OTA Updates

[Mr. P]

these are all from various writers via twitter:

 

 

Tuck, Cofield, Canty and ... Kiwi are the 1s on the d line.

 

Hixon, Manningham, Moss, Ross and Rolle working as punt returners. Most punts were fine but Bond really flubbed one.

 

Rocky Bernard, who #nyg said is rehabbing, is doing some indiv. drills.

 

S Phillips in helmet and jersey on field but watching for now in sneakers.

 

1st LB group: Boley, Goff and Sintim. 2nd group: Kehl (w), Dillard and Blackburn (s). 3rd: Tracy, Wilkinson (m), Ingram.

 

Smith and Manninham starting WRs. MM just dropped a crossing route in 11-on-11s.

 

RB Bradshaw looks like he's giving it a go. He just bursted through the line with a run.

 

Bear pascoe working in place of Boss at TE.

 

Just heard our first Perry Fewell chew out. Not sure who it was aimed at, though. Complaining about the way the huddle was run.

 

RB Brown making some cuts on runs in 11 on 11.

 

Webster just broke up a pass for Smith

 

WR Ramses Barden with a catch while falling down

 

First-team safeties for Giants in OTA practice: newly signed Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant.

 

That's it for the practice. Team lining up for conditioning running.

 

S M. Johnson has a quad strain per TC.

[Treehugger]

I wonder what we'll see from Kehl this year. Didn't he have a fractured vertebrae or something early on in his rookie year?

[BleedinBlue]

I wonder what we'll see from Kehl this year. Didn't he have a fractured vertebrae or something early on in his rookie year?

I think you're thinking of someone else. Kehl played nearly every game last year including the final and I've not seen anything on him concerning injuries.

[Mr. P]

I think you're thinking of someone else. Kehl played nearly every game last year including the final and I've not seen anything on him concerning injuries.

 

he didnt say last year, he said his rookie year.

 

 

but i dont remember the injury.

[NeMesiS]

he didnt say last year, he said his rookie year.

 

 

but i dont remember the injury.

He broke his hand or risk during a kickoff in the Chief game.

[Treehugger]

Kehl played every game last year? I don't remember hearing anything about him.

 

Just checked, he played 14 games mainly on ST by the looks of it (22 tackles but only 8 on 'D').

[Sephiroth]

I think Goff was the guy who was mostly on injured reserve his rookie year.

[Mr. P]

Aaron Ross 'back home' at cornerback for Giants

 

 

The Giants' front office and the coaching staff are very pleased with the additions the team made at safety this offseason.

 

So is Aaron Ross.

 

“I am,” the defensive back said. “I’m back at corner now, so I’m back home.”

 

Ross, you’ll recall, was bumped from corner to safety midway through last season after the injury to Kenny Phillips and the poor play of C.C. Brown. That came after he missed the first half of the season with a series of hamstring injuries.

 

But now, with Antrel Rolle, Deon Grant and third-round pick Chad Jones aboard, Ross can focus on cornerback once again.

 

“I hadn’t played it in a year,” he said, “so I was happy to be back there.”

 

Ross is in line for what should be a very interesting battle with Terrell Thomas for his starting spot. Thomas, who had a team-high five interceptions last season, was one of the few bright spots on defense and appears to be growing more comfortable at corner.

 

Then again, Ross thinks he’ll be that much more comfortable at his old position this year because he said Perry Fewell’s defense includes similar responsibilities for corners and safeties. Ross noted if receivers are lined up in a “twins” formation to one side, both corners will often move to that side, with one covering the slot receiver. The safety on the opposite side will be asked to cover the tight end.

 

“It was an advantage for me (playing safety) last year, not knowing we’d have this defense this year,” Ross said, adding: “It’s just like playing nickel and it’s easy when you know it. There’s nothing to it.”

 

As for his hamstring, Ross said he’s experienced no issues. That’s quite the change from last season when it seemed like he’d tear the muscle if he sneezed too hard.

 

“I’ve been training and running really well. I feel a hundred percent,” he said. “When I first started, I was a little nervous, but now I’ve been doing a lot of training so the nerves are all gone.”

 

A few notes from this morning’s practice:

 

-- S Antrel Rolle was moving well and covering plenty of ground. He had a nice pass break-up on a deep out from QB Eli Manning to TE Travis Beckum.

