EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The heavy lifting of the spring is done for the New York Giants, with just a light practice remaining Wednesday morning. Head coach John Harbaugh seemed pleased on Tuesday afternoon following the conclusion of a second straight 2½-hour mandatory minicamp practice.
“We got better throughout the course of the minicamp, all the way back to the first day back in the offseason program. We’ve improved dramatically,” Harbaugh said. “We have a long way to go, but now our arrow is pointed
toward training camp.
“So we’ll have more of a mental sweat type of practice tomorrow, and then the guys will be away until training camp. But I’m proud of the guys. They’ve done a nice job.”
An Odell highlight
Odell Beckham Jr. took advantage of a busted coverage by the Giants’ secondary to haul in a long touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart, one of the highlight plays of the day for the offense. With no one near him as he caught the ball, Beckham backpedaled the final 15 yards into the end zone.
For what it’s worth, rookie cornerback Colton Hood was the closest defender to Beckham. There is no way to be sure, though, if it was Hood who blew the coverage.
Defense makes life difficult
It feels as if the Giants’ defense got the better of the offense over the course of the past two days. Again on Tuesday, the offense made a few highlight-reel plays, but the defense seemed to be the more impressive unit.
Edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux called the front “seven scary.”
“We’re almost cursed with too much talent,” Thibodeaux said after Tuesday’s practice. “We have a matchup problem no matter what team we face.”
Thibodeaux said he asked defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson on Tuesday if Wilson was the best defensive backs coach in the league.
“I didn’t ask him that because I didn’t think it,” Thibodeaux said. “I asked him that because our DBs have been playing at a high level. And for me, I saw this same defense before. So now seeing these guys play at a pace that is, like, unbelievable, there’s no question how great of a coach he is.”
Here are a few defensive highlights:
- Tae Banks (yes, that Tae Banks) intercepted a Brandon Allen pass down the left sideline intended for tight end Tanner Connor.
- Safety Elijah Campbell intercepted an off-target Allen pass intended for Xavier Gipson. For what it’s worth, Allen was a bit of an interception machine over the last two days.
- The defense often made the quarterbacks leave the pocket, even in 7-on-7 drills with no pass rush. How is that possible? It’s because no one was open. On one 7-on-7 play, Dart was actually forced to hold the ball and not throw it. I don’t think I have seen that before in 7-on-7.
- Isaiah Hodgins prevented a Rico Payton interception of Jameis Winston by diving to break up a long pass along the right sideline.
- Hood, working with the second-team defense, had a fantastic rep against Darnell Mooney. Dart lofted a long pass down the right sideline that Hood, reaching up with his left hand, batted away.
- Cornerback Greg Newsome picked off a Dart slant pass. The intended receiver is unknown.
- Tremaine Edmunds used his 6-foot-4 and change frame to full advantage, dropping into coverage, baiting Winston, and then reaching up with his long arms to snag an interception. It was a great example of something the Giants have been talking about — the space that Edmunds and the 6-4 Arvell Reese take up in the middle of the field.
- One more. The Giants did 14 reps of 7-on-7, a drill that by nature is slanted toward the offense. Dart completed just 7 of 14 during that session, including the one play where he was unable to even throw the ball. There were passes defensed by Newsome and Micah McFadden, and a dropped touchdown pass by Isaiah Likely.
Dart’s long day
During these practices, the starting quarterback usually takes a few reps, then the second-and third-team quarterbacks get a bit of action. That is how Tuesday started, but as the workout lingered, Dart stayed on the field. Dart took all 14 7-on-7 reps, working with every practicing receiver on the roster, then 10 of the final 17 11-on-11 reps.
Harbaugh said that was not planned.
“I don’t know,” Harbaugh said. “I looked at the other quarterbacks, and I’m like, what, Jaxson’s going to take all the reps? I think maybe they had an agreement with Coach Nagy and Coach Callahan, in the pass skel [skeleton], he was going to take all the reps. But nobody informed me of that.
“But he looked alright. So, he’s the starting quarterback. If he wants the reps, he can take them.”
More Skat
Running back Cam Skattebo took another incremental step forward in his recovery from a dislocated ankle on Tuesday. After taking a few reps during install or “on-air” periods without defense on Monday, Skattebo took a handful of reps during team periods. He did handle the ball on a few of those and seemed to move well.
Not at practice
The following players were not at practice:
- RB Tyrone Tracy (personal matter)
- WR Malik Nabers (knee)
- WR Darius Slayton (sports hernia)
- OLB Abdul Carter (ankle)
- DT Roy Robertson-Harris (Achilles)
- TE Thomas Fidone
- OL Lucas Patrick
- OL Jake Kubas
- DL Sam Roberts (undisclosed surgery)
Zvada wins again
The Giants had placekickers Dominic Zvada and Ben Sauls each kick for the second straight day. Zvada, an undrafted free agent rookie, was 5 of 5. He went 13 of 13 over the two days. Sauls, the incumbent kicker with just three games of NFL experience, struggled again. He made just 3 of 6 kicks, making him 8 of 14 over the two days.
Harbaugh isn’t ready to declare the competition over, saying Sauls’ issue is a mechanical one.
“I was talking to Ben out there. This is preparation for training camp, which is where the competition will really heat up,” Harbaugh said. “But the good thing about that with Ben’s misses, they’ve all been left, if you’ve noticed. They’ve all been pushed left. It’s the same exact miss every time. That’s a good problem to have.
“He knows the problem with it from a technique standpoint. He’s just got to lock in and fix it. He’ll do that, I’m confident.”
As for Zvada, the last two days are the only times media have seen him kick. Harbaugh said what we saw this week is what Zvada displayed all spring.
“He’s looked good,” Harbaugh said. “What you saw today or yesterday was what he’s been all the way through. He’s been consistent.”
Offensive highlight
Wide receiver Dalen Cambre had the non-Beckham offensive highlight of the day. Heading toward the sideline on a 15-20-yard route, Cambre made a diving, one-handed catch of a Winston throw.
One more practice
The Giants will practice from 10:45 a.m. until noon on Wednesday and then break for the summer. Training camp should begin in late July, though no official dates have been set.
