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Rookie Mini-Camp

Mr. P

By Mr. P
in New York Giants

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Allstarjim

Allstarjim

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Tom Rock ‏@TomRock_Newsday 19s20 seconds ago

Bennett Jackson is participating in the rookie camp. A draft pick last year who was on PS/IR all of 2014. Yes, he's listed as a safety.

 

I remember they liked him as a safety. With Landon Collins penciled in at the SS spot, I think they will be able to find a FS that can play at a high level. They like Nat Berhe. He's probably the front frunner. Bennett Jackson, Mykelle Thompson, hell, maybe even Chykie Brown will make an impact at that spot. What is encouraging is that with O'diggy, Collins, the continued development of Kennard, signing of J.T. Thomas, development of Damontre Moore, and the addition of George Selvie, I think we are much better off on the defensive side going into the 2015 than we were throughout the 2014 season.

 

But the biggest reason for optimism is a return to an attacking defense with the Spags homecoming, and jettison of Fewell. I think Spags is going to have these guys getting after it.

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BleedinBlue

BleedinBlue

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Bennet Jackson was told he'd make a better safety than CB before he left college for the NFL.

 

2 things that stick out so far from rookie camp:

 

1) They are impressed with Jones at center for his quickness out of the snap - could give Richburg some competition

 

2) They are impressed with the speed and quick change ability of RB Akeem Hunt

 

Hunt is smallish, but has a chance to make the team as a scat back and change of pace RB. Here's a writeup on his pro-day

 

"Running back Akeem Hunt (5-9 3/4, 189) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 and 4.36 seconds. He had a 37-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-2 broad jump. He did the 20-yard short shuttle in 4.11 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.71 seconds. He performed 14 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Hunt really was impressive in the positional workout, looking outstanding catching the ball coming out of the backfield. Based on this workout, Hunt will be a draft choice, most likely in the late rounds"

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Allstarjim

Allstarjim

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Hunt definitely has a chance to make the team. He offers a different skill set, one that we were hoping to have with David Wilson...

 

We have Jennings, Vereen, and Andre Williams, then Hynoski at FB, who all figure to be locks to make the team as it stands right now. I would think there is room for one more guy on the roster as a RB. There is Orleans Darkwa and Chris Ogbonnaya, so I think Hunt can definitely beat those two.

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Treehugger

Treehugger

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1) They are impressed with Jones at center for his quickness out of the snap - could give Richburg some competition

 

 

Don't forget that in Canadian football, the DLine lines up one yard off the ball, so Canuck OL are used to launching forward with the snap to meet oncoming DLinemen. If you don't you're toast.

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gmenroc

gmenroc

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Hunt definitely has a chance to make the team. He offers a different skill set, one that we were hoping to have with David Wilson...

 

We have Jennings, Vereen, and Andre Williams, then Hynoski at FB, who all figure to be locks to make the team as it stands right now. I would think there is room for one more guy on the roster as a RB. There is Orleans Darkwa and Chris Ogbonnaya, so I think Hunt can definitely beat those two.

 

Didn't I read too somewhere about Hunt lining up in the slot as a WR? Being his size, durability will always be the concern with Hunt. He'll never be the bell cow and how well he blocks will be telling. He's an intriguing prospect, but I envision guys like that much along the Trindon Holliday lines. Smallish, fast as hell, but players that are tough to get too excited about because their size limits their usability.

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BleedinBlue

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Don't forget that in Canadian football, the DLine lines up one yard off the ball, so Canuck OL are used to launching forward with the snap to meet oncoming DLinemen. If you don't you're toast.

I didn't know that about the CFL. Jones is obviously prepared for this having signed quite some time ago. I've thought of him as a backup center and guard, but the stuff I'm reading, he could (probably a real long shot) win the starting center job. Time will tell.

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BleedinBlue

BleedinBlue

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Hunt definitely has a chance to make the team. He offers a different skill set, one that we were hoping to have with David Wilson...

 

We have Jennings, Vereen, and Andre Williams, then Hynoski at FB, who all figure to be locks to make the team as it stands right now. I would think there is room for one more guy on the roster as a RB. There is Orleans Darkwa and Chris Ogbonnaya, so I think Hunt can definitely beat those two.

I think he wins over the other two for 3 reasons: 1) lightning fast scat back 2) superb at catching balls and 3) very good at kick returning, called a "dangerous return man".

 

Having someone who can change the pace is beneficial - especially a little guy who cuts on a dime and takes off like a rocket - sorta like the old "greased pig catching contests" we used to have at the town fair. Those little guys were fast, slippery, and disappear underneath your grasp and make you plant your face in the dirt before you know what happened.

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Mr. P

Mr. P

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I think Jones will move to guard fairly well.

 

the canadian thing where the d-line lines up a yard off the ball will be less of a factor at guard since guards are a little further back than the center anyway.

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Mr. P

Mr. P

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Takeaway from Giants rookie camp, including an impression of Ereck Flowers and Gary Nova

 

 

The Giants draft class took the field Friday for the first time. They were surrounded by priority free-agent signings, some second-year players and hordes of prospects on tryouts who won't eventually be on NFL rosters this year.

Still, it all gets analyzed. It all gets dissected by the coaches and the Giants personnel department. It all eventually gets placed on their permanent record, for better or for worse.

It's more important for some than others. A majority of the players are fighting for a career. The lucky ones are just getting assimilated with the NFL lifestyle.