 

-- Though Thomas had the best play of any DB this morning when he broke up a deep ball over the middle from Manning to WR Domenik Hixon. Thomas went high on that one to get the ball at its highest point. Great ups there.

 

-- Not to be outdone, CB Corey Webster knocked away a deep ball from Manning to WR Steve Smith up the left sideline.

 

-- WR Mario Manningham had a pair of drops.

 

-- I love open practices because we get to hear safeties coach David Merritt above all other coaches (except defensive coordinator Perry Fewell). Merritt got real happy when S Sha'reff Rashad knocked away a ball on an out to TE Bear Pascoe.

 

-- Fewell is a yeller and he got all over somebody for allowing a sloppy huddle. It appeared that somebody was Gerris Wilkinson, considering Fewell yelled, "It's your huddle. You're the 'Mike.'"

 

-- Fewell will be happy when he watches the tape of Friday morning's session (though I'm sure he already has) and sees LB Michael Boley in coverage. He looked real smooth.

 

-- Offensive play of the morning: QB Rhett Bomar to WR Domenik Hixon between Ross and S Michael Greco up the left sideline. Bomar threw a perfect ball to Hixon between those two guys. Speaking of Bomar, he didn't seem to get a lot of reps. He appeared to be splitting time with rookie QB Riley Skinner while backup Jim Sorgi got what appeared to be all of the No. 2 reps. We'll see if that changes later in the spring because I'd like to see what Bomar can do. He's got the tools and a much stronger arm than Sorgi (and probably Manning, too).

 

-- Offensive play of the morning, runner-up: Manning to WR Ramses Barden for a fade over Ross. Good ball, great catch.

 

-- S Deon Grant had a shot to pick off a pass but didn't extend his arms. Fear not, though. It was merely a veteran move by a guy who's protecting his body in May. "I just want to let all you DBs know I didn't 'alligator arm' that ball," Grant told the safeties and corners during their post-practice stretch. "I'm just coming off that wrist surgery so I can't be reaching in there just yet." Grant's teammates appreciated his candor and gave him a nice laugh in return.

 

-- And finally, the holders have a long way to go. Apparently, Jy Bond has done a decent job this spring, but Matt Dodge is struggling. Dodge hasn't held before, so it'll be an adjustment for him. I know the Giants would prefer the punter be the holder, but it doesn't look like that will be the case. It looks like Sorgi's job to lose there.

 

One other quick note: WR Steve Smith told reporters he's hoping for a new deal soon and that his agents are in talks with the team. From the sound of things Friday afternoon, it appears Smith's hopes are a bit high.

 

The lack of a new collective bargaining agreement will prevent this deal from happening because salaries are limited to a 30 percent increase year over year. That means if Smith wants a fair deal in total value (let's say $40 million over five years), the bulk of that contract will have to be in bonus form (read: guaranteed). No way he's getting such a deal.

 

Smith will eventually get his contract and he's not going anywhere in the long run. But for now, he's playing for $550,000 this year and that's it.

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2010/05/aaron_ross_back_home_at_corner.html

[BlueInCanada]

Mario "No hands" Manningham is going to lose his spot before camp is over.

[Mr. P]

Mario "No hands" Manningham is going to lose his spot before camp is over.

 

yeah i fully expect it to be smith and nicks, with manningham at no.3 like we were towards the end of last season.

[Sephiroth]

Mario "No hands" Manningham is going to lose his spot before camp is over.

 

Sinorice Moss is going to push him outta that spot en route to 2300 yards and 32 TDs this season.

[Sephiroth]

yeah i fully expect it to be smith and nicks, with manningham at no.3 like we were towards the end of last season.

 

Smith and Nicks are near locks, but I could see either Hixon or Barden in on 3-wide sets. I could easily see Barden on the outside with one of the other guys moving to the slot for certain formations.

[BlueInCanada]

Smith and Nicks are near locks, but I could see either Hixon or Barden in on 3-wide sets. I could easily see Barden on the outside with one of the other guys moving to the slot for certain formations.

 

Manningham will be the #3 in my opinion, hes crazy fast and able to get behind D's at ease. He just needs to learn to catch the fucking ball and he will be golden.

[Sephiroth]

Manningham will be the #3 in my opinion, hes crazy fast and able to get behind D's at ease. He just needs to learn to catch the fucking ball and he will be golden.

 

And keep his feet in bounds.

[Treehugger]

Good news on Bomar. I'd like to see him push Sorgi out of the #2 job.

