Big Blue Huddle

Due to family obligations tomorrow, today was my last day at camp.   Ed and I had the pleasure of spending camp with these guys; they are the best.   They are smart (they know their football and the Giants).  They are gracious to fans who come up for autographs or pictures.   They work their butts off to provide quality content.

I highly suggest following their Twitter.

https://twitter.com/TalkinGiants

https://twitter.com/BobbySkinner_

https://twitter.com/JustinPenik

Their Youtube channel


https://www.youtube.com/@TalkinGiants/videos

and their podcast

https://www.audacy.com/podcast/talkin-giants-giants-podcast-2cc97

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talkin-giants-giants-podcast/id1449365067

If you want quality breakdowns of the Giants, they are an outstanding resource

Sunday at 7?

Or

One of the upcoming week days


Please post your interest and preference

Wow

The ship ran aground in a storm, crew was rescued, and the ship was refloated after several attempts. https://www.visitnewcastle.com.au/insider-guides/a-look-back-on-the-pasha-bulker-ship-happens

https://twitter.com/pleonardnydn/status/1687226723627048960

https://twitter.com/bigblueview/status/1687217286216638465

Bob Papa and Carl Banks are Back on the mic to debrief after the Saquon contract settlement. But now the focus is the season with training camp underway. Banks is VERY impressed with what he's seen on the defense right now, especially from Azeez Ojulari.

Good stuff!    

This is pretty big news


Q. This is your second year with (quarterback) Daniel (Jones). Where have you seen him improve from where he was a year ago?

A: Year two is always just a little bit easier for everybody, especially when you start brand new with a whole staff and you're getting to understand everybody, and you're looking to build trust and build relationships. Year one was kind of that first part of the process. Working into year two, there's a lot more comfort, there's a lot more familiarity. I think everyone has an understanding of the strengths and the weaknesses of not only the scheme, but the players and how we're coaching it and how we're teaching it, how we're running it. So, year two is always easier. I mean, even for myself, same thing, just another year under my belt being with DJ (quarterback Daniel Jones) and being with the offensive line, the group and the offense and the whole staff. So, everything is just a little bit more smooth, but we've still got to put in the work, and we've still got to go through the process.

Q. Is there anything you've specifically seen him improve on that he wasn't able to do physically or mentally last year?

A: Yeah, I would just probably speak on just his comfort in the offense. I think he's able to problem solve faster, I'm able to problem solve faster with him and we can work together and speak that same language just a little bit quicker.

I will also add that Ed and I were discussing how Jones' arm is much stronger than when he became a Giant.

 I found this interesting

https://twitter.com/SethWalder/status/1687108322544230400

For years it has been a sea of Barkley jerseys with a mix of retro jerseys at practice.   Now I am seeing a lot of Jones and Thibodaux jerseys more Jones than Thibodaux).

Bill PolianHall of Fame Team Executive

August 1, 2023 5 min read

https://www.the33rdteam.com/category/front-office-commentary/how-players-coaches-executives-approach-training-camp/

https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1686766839257243648

Not as much to report as I would like because the one-on-one line drills were held on a separate field.  I will say that Wink and the defense took advantage of the pads to have a very good day.  Wink was throwing the house at the offense and the offense struggled to open up running lanes and protect the QBs.

*  There were a lot of dropped passes by a variety of WRs.  Very unusual, perhaps it was because things were more physical.

* Hawkins had another great day (a pair of PBUs) on playing CB with the ones (Adoree also looked good).

