EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — When the New York Giants reported for training camp Thursday (July 27), the main topic was that 14-year veteran quarterback Eli Manning, who has not missed a start since taking over as the team’s quarterback, is on a pitch count this summer.
“You can call it a pitch count, you can frame it like that, you can frame it however you like,” general manager Jerry Reese said Thursday, a day before the team’s first practice. “That’s a good way to frame it if you like.”
The 36-year-old Manning had an off season in 2016, totaling 4,027 yards passing with 26 touchdowns and 20 turnovers. Although he did have a hand injury, he denied that he was impacted by that or a sore arm.
“I don’t know if that was an issue or not, but that is something that we have talked about,” Reese said. “We want to make sure that he is fresh in the games late in the year and hopefully going into the playoffs. We want him to be fresh and ready to go.”
Other veterans are expected to be treated conservatively in camp, including wide receiver Brandon Marshall (30), linebacker Jonathan Casillas (30) and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (31), each of whom had injury issues in recent years.
Said Reese, “There are a few guys on the squad that coach (Ben) McAdoo and our staff, we’ve talked about, ‘OK, let’s make sure these guys get to the game, get to the season.’ You’ve got to protect them in some ways. Each one of those guys you want to protect along with a few more guys, older guys you want to protect.”
But don’t expect free safety prospects to take it easy. Darian Thompson was so impressive as a rookie last year that he locked up the job by the end of the spring, but then Andrew Adams played well enough when Thompson suffered a season-ending injury.
“You can sit here right now and say, ‘Yes,’ but I can’t sit here and take away from what Andrew Adams has done,’” Giants safeties coach David Merritt said last month when asked if Thompson had the advantage in the competition.
“I think they’re all competing for a starting job. To have two guys that can step in there and actually hold down the position, hopefully we will find that solid piece this year.”
Thompson, who had 19 career interceptions at Boise State, was a third-round draft pick. Adams, with one career pick at UConn, went undrafted.
THE FACTS:
TRAINING CAMP: Quest Diagnostics Training Center; East Rutherford, N.J.
HEAD COACH: Ben McAdoo
2nd season as Giants/NFL head coach
11-6 overall; 0-1 postseason
THE BREAKDOWN
2016 finish: 2nd NFC East (11-5)
2016 STATISTICS
TOTAL OFFENSE: 330.7 (25th)
RUSHING: 88.3 (29th)
PASSING: 242.4 (17th)
TOTAL DEFENSE: 339.7 (10th)
RUSHING: 88.6 (T3rd)
PASSING: 251.1 (23rd)
2017 PRESEASON SCHEDULE
All times Eastern
Aug. 11, PITTSBURGH (Fri), 7:00
Aug. 21, at Cleveland (Mon), 8:00
Aug. 26, N.Y. JETS (Sat), 7:00
Aug. 31, at New England (Thu), 7:30
UNIT-BY-UNIT ANALYSIS
QUARTERBACKS: Starter – Eli Manning. Backups – Josh Johnson, Geno Smith, Davis Webb.
The Giants plan to keep three quarterbacks on the roster this year. Manning has the starting job locked up while Webb, a rookie third-round draft pick, will be the third-stringer to start the season. That leaves the No. 2 spot open between Johnson and Smith. Although Johnson has been in the league longer, Smith, recovering from a torn ACL suffered last year, has thrown more passes and started to show signs of being an effective field general in the final six games of the 2014 season before the bottom dropped out on his New York Jets career. Still, Johnson is entering his second year in the Giants system, and he did take all the reps in the spring, which put him ahead of Smith at the start of training camp.
RUNNING BACKS: Starter – Paul Perkins. Backups – Shane Vereen, Orleans Darkwa, Shaun Draughn, Wayne Gallman, Khalid Abdullah, FB Shane Smith, FB Jacob Huesman.