[Mr. P]

id like to see us at least be able to keep 3 qb's on the roster, as opposed to 1 of them being on the practice squad.

[NeMesiS]

: QB Rhett Bomar to WR Domenik Hixon between Ross and S Michael Greco up the left sideline. Bomar threw a perfect ball to Hixon between those two guys.

 

You actually see this play at Giants.com

[Nas]

Manningham will be fine... the guy is an amazing athlete and will only get better from here.

[gmenroc]

Manningham will be the #3 in my opinion, hes crazy fast and able to get behind D's at ease. He just needs to learn to catch the fucking ball and he will be golden.

 

Without tipping it to himself 3 times and being praised for his concentration. Catch it the first time. I like the competition at receiver a lot. Safety is no longer a concern of mine.

 

LBer is still a huge question mark. Until I hear otherwise, I foresee 8 yard passes all season long, over the middle to TEs and RBs.

[JMFP]

 

Rocky Bernard, who #nyg said is rehabbing, is doing some indiv. drills.

 

 

Translation: taking a dump.

[Mr. P]

OTA #6 Practice Report

 

The Giants concluded their sixth OTA today. Not in attendance today were DT Barry Cofield and DE Osi Umenyiora. Cofield’s wife was in labor while Umenyiora sat out the practice with a sore hip that has been bothering him all spring.

 

Not working in the team drills were Kenny Phillips (knee), S Michael Johnson (quad), WR Hakeem Nicks (toe), and Ahmad Bradshaw (feet/ankles). Bradshaw told reporters that he wasn’t feeling 100 percent today. No, he didn’t have any setbacks; rather he’s trying to pace himself so that he doesn’t risk of having a setback.

 

Here are a few observations from today’s OTA, #6 on the schedule. For those who have asked, we will have access to OTA #9 and #12, which is the final one prior to the mandatory minicamp. Also, don’t forget that later on I’ll have a much more detailed report for subscribers and those who signed up for our June/July package.

 

* One guy who keeps standing out to me as I watch these practices is TE Bear Pascoe. AT 6-5, 251 lbs., Pascoe is competing against Scott chandler for the third tight end role, and when I asked tight ends coach Mike Pope about Pascoe, he told me that he is as close to a “throw back” tight end as you’ll find. I’ll have more on what Pope (and the other offensive assistant coaches) in a later report.

 

* Rhett Bomar, who overthrew Sinorice Moss and missed Travis Beckum by a mile. Bomar has a more pronounced side-armed motion than I recall from last year and as a result, his passes seem to be off target more often than not.

 

* I thought WR Domenik Hixon had a productive practice, making several nice catches. He completely outmuscled Bruce Johnson on a deep pass along the right side and did a nice job to hang onto the ball despite it being slightly overthrown.

 

* Good job by S Chad Jones to knock away a pass intended for Hixon. It was actually a jump ball situation and Jones did a nice job in getting his hand up there to swat it away. Later on, Jones, who had a nice practice, broke up another pass intended for WR Ramses Barden, though he seemed a step or two out of place as far as being in a position to pick off the ball.

 

* OL Guy Whimper, who last year spent time working at guard in order to increase his potential contributions to the team this year, saw some snaps at left guard in place of Rich Seubert with the ones. That’s interesting because the common thinking is that if William Beatty wins the left tackle job, David Diehl will slide over to guard. However, nothing its set in stone, but still this is a battle that will be interesting.

 

* CB D.J. Johnson came up with a big interception on a ball thrown by Jim Sorgi. Johnson simply stepped in front of the receiver – I think it was Victor Cruz – and had nothing but daylight in front of him.

 

* Speaking of Sorgi, he had a nice morning, though toward the end he got a little sloppy with his accuracy, throwing a pick. Still, he managed to get nice height and velocity on his passes, and his accuracy was pretty much spot on.

 

* Nice job by LB Phillip Dillard to blow up a running play in the backfield. Dillard is flying around to the ball out there and while he continues to have trouble with play action, that’s all just a matter of the game slowing down for hi before he’s able to time things better.

 

* Head coach Tom Coughlin gathered his players together in a big huddle after practice ended, and it looked like he was upset about something. The players were vague about what the coach had to say, but if I had to guess, he might have been bothered by the tempo, which at times I thought was not as brisk as these practices usually are.

 

http://trainathought.insidefootball.com/2010/05/ota-6-practice-report.html