* I am slightly concerned for Tyrod Taylor as he has not been having a good camp

* While Jone's stats weren't great he did put the ball where the WR had a chance to catch on nearly every throw

*  Waller still can get open any time.  I think the offense shied away from using Waller too much

*  Cager has not had a great camp and today he didn't look good at all

*  Even though he is thin, I liked Sweeney's blocking

* JMS had a snap sail over DJ's head and had good and bad snaps as the starting center

* Ezeudu started at LG alongside JMS

* Isaiah Hodgins showed some good blocking but his receiving today was less than ideal


https://twitter.com/TalkinGiants/status/1686492865910767617


https://twitter.com/giantswfan/status/1686511742996590592



https://twitter.com/TheGiantTakePod/status/1686504512058544128

https://twitter.com/TalkinGiants/status/1686492865910767617

https://twitter.com/JustinPenik/status/1686493368929419264

https://twitter.com/nickfalato/status/1686500685259374592

https://twitter.com/nickfalato/status/1686504291324829696

https://twitter.com/BobbySkinner_/status/1686501038927364096

Nick Falato
@nickfalato
The #Giants signed 28-year-old IOL Sean Harlow

The 2017 fourth-round pick out of Oregon State spent time with Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Arizona. 670 snaps in his career:

441 at LG
222 at C

Last year with the Cardinals, Harlow played 75 snaps at LG and 148 at C. He surrendered 13 pressures and 2 sacks last season.
10:32 AM · Aug 1, 2023
·
354
 Views


https://twitter.com/dan_salomone/status/1686378054816522246

https://twitter.com/talkingiants/status/1686114631377473536

https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1686118016788881408

That is what Art Stapleton heard from Hyatt (after prompting from DJ)

For context, here was the fastest ball carrier in the entire league in 2022

Campbell reached a speed of 22.11 miles per hour. According to Next Gen Stats, it was the fastest recorded speed by any ball carrier in 2022.

Not too much to report today.  The offense still seems ahead of the defense (which is very unusual since defenses almost always start camp with the lead)

Waller and Adoree Jackson were given veteran rest days

Haytt was taking a lot of reps with the ones (and the 2s and 3s).  Haytt really has been impressing and has already exceeded my expectations.  He has shown his speed, great hands, and about to adjust to the throw.

Devito has been looking a bit better.  Not a world beater, but he was better than the terrible he started camp

20 A. Oruwariye-  He may have been a starter last year, but he is third string with NYG.  I have to think he is on the bubble along with R. Williams.

Trey Hawkins was taking snaps with the ones filling in for a resting Adoree Jackson.

At this point in camp I think Slayton is the clear number one WR.  Haytt is pushing though and Campbell has made some noise

Banks had a nice pass break up today

Micah McFadden had a nice INT of a Taylor overthrow.  At first, I thought Beavers had the job, but I think it's going to be a battle

One thing that really has struck me is the flexibility of JMS.  Sometimes those muscled-up O-linemen can be stiff, not JMS.

It's impressive how fast Waller and Beasley pluck the ball out of the air and put it away.

I don't think Tyrod Taylor has had a great camp.  I don't think there is cause for panic, but I could see this being his last year with the team.

I loved the one play where the Giants went speed (Haytt, Campbell, and Slayton) at the WR.  Then with Haytt and Slayton stretching the field, the throw is to Campbell on a sweep with plenty of room to run.

While the offense wasn't as good without Waller, I thought the offense still looked better than last year.

I can see RB Gray as the return man, but I am not sure if he will make noise at RB.  Seems to be a lot of guys ahead of him
HERE ARE SOME VIDEOS

https://twitter.com/BobbySkinner_/status/1686063361023229963

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1686050336656789504

https://twitter.com/Connor_J_Hughes/status/1686047722028023808

https://twitter.com/jordanraanan/status/1686006461598429184


https://twitter.com/dduggan21/status/1686006876192870401

https://twitter.com/giants/status/1685749125554249728

Day off, will rerun tomorrow.  I will post camp repost camp Tweets


https://twitter.com/bobbyskinner_/status/1685651829806256130

The Giants will have a pair of wide receivers on the practice field for the first time this summer on Sunday.

Head coach Brian Daboll told reporters that Sterling Shepard and Jamison Crowder are being activated. Shepard is on the physically unable to perform list after tearing his ACL early last season and Crowder was on the non-football injury list.

Shepard tore his Achilles in 2021, so he has played just 10 games over the last two seasons. He signed a one-year deal with the Giants this offseason.