The Giants are determined to get the running game, which has struggled to achieve relevancy since 2012, back on track. Perkins has already been named the starter, and Vereen will presumably continue in his role as the third-down back. The third spot belongs to Gallman, a rookie who at Clemson showed he could do something the Giants running backs could not with any consistency last year: power through tackles and gain yards after contact. That leaves the final spot (assuming they keep four running backs) up for grabs between Darkwa and Draughn, a decision that will likely come down to who plays better on special teams. Lastly, the Giants are carrying two fullbacks on the training camp roster, Smith and Huesman. For one of those two to stick, he’d probably have to show versatility, not just a run blocker but as a potential receiver out of the backfield if he’s to dissuade the coaches from keeping four tight ends.
TIGHT ENDS: Starters – Rhett Ellison, Evan Engram. Backups – Will Tye, Jerell Adams, Matt LaCosse, Colin Thompson.
Although Tye has been the starter the past two years — due to either injury or ineffectiveness of former starter Larry Donnell — he’s far from a lock to be on the roster this year. LaCosse, with whom the Giants have stuck despite his losing his first two years to injury, seemed to edge in front of Tye during the spring practices and could be in a position to knock Tye off the roster if he stays healthy. Although there haven’t been padded practices, Engram so far has lived up to his hype. The coaching staff has moved him around in various personnel sets to achieve matchup advantages. He looks to be particularly effective over the middle of the field, where the Giants struggled so much to exploit. Ellison, signed to be a blocking tight end, spent most of the spring sidelined with a calf injury. There was optimism that he would be good to go for training camp, but remember, the Giants held the same optimism for former receiver Victor Cruz. Cruz, like Ellison, suffered a torn patellar tendon only to develop a calf issue in the months after having surgery. If Ellison is still not ready to go, he will likely start on the active/PUP list.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters – Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard (slot). Backups – Tavarres King, Roger Lewis, Dwayne Harris, Darius Powe, Travis Rudolph, Keeon Johnson, Jerome Lane, Kevin Norwood, Kevin Snead.
If healthy, the Giants should have one of the best receiving units in the league, thanks to the addition of Marshall, the kind of tall, physical receiver who has been missing from this offense for some time. Marshall’s presence should help take some of the double teams away from Beckham. Shepard, whose performance tailed off last year after a semi-hot start, should be vastly improved in his second season. At the bottom of the depth chart, Lewis, who last year made the roster as an undrafted free agent, is in danger of being phased out. Lewis saw his opportunities decrease as the 2016 season wore on while King saw his chances increase. Powe very narrowly missed making the 53-man roster last year; to help his chances this year, he’s done some work at tight end. Rudolph is the latest “feel good” story to hit Giants camp. Although not very big, there are some who think he might be able to push Harris for the return man duties this year.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters – LT Ereck Flowers, LG Justin Pugh, C Weston Richburg, RG John Jerry, RT Bobby Hart. Backups – G/T D.J. Fluker, G/C Brett Jones, G/C Adam Gettis, OT Adam Bisnowaty, OT Chad Wheeler, OT Jessamen Dunker, G/T Michael Bowie, G, Jon Halapio, OL Jarron Jones.
The Giants are taking a big leap of faith with Flowers and Hart, their two young tackles who have struggled in their development in their two seasons. New York has been encouraged by the fact that both youngsters stayed in East Rutherford during the offseason to work out. Offensive line coach Mike Solari and head coach Ben McAdoo both claim they can see some improvement, but both have cautioned that the picture won’t be complete until the pads go on. Fluker, whose career with the Chargers was a bust, is aiming to make the most of his “show me” opportunity with the Giants. Brought in as a guard, Fluker is supposed to be competing with incumbent John Jerry for the starting job; however, Fluker was unable to earn any snaps with the starting unit in the spring, at times even looking a bit sluggish. Bisnowaty is the guy to keep an eye on. The coaches have sounded pleased with the progress their sixth-round pick has made. He could emerge as a sixth offensive lineman in the jumbo package as well as the first option off the bench if Hart struggles at right tackle. Wheeler, who’s been working at left tackle, didn’t really impress much in the spring, though again, until the pads come on, it’s premature to pass judgment on a lineman.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters – DLE Jason Pierre-Paul, DT Jay Bromley, NT Damon Harrison, DRE Olivier Vernon. Backups – DE Devin Taylor, DE Romeo Okwara, DE Kerry Wynn, DE Avery Moss, DE Owa Odighizuwa, DE Evan Schwan, DE Jordan Williams, DT Robert Thomas, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Corbin Bryant, DT Josh Banks.
