New York Giants News

Giants news, 7/28: Day 3 camp recap, Evan Neal, more

New York Giants news for Saturday

By JamesPHickey Jul 29, 2023, 6:00am EDT

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Good morning, New York Giants fans!

Training camp, Day 3

Here are all of the Big Blue View headlines from the second day of training camp.

Other Giant observations

NFL’s nerds vs. coaches battle is over: How both sides are helping each other win | The Athletic

Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and the staff in New York have a great understanding of analytics, and they are leveraging their analytics department to gain edges in multiple ways.

“The (analytics) guys here do an awesome job of, ‘Hey, here’s things that happened around the league. Here are things we can learn from. Here are things that build in the database of situations that we got to talk about,’” Kafka said. “And for me as a play caller, ‘Here are things that you need to be prepared for and take a peek at this game or this clip, and what would you call in this situation.’ And then kind of giving you a multiple choice question and go, ‘Alright, if you chose this, your win percentage increased by two percent. If you did this, it increased by 12. If you did this, increase by 20 percent.’”

The tell that let Evan Neal know Andrew Thomas had agreed to an extension

Evan Neal on Andrew Thomas' extension with the Giants:

"I saw him walk in with a three-piece suit so I kind of knew what time it was" pic.twitter.com/cSSsLSOQK1
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) July 28, 2023

One stat to know for all 32 NFL teams before the 2023 season | PFF

The Giants were the NFL’s biggest overachievers last season. In fact, their 68.2 overall team grade in the regular season is the lowest of any team that made the postseason in the PFF era. Interestingly, the next lowest figure was 69.8, set just one year earlier by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Giants had several standout performers last season, and they are still a young team. Incumbents Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal will need to produce at a high level, while rookies Deonte Banks and Jalin Hyatt bring talent to weaker areas of the team.

New York Giants Darius Slayton talks Daniel Jones, wide receivers room | USAToday.com

As for his friend Jones, who cashed in on a $160 million deal this past winter, Slayton says the sky is the limit.

“I don’t think he has one,” Slayton said when asked about Jones’ ceiling. “I think he’s a talented quarterback (and) we’ve got a talented group. As long as we play well (and) we block well, he’ll make all the plays he needs to make.”

Giants secondary working on getting more hands-on | New York Post

WR Collin Johnson was making a positive impression last summer before he tore his Achilles tendon, ending his season. Johnson is back at it and once again looking good. The 6-foot-6 Johnson is a hard-to-miss target crossing over the middle and he made a terrific back-shoulder grab over CB Darren Evans on a lob from Tyrod Taylor in Thursday's practice.

NY Giants training camp takeaways: Dexter Lawrence, Darren Waller and more | The Record

Safety, Jason Pinnock vs. Dane Belton vs. Bobby McCain: Pinnock ran with the starters on the first day, Belton the second. McCain has been with the second team, but it won't be a surprise if he gets time with the 1s, too. Nick McCloud will likely be a factor in the slot and safety, too.

Giants practice report: Defense dominates Day 2; Darren Waller hoarding Daniel Jones targets | The Athletic

There are a few position battles that will have rotations with the starting lineup daily. Center is one of those positions, as rookie John Michael Schmitz was the starter Thursday after Ben Bredeson ran with the first team on Wednesday. Bredeson shifted to left guard with the starters on Thursday, bumping Josh Ezeudu to the second team. Expect that shuffle at center and left guard to continue deep into camp.

Ezeudu is clearly among the top six offensive linemen. Korey Cunningham and Tyre Phillips appear to be the next offensive linemen on the depth chart. Cunningham has worked at both tackle spots with the second-team offense, while Philips has worked at guard and tackle on the right side with the second team. Cunningham stepped in at left tackle, and Phillips took over at right guard with the starters during an 11-on-11 period late in practice.

“I aint trying to be with no alien”

We're creating a playlist for aliens pic.twitter.com/3ksk0U4xoA
— New York Giants (@Giants) July 28, 2023

Giants’ reserve has solution to devaluation of running backs, but it won’t help Saquon Barkley | NJ.com

Breida is also grateful that Barkley is back after sitting out during spring workouts while he tried unsuccessfully to reach an agreement on a long-term deal with the Giants. Breida said he learned a lot about Barkley after playing last season with him.

“I don’t think people give him enough credit for being a team player,” Breida said. “People may look at him as being selfish, but he’s a big team guy. He’s a big leader on this team and he wants the whole team to do well, not just himself. I respect that a lot about him because I do think there are people that might look at him like ‘Oh, it’s me, me, me,’ and that’s not Saquon.”