Crowder played four games for the Bills last season before going on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He spent the previous three seasons with the Jets, so signing with the Giants offered a chance to return to MetLife Stadium.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/sterling-shepard-jamison-crowder-set-to-practice-for-giants

The Giants have no extra draft picks in 2024 and are likely to be picking in the middle of the round or likely lower.

The Giants are 11th in cap space next year with $48 million but are likely to be 12th after they borrow money to pay for this season's injury replacements)

That money looks pretty good, only here are all the Giants' free agents:



I think there may be a chance for a slight improvement, but I think the Giants are reaching a point next season where they can just hold their own in terms of talent gains and losses.

https://twitter.com/dan_salomone/status/1685366590005485570

I have to go back to the early Parcells years when I have seen so many players drastically change (hopefully for the better) in the offseason.  You have Bellinger and Neal turning fat into muscle.  You have Jones coming in drastically better than last year.   You have the addition of an extremely exciting weapon in Waller.   


While admittedly, Banks has struggled early, many of the rookies have flashed. 


Yeah, the Giants have a tough schedule, but teams may end up being more concerned about facing the Giants.


That last thought reminded me of this scene from the movie "The Watchman" (a bit violent) where the vigilante Rorschach gets locked up in prison and the prisoners think they are going to feast on him.

"The reality is that you're going to drop the ball sooner or later," he said Wednesday after the Giants' first training camp practice. "Steph Curry misses shots. Jerry Rice dropped the ball. But you've got to eliminate as much as you can. If you've ever seen somebody miss a ball and it goes straight through their hands, it's because your hands are too wide — and at whatever point you're going to the ball, you didn't keep your hands close [together] enough to stop the ball.

"If you just have a tighter hand track, you could never drop the ball with it going through your hands. Now, the only way you drop it is if it bangs off your palms or if you mistime things. But you eliminate one way to make a mistake. I think I've grown in that area, and I think it'll show. The tighter you can keep your hands as they're on their way to the ball, when they get to the ball, it'll be there."

To hone this technique, Slayton used two hands — placed tightly together — to catch tennis balls that Lieberman threw him.

"A lot people you see catch tennis balls with one [hand]," Slayton said. "But if you catch a tennis ball with two hands, it's impossible to catch if your hand are any type of wide. They have to be overly close."

https://www.nj.com/giants/2023/07/how-giants-darius-slayton-used-tennis-to-stop-dropping-so-many-passes.html

I got a chuckle from this


Bears OT Darnell Wright "crushed" the conditioning test after mistakenly training for WR version

Bears General Manager Ryan Poles praised his top draft pick, offensive tackle Darnell Wright, after Wright "crushed" the Bears' conditioning test. It turns out there's an excellent reason for that: Wright accidentally trained to take the wide receivers' version of the test, which made the offensive linemen's test a breeze.

Wright said the Bears' players were given written expectations of what they'd have to do to pass their conditioning tests, and as Wright worked out on his own to get ready for training camp, he mistakenly went off the wide receiver test. Like every team, the Bears expect their receivers to be able to finish a series of sprints a lot faster than the linemen can, but Wright got himself into shape to do what the receivers do.

"I was looking at the wide receivers' running portion of the workout, so I was doing theirs. So then I came back and obviously we have different, so," Wright said.

Wright, who weighed in at 333 pounds at the Scouting Combine, said he lost 16 pounds of fat during his training and feels like he benefited from it.

"More distance and lower time," Wright said of the receivers' version of the test. "It definitely feels better, it's a little bit of an adjustment as far as training power, still, but I think I'm more powerful because I didn't lose any muscle mass. You definitely feel a step quicker."

And the Bears feel good about a rookie who did more than was required of him.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bears-ot-darnell-wright-crushed-conditioning-test-after-mistakenly-training-for-wr-version

Hawkins has been impressive early in camp as has Hyatt


https://twitter.com/DDuggan21/status/1685252136873889792

Likely out when the Giants face them

https://twitter.com/profootballtalk/status/1685003124342177792

https://twitter.com/SNYGiants/status/1684971945337528336

https://twitter.com/charlottecrrll/status/1684971662716936204

https://twitter.com/art_stapleton/status/1684973112180318214