If the Giants want to elevate last year’s 10th-ranked overall defense to a championship level, they’ll need to find a viable third pass-rushing defensive end. That option could be Taylor, the former Lions veteran who in addition to being a pass rusher, offers an ability to play inside, similar to how the Giants used to deploy Justin Tuck. The Giants had hoped that Odighizuwa, their third-round pick from two years ago, might develop into that player, but it’s unknown if Odighizuwa will even report to camp this year, let alone continue his NFL career after he tweeted in April of needing to take some time away from the game. At defensive tackle, no one jumped out in the spring to take an early lead in locking down the starting job previously held by Johnathan Hankins. The long-term hope is that Tomlinson, the second-round pick, will emerge as the guy. However, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo indicated that for the time being, they’ll probably deploy a rotation at that spot until someone separates from the pack.
LINEBACKERS: Starters – WLB Jonathan Casillas, MLB B.J. Goodson, SLB Devon Kennard. Backups – Keenan Robinson, Mark Herzlich, J.T. Thomas, Eric Pinkins, Deontae Skinner, Stansly Maponga, Curtis Grant, Calvin Munson.
The Giants are all in on second-year man Goodson, who takes over the inside linebacker role after the team declined to re-sign veteran Kelvin Sheppard. Goodson had a solid spring against the run, but is still trying to find his way in coverage. He’s also not necessarily a lock to be calling the signals — that duty might fall to Casillas, the defensive captain from last year. Kennard saw his snaps decrease last year, but he seemed to find some new success as a down lineman on pass-rushing downs, a role he’ll likely continue this year. Robinson was supposed to compete with Goodson for the starting inside linebacker role, but there is some doubt as to whether he would be able to hold up as an every-down backer. Thomas, who has spent the last two years injured, could be in the plans if Goodson falters or gets hurt. Thomas has experience playing inside from his days with the Jaguars and could give the Giants that option if he stays healthy.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters – LCB Eli Apple, RCB Janoris Jenkins, Slot CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, FS Andrew Adams, SS Landon Collins. Backups – CB Valentino Blake, CB Michael Hunter, CB Donte Deayon, CB Nigel Tribune, CB DaShaun Amos, S Darian Thompson, S Nat Berhe, S Duke Ihenacho, S Jadar Johnson, S Trey Robinson, DB Mykkele Thompson, DB Ryan Murphy.
All eyes will be on the battle at free safety, where Adams, the incumbent, will try to hold off Darian Thompson, the man who was supposed to be the starter until a season-ending foot injury put an end to that. Adams played well despite being undrafted, but Thompson is more of a ball hawk who has a history of picking off passes in college. At cornerback, the team hopes to find a backup slot guy to Rodgers-Cromartie for the long-term future. Deayon, Hunter and Mykkele Thompson are all potential candidates. Hunter received snaps with the first team during the spring.
SPECIAL TEAMS: K Aldrick Rosas, P Brad Wing, LS Zak DeOssie, KOR/PR Dwayne Harris.
All eyes will be on Rosas, the young inexperienced kicker who was with the Titans last summer but who has yet to kick in a regular-season game. Head coach Ben McAdoo has said the staff will create various pressure situations during camp to see how well Rosas responds, but added that there is no substitution for game action. Harris, who hung in there last season despite assorted injuries, accepted a pay cut this year but can earn back the money if he can keep his punt return average over 10 yards. He’ll have some competition for his job, though, particularly from undrafted rookie Travis Rudolph, the inspiring young receiver from Florida State who made national headlines for befriending an autistic child last year. Rudolph received reps as a punt returner in the spring, showing flashes of promise, but it will all come down to how well he delivers in games.