Giants Training Camp Notebook: Practice 6 | Daniel Jones, First-Team Offense Struggle

The New York Giants first-team offense, including QB Daniel Jones, struggled to find a rhythm during Tuesday's training camp practice.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) fakes a handoff during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

It was a rough outing for the New York Giants’ first-team offense on Tuesday. Head coach Brian Daboll, who has been calmer this year, blew his stack at one point with a string of choice words after seeing one too many errors. 

Quarterback Daniel Jones, who has consistently struggled with the deep ball this camp, struggled all around. Jones made some flashes of quick and correct readings, but there were multiple miscues throughout the day. 

Some seem timing-based, such as Jones failing to connect on a curl with receiver Allen Robinson. Other miscues were less excusable. For instance, Jones fumbled a snap out of the shotgun that hit his hands, popped up, and hit his hands again before running back Devin Singletary caught the ball and started running.

Jones also threw a bad ball that was almost intercepted but dropped by cornerback Nick McCloud, who has quietly seen an uptick of first-team reps of late.

There was also an underthrow by Jones to receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who saved the play by making an athletic, sliding play to reel in the ball.

It wasn’t only Jones who struggled today and it’s fair to say that his struggles weren’t only his doing. The Giants' offensive line consistently allowed pressure from all angles. Outside linebacker Brian Burns, who was initially expected to skip team drills, had a strong day again as a pass-rusher.

The pass rush came in, and we only saw Jones tuck and run once during 11-on-11, which happened late in practice. It’s clear that his offensive line is still trying to find its footing, something that they can’t truly do until they’re back to full health and this constant shuffling of guys in and out of the lineup stabilizes.

Center John Michael Schmitz is still out with a shoulder injury that head coach Brian Daboll has tried to downplay. The injury is to the same shoulder that cost him three games last year. Daboll said the injury is “a different deal” and that the hope was to get Schmitz back by Thursday, after the team has had a day off. 

Tackle Evan Neal, who has started all 20 games he’s played in during his NFL career, is still on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list with no sign of being remotely close to a return. The feeling around training camp is that even when Neal does return, he most likely won’t be the starter.

Those injuries (as well as other minor ones) have caused the Giants to consistently shuffle around the offensive line–the only thing they’ve done consistently.

Rookie undrafted free agent Jake Kubas has taken snaps at center each of the last two days, a position he didn’t take any snaps at in college. Kubas has practiced all around the interior and at one point today, allowed immediate pressure off an inside rip while playing guard.

The Giants did seal the deal with offensive lineman Greg Van Roten, who observed practice after signing his contract. The feeling is that Van Roten will play right guard, giving him a chance to line up next to Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle. 

Remember, Van Roten and Eluemunor played next to each other last year in Las Vegas, albeit on the left side. So pairing those two together on the Giants makes too much sense, as they have a feel for how the other thinks in the line of battle. 

It’s worth noting that the Giants offensive line’s free-agent acquisitions can all play multiple positions. That’s great for internal competition and when injuries occur. The problem however, is that the Giants can’t seem to find the right combination.

We suspect that the coaches have decided to run a lot of 12-personnel (one running back, two tight ends) during these two days of full pads because of the offensive line issues. 

We’ve often seen one of the tight ends in pass protection. In 2023, the Giants spent over 25% of their total plays using 12 personnel, a number that could climb in 2024 if this offensive line isn’t resolved.

This past offseason, the Giants signed veteran tight ends Chris Manhertz and Jack Stoll. While I expect only one of them to make the initial 53-man roster, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to keep both and make Tyree Jackson the odd man out. That approach would sacrifice receiving production from the position but would give the Giants more reliable blockers on the end of the line.

Through two days of full pads, we’ve often seen the Giants come out in 12-personnel then motion one of the tight ends into the backfield. Even in plays where they haven’t used motion, they have often kept a tight end in place to help in pass protection.

A player like Daniel Bellinger has the skills to contribute in a pass-catching role as well as an in-line blocker role, as we’ve seen him play both over the past two days. Coming out with 12 personnel and keeping one tight end in the block isn’t a coincidence, and it isn’t unintentional because the line needed help early on.

