New York Giants Training Camp Report: July 28, 2022

Day 2 of Giants training camp practice is in the books.

This version of the New York Giants offense is not your grandfather's offense.

Creative alignments designed to optimize player skills have been the talk of camp so far. But the most significant concept generating buzz has been all about pre-snap motion, which the Giants are using very heavily on offense to help give an offense that in the past has ranked at or near the bottom of the league an additional competitive advantage.

One advantage is that it helps the quarterback better understand what defense he might be looking at. Another is that it can create confusion and a degree of guesswork for the defensive players.

"The offense is showing a lot of diversity, and it confuses defenses," said defensive lineman Leonard Williams. "I think when you have enough weapons on offense, you allow your offense to have that type of diversity. I think it’s good for the offense."

The pre-snap motion doesn't necessarily affect Williams as much as it does the guys behind him in the defense.

"I get my checks most of the time from the linebackers and stuff like that. But I can just hear the safeties and linebackers and the second-level communication, and it’s constantly changing," Williams said.

"I can tell motions, and stuff like that are happening while my hands are in the dirt because I hear those guys communicating in the backend. It’s causing a little bit of confusion, and it’s good for us as well – as a defense – to learn our communication and the things that we have to check."

The Giants aren't using pre-snap motion on every play--head coach Brian Daboll noted that there is a time and a place for its usage and noted that the more pre-snap motion planned, the quicker the players need to get out of the huddle and get lined up.

But so far, when the Giants have run pre-snap motion, the defense has had to stop and spend an extra second or two doing some thinking about it.

"What we’re trying to do is whatever we need to do to help our guys and cause conflicts, issues with the defense," said Daboll. "Is it more to learn? Sure, because there are added calls to it. You start on one side and have to be on the other side. You got to start in the backfield and be out here. You know, there’s a little bit of thinking that goes along with it."

The use of pre-snap motion also benefits the offense because of all they have to remember for each play to achieve the desired results.

"Obviously, you’ve got to be locked in," said running back Saquon Barkley. "You’ve got to take that time outside of football, outside of meeting rooms, to learn and know yourself.

"You’re going to have your mistakes, it's early in camp, but that’s what training camp is about. It's coming in here, trying new things, seeing what we can do as an offense, and seeing what we can add to our offensive game plan when we get ready for our season."

The pre-snap motion aligns with one of the identity elements Daboll wants from the team: being smart.

"We certainly put a lot on these players. One, because I think they can handle it, and if they can’t, we’ll tighten it back and make sure we do the things they can do," he said.

"There’s going to be more stuff added that we do. And that’s all really to prepare yourself when you start playing games. That’s what practice is for."

Mike Kafka Still Calling Plays for Now

Daboll hasn't decided yet who will be calling plays for the Giants this fall. Still, it's probably safe to say that offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who has been calling the plays since the spring, hasn't done anything to jeopardize his first opportunity to call plays at the NFL level for the first time in his assistant coaching career so far.

"Yeah, Mike has done a really good job in the spring, which he handled the scripts," Daboll said.

Daboll was quick to point out that he hasn't divorced himself from conversing with quarterback Daniel Jones after every play, that it's a collaborative effort. While things have been running smoothly with Kafka on the headset, Daboll said that when the preseason is over, he'll sit with Kafka to discuss how the summer went and what direction they take moving forward.

"I’ve been really happy with Mike. Not just his communication with the quarterback, but how he’s handled the offensive staff, how he’s handled the players," Daboll said. "He has a really good demeanor about himself. Once we cross that bridge, which we’ve still got a little bit here to go, you guys will know."

Injury Report

There was no change in the status of the three PUP players (receiver Sterling Shepard (Achilles), center Nick Gates (leg), and tackle Matt Peart (knee) or outside linebacker Azeez Ojaluri (hamstring, non-football injury). Ojulari, I'm told, is week-to-week while he rehabs his hamstring.

In some good news, linebacker Blake Martinez, who was held out of the team part of the drills Wednesday, saw an increased amount of snaps.

Transactions

The Giants waived inside Justin Hilliard Thursday morning. Hilliard, who still needs to serve a two-game league-imposed suspension for a PED violation, initially joined the Giants last September off waivers from the 49ers but spent most of last season on injured reserve.

New York announced they signed linebacker Austin Calitro, 28, who played his college ball at Villanova. Calitro initially signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jets following the 2017 draft and has since spent time on the rosters or practice squads with the Jets, 49ers, Seahawks, Browns, Jaguars, Bengals, Broncos, and Bears.

Calitro has 94 career tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two pass breakups in his NFL career.

Practice Observations

The Giants focused on third-and medium, and third-and-long situations.

Daniel Jones and his receivers spent the early part of practice working on short comeback routes.

Receiver Darius Slayton has had a poor start to his summer. Slayton had two bad dropped balls Thursday, including one perfectly placed over his shoulder on a deep ball by Daniel Jones.

Slayton did have a red-zone touchdown reception on a pass from Jones later in practice. But for the most part, he's struggled this summer with concentration drops.

Slayton projects to be the fifth receiver in the mix, and with a $2.5 million cap hit and no experience on special teams, Slayton is not helping his chances with his showing thus far.

A receiver who is helping his chances at a roster spot is Richie James, who was previously with the 49ers but had an injury. James, who has seen some first-team reps early this camp, also saw first-team reps in the spring when guys were missing due to injuries/rehab. He is a quick, shifty receiver who runs very decisively and is elusive enough to make men miss. Standing 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, James isn't big, but he does a nice job of ducking under a defender's reach.

Second-year outside linebacker Elerson Smith is off to a good start this summer, picking up where he left off in the spring. Smith looks like he's added some muscle to his upper body, and he's consistently shown an ability to bend around the edge and get into the backfield. Smith, who has taken snaps with the first and second-team defenses, has a quick first step and burst and has been a disruptive player in the backfield.

Kenny Golladay rebounded nicely from a bad drop of a pass that was right in his hands early in practice to finish up strong. He caught a deep ball from Daniel Jones, beating Darnay Holmes down the sideline for the score.

Receiver Wan'Dale Robinson continues to impress. Not only does he catch everything that comes his way, but he shows an ability to adjust his route when he needs to come back for the ball. He'll then quickly snatch it out of the air and just as quickly put a spin move on the defender to get away from traffic. Robinson successfully did this on a pass defended by Aaron Robinson.

Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor throws a nice deep ball. Taylor connected with Collin Johnson for a deep pass down the sideline, with cornerback Michael Jacquet III in coverage. Johnson also had another reception against CorDale Flott when the rookie slipped when trying to make a break in coverage.

Cool post-practice moment when head coach Brian Daboll, after dismissing the players for the day, stayed behind to help hand out Gatorade bottles as the players left the field.

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