Giants Country

Giants Training Camp Practice Report, Day 7

A lot of good and a little bit of ugly highlight the Giants first fully padded practice of their 2021 training camp.

Patricia Traina

Giants Training Camp Practice Report, Day 7
Giants Training Camp Practice Report, Day 7 /

The Giants hit the Quest Diagnostics Training Centerfield to practice, and a brawl broke out.

That's right after a play in which the Giants players got a little too spirited with the live contact, tempers were quick to flare, and suddenly the whole team engaged in a skirmish that the coaches quickly broke up.

After channeling his innermost Herb Brooks, the famed coach of the 1980 gold-medal winning hockey team who famously disciplined his team by having them continuously skate back and forth between blue lines, Judge sent the Giants on goal line to goal line sprints and sprinkled in some rapid-fire pushups for good measure to get them to burn off some of the pent up energy.

Judge then gathered the team into a huddle and delivered what could be described as an animated and loud lecture to the players.

"We had a competitive practice," said defensive back Logan Ryan. "First day of pads, it gets physical, it gets chippy. Obviously, can’t have penalties. It’s unfortunate, but I think everybody’s protecting their sides and just trying to establish physicality the first day, but we’ve got to keep it within the rules."

Ryan, regarded as one of the team leaders, said the scuffle did not cause a splintering of the locker room.

"We’re great, man, it’s football, you know? It’s a physical sport. If you’re not tough or chippy, I don’t know if you can play at this level," he said. "Everything matters between the lines and we’ll pay our dues, but I mean, we’re great. Me, Evan--we’re locker buddies. We’ll be fine."

Jones, who found himself caught at the bottom of the scrum, said Judge's message to the team was crystal clear.

"There’s consequences for that kind of stuff and that’s the way it is in the game," he said. "If you lose your cool, there’s consequences and that hurts the team, so that was the message and everyone understands that."

No one appeared to be hurt in the scrum, and in another piece of potentially positive news, running back Saquon Barkley, who took part in the goal-line to goal-line sprints, was seen ahead of the pack.

Kenny Golladay Leaves Practice Early

In a sight no one with the New York Giants wants to see, top free-agent receiver Kenny Golladay left practice early following a 7-on-7 drill in which he had the ball knocked away by inside linebacker Tae Crowder.

It was unclear whether Golladay hurt his hand after colliding with Crowder or strained his left hamstring, which he reached for after the play was over.

If it was a hamstring strain, the good news is that it might not be serious, as if it were, it's doubtful that Golladay would have been permitted to walk halfway across the field and into the building on his own at the risk of aggravating a hamstring strain.

That said, the Giants hadn't provided an update as of this writing regarding what Golladay injured and whether it would keep him sidelined for any amount of time.

Offense Shines

After a slow start to training camp, the Giants offense turned in its best day of the summer so far.

Both Daniel Jones and backup Mike Glennon were on point with their passes, and receiver David Sills V, who is trying to earn a roster spot, helped his cause by catching several touchdown passes.

“The offense moved us off the ball a little bit,” said safety Logan Ryan said. “They had, in my opinion, their best day today.”

Judge, who cautioned people not to read into the ups and downs of the offense this early in camp, said before practice that every player needs to continue improving.

"There’s no one player, no one position group, no one unit that’s put it all together yet," he said. "At this point, we’ve all got to coach better and play better. We’re looking for significant improvement each day in camp but that comes from daily practice. There’s still a lot of things to get done."

Still, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Jones, who had a rough practice Monday, was one of the top performers Tuesday. Jones looked to be in mid-season form as he hit his receiving targets on various routes, including some that went for touchdowns.

"Look, at this time in training camp, you’re going to see offense flash, defense flash, certain phases of special teams or players flash at different times," Judge said.

"You can’t ride that roller coaster; you’ve just got to watch the tape and coach the fundamentals, keep it consistent with what you’re demanding of the players so they understand what they’re doing on a daily basis, and just make sure that we coach them well enough that they can improve every day."

Judge Clarifies Saquon Barkley's Progress Status

Whenever he's been asked about running back Saquon Barkley, head coach Joe Judge has said that while there is no timetable on Barkley's return, he's making tangible progress.

Okay, so what exactly is 'tangible progress" if the running back hasn't been able to do football drills against competition just yet and how are the Giants coming up with the determination that Barkley is making progress?

"That’s really tied more into the strength and medical in terms of the numbers they’re looking at and where his body is compared to where it was in the past," Judge explained.

"The tangible results right there really reflect on the numbers, really can measure things directly to the strength, his recovery, all of that stuff. There’s sheets and stuff that we go over all the time and I just kind of tell them, ‘Keep me informed in terms of where he is in the ramp up process and where you think he is compared to last week, the week before and things of that nature.'"

Giants Welcome Back Legends

Giants head coach Joe Judge has not been shy about voicing his desire to see former Giants alumni visit the current team.

"If anyone hasn’t heard my voice yet, I hope they hear it now. I want them back. I want them here, I want them involved with our team, I want them here at practice, I want them in meetings, I want them around our players," Judge said.

"I want our players to understand the pressure they should have on them from past players who achieved great things here. I want these guys in this program.

Judge got his wish Monday and Tuesday as pass-rushing legends Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Mathias Kiwanuka were in town Monday and Tuesday to speak with the current Giants roster about winning and the importance of being a Giant.

"Osi, Kiwi, and Justin coming back and talking to the team, that was huge for us,” Judge said. “I’ve said it from the beginning: this is a different organization. There is a connection between past players, past history of these teams, and the players that sit in these chairs today.

"It’s important our players understand and have respect for the history that they come after. They have to understand what’s happened, the players who did it, and the culture and the standards that remain consistent throughout those great times of this organization."

Up Next

The Giants are scheduled to hold another fully padded practice Wednesday evening.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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