Running backs, namely Jacob Salyors today and Eric Gray yesterday, have also done a solid job in pass protection thus far, a clear point of emphasis this season.

The second-team offensive line fared much better, but the second-team defensive line has also been unimpressive thus far, yielding all kinds of time to quarterback Drew Lock.

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61) takes a water break alongside offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (78) during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

Filling in the Gaps

Something I’ve talked about frequently this offseason was that I expect the Giants’ running game to shift toward a more gap-based run game.

New offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, who spent the past two seasons with the Raiders, has historically coached on offenses that focus on gap-based runs.

Free agent signings Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr. both have better skill sets for the work gap scheme. Eluemunor has been with Bricillo often throughout his career.

Runyan comes from the Packers, who primarily use a zone run game, but I think that’s why he’s considered a good pass-blocker and average run-blocker. In college, Runyan thrived in the gap-run game.

There isn’t necessarily a “better” run scheme, but offenses have started shifting back toward a gap scheme. Most notably, Rams head coach Sean McVay, who came up as a wide zone guy, ran more gap schemes than anyone else in the NFL in 2023.

Gap runs allow running backs to focus more on getting to the gap and being creative from that point, putting less emphasis on vision. This is in contrast to the zone game, where backs ideally have multiple lanes and have to pick the right one(s).

Throughout practice, the Giants' offense ran counter frequently and found success doing it. Second-year running back Eric Gray broke off multiple long runs, which isn’t surprising considering he played in gap-based run offenses in college.

Counter is one of the more common gap-based run calls in football today. The Giants' tight ends, specifically Bellinger and Stoll, did a great job of this on Tuesday.

My theory is that with how light, fast, and aggressive linebackers have become, they see the first steps for the running back and line and try to fire down, but countering takes advantage of that and allows for more explosive plays.

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants cornerback Nick McCloud (44) participates in a drill during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

Secondary Shuffle

The Giants have been moving pieces around in the secondary this week, and they’ve found success doing so.

Veteran cornerback Nick McCloud, entering his third year with the Giants, spent time today running with the first-team defense as an outside cornerback. McCloud had a strong day with the aforementioned dropped interception but also had a deep pass that he broke up.

McCloud is a name to watch for a team that still hasn’t figured out their starting cornerback opposite Deonte Banks.

Tre Hawkins III, who saw significant playing time as a rookie last season, spent most of his day with the second-team defense. Veteran free agent David Long Jr. worked on the opposite side.

The backup safety position is a wide-open battle right now. Second-year man Gervarrius Owens has spent time with the second team alongside veteran signing Elijah Riley.

Riley also worked with the third-team defense with rookie undrafted free agent Alex Johnson alongside him.

Johnson spent the overwhelming majority of his college career playing in the slot but had shuffled around the secondary at UCLA. It appears he’s going to be a primary safety with the Giants.

Dane Belton has taken advantage of his increased snaps with rookie second-round draft pick Tyler Nubin sidelined due to injury.

Injury Updates

On Tuesday, the expectation was that star outside linebacker Brian Burns would participate in some individual drills but not team drills. That proved not to be the case, as Burns participated fully in Tuesday’s practice.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence also participated after missing Monday’s practice with an undisclosed illness.

Center John Michael Schmitz missed another day of practice. While it’s the same shoulder as last year, Daboll says it’s “a different deal” right now. Whatever the injury is, it’s becoming concerning considering Schmitz’s play strength last year wasn’t where it needed to be to begin with, and a lingering shoulder issue–and it’s clear that something is going on in the joint–won’t help that.

The hope is that after Wednesday’s off day, Schmitz and rookie second-round pick Tyler Nubin will be able to return to practice.

Tight end Lawrence Cager is dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered in Monday’s practice. The severity of the injury is unclear, but hamstring injuries tend to linger, so that’s something to watch.

Evan Neal is still on the PUP list but has been seen working and jogging on the side.

Practice Schedule

The Giants will have an off day on Wednesday before returning to practice on Thursday and Friday. Those practices, starting at 10 a.m., will be open to the public, weather permitting.  

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