands. Eli Manning fired a short pass to Odell Beckham Jr. that got tipped away from the receiver, then volleyball-ed around two or three times before Vernon corralled it for an interception.

A glimpse at kickoff return

For the first time this season we saw the Giants practice a full kickoff return, which is worth paying attention to because of the new rules governing both the receiving and covering teams.

Cody Latimer, Saquon Barkley (yes, Barkley), Jawill Davis, Sterling Shepard and Wayne Gallman all tried their hands at returns.

Practice notes — Sam Beal to IR

• The Giants confirmed that rookie cornerback Sam Beal is being placed on season-ending injured reserve. To take his place, the Giants have re-signed cornerback Kenneth Durden. The 26-year-old Durden, who has been on the practice squads of the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans the past two seasons, was waived by the Giants when Beal was taken in the NFL Supplemental Draft.
• Damon Harrison took a few snaps on Sunday.
• Undrafted tight end Garrett Dickerson (hamstring) sat out practice for the third straight day.