Nonetheless, it's a practice (albeit without full pads). Here's some of what I saw:

• Let's begin with the player on the field Friday who will be most important to the Giants this season ‐ offensive lineman Ereck Flowers. The first-round pick is huge (6-6, 329) and carries his weight so incredibly well. He moves effortless for a player that size, and it's obvious he's on a different level athletically than the rest of the linemen. Who knows how it translates on the field, but it's easy to see what the Giants like physically. Also of note: Flowers spent most of the practice at left tackle, even if he's likely to play right tackle this season.

NFL DRAFT: Full coverage of the 2015 draft

• There were a lot of Canadians (12) on the field. They didn't appear overwhelmed, but they did seem a bit smaller than expected. Offensive lineman Brent Jones sure didn't look 6-1, 316.

• Former Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova seemed to throw the ball well. He had good zip and decent accuracy. At 6-1, he also looked small standing next to quarterbacks Taylor Graham (6-4) and Pete Thomas (6-5). Graham is the son of former Giants quarterback Kent Graham. Overall, not a bad day for Nova.

• Cornerback-turned-safety Bennett Jackson looked relatively comfortable at his new position. Maybe even more importantly, he looked healthy. Jackson was running without any noticeable impediments after missing most of last year following microfracture surgery. After the minicamp practice, Jackson said he's surprised at the lack of soreness he's had with the affected knee.

• Rookie fifth-round safety Mykkele Thompson needs to put on some muscle. He looked awfully skinny. He's listed at 6-0, 193, but resembles a much thinner version of former Giants safety Kenny Phillips.

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2015/05/takeaway_from_giants_rookie_camp_including_an_impr.html

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Mr. P

Mr. P

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Good stuff, thanks for posting Pdub... can't wait to see Flowers play on the Giants for the first time.

 

I'm sure better reports will be coming out soon, sadly I have to go to work and then out for a drink for a cousins birthday. Then work in the morning, then mothers day dinner with mom, then work in the morning then mothers day stuff with step mom and grandma, and somewhere doing homework in there somehow but probably not.

 

End of semester sucks.

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Mr. P

Mr. P

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Rookie Minicamp: Day 2 Practice Report

 

 

Undrafted free agent tight end Matt LaCosse, who stood out in Day 1’s workouts for his work in blocking (or what passes for blocking in a non-contact drills), showed off his pass receiving abilities on Day 2, catching every catchable ball thrown his way, including a low ball thrown by former Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova.

I haven’t mentioned many of the tryout players but a couple bear mentioning.

The first is quarterback Taylor Graham, son of former Giants quarterback Kent Graham (and a spitting image of his father). The younger Graham showed he has a pretty strong arm, especially when he connected with a receiver on a deep bomb down the sidelines.

It wouldn’t be a minicamp without an injury scare, right? Well this time it was fifth-round draft pick Mykkele Thompson giving everyone a bit of a scare when he came up limp and had trainers work on his right ankle. Thankfully, the injury was minor as Thompson went right back to work after having his ankle taped and didn’t miss a beat. Afterwards, he seemed fine, showing no signs of any limp.

One of the tryout hopefuls whom readers expressed an interest in knowing more about was cornerback Willie Creear, 5-8, 190 lbs out of Eastern Michigan.

As a cornerback, Creear didn’t really impress. As a special teams gunner though, he not only impressed, he also dominated. This young man consistently beat solo blocking and was among the first men down the field. He has good quickness and juked his man a few times to get down the field to make the “tackle.”

Nikita Whitlock, one of the two pure fullbacks on the Giants roster, was the opposite. No, he wasn’t playing gunner, but he didn’t really demonstrate a great deal of foot speed in getting down the field.

Michael Bamiro, an offensive lineman who was signed to a reserves/futures contract earlier this year, is an impressive-looking offensive tackle. He stands 6-8 and is listed as 341 pounds and earned himself some “atta-boys” in drills from offensive line coaches Pat Flaherty and Luda Wells.

Bamiro, unlike some of the other rookie tryouts, bends at the knees, which is good. He also got his hands inside of the blocking sled, which is also good. In all, it wasn’t too hard to see why he was drawing praises from the coaches during the sled drills. How that translates to live blocking is another story, but with those fundamentals in place, that’s half of the battle.

As if anyone needs another reason to be excited about Landon Collins, consider this. In the defensive backs vs. receivers drills, Collins was the only defensive back who, when not at the best angle to intercept the ball, at least stuck out his arm in an attempt to knock the pass away.

He didn’t accomplish that, but it was interesting to see that none of the other defensive backs who lost a step against the receiver they faced did that

For those wondering about the lineups, Owa Odighizuwa and Jordan Stanton worked at left and right defensive ends respectively with the first units.

While on the subject of lineups, on offense, the first-unit offensive line consisted of Ereck Flowers at left tackle, Michael Bamiro at left guard, Brett Jones at center, Bobby Hart at right guard and Sean Donnelly at right tackle.

Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo wouldn’t commit to saying where Flowers will open up the season, stressing that as of “right now” Justin Pugh is still the starting right tackle. The thinking though is that eventually Pugh moves to left guard and Flowers moves to right tackle.

“We are going to play our best five and if he is one of them, he will find a spot,” McAdoo said.

Still, it would not be out of the question for the Giants to eventually move Flower to left tackle down the line, according to McAdoo.

“We believe that he has a skill set to play left tackle in this league. We are going to give him opportunities to train out there,” he said. “We will give him opportunities to train at multiple spots. That doesn’t mean we are going to pencil him in to one spot right now.”

 

http://insidefootball.com/2015/05/09/rookie-minicamp-day-2-practice-report/

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