New York Giants Training Camp Practice No. 9 Takeaways

Let's recap what was revealed at the New York Giants' ninth training camp practice.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Aug 7, 2022 3:50 PM EDT

In this story:

The thick, humid Northern New Jersey air provided a perfect opportunity for New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll to do something he felt he needed to do after watching his team go through a controlled scrimmage on Friday night.

Daboll sent his players on a 100-yard sprint in the middle of practice, not as a punishment for anything they did or didn't do, but to throw in a little extra conditioning ahead of the start of the team's preseason schedule on Thursday night up in Foxborough against the New England Patriots.

The sprints weren't the only thing Daboll, who for the most part hasn't insisted on the players doing any extra running before, during, or after its main practice, planned to help the team build up its collective stamina. Starting the week, Daboll has the team going through a ramp-up period.

"The intensity, the effort, the energy has been good," he said before practice. "We’re just going to increase it a little relative to reps or extra conditioning, if you will, in between."

Daboll started that process on Friday night during the scrimmage in which he had the various units go through extended drives. Noting that the team ran 34 plays in 45 minutes at one point, Daboll said it was part of the plan to help keep the players healthy as things start to intensify in these final weeks before the start of the regular season.

"All part of the plan in terms of the offseason," he said. "And you tweak things here and there. But that’s kind of where we planned to be this week."

Injuries/Attendance

Receiver David Sills V (leg), inside linebacker Carter Coughlin (undisclosed), and cornerback Rodarius Williams (undisclosed) did not work at Sunday's practice. Sills and Williams missed Friday's scrimmage.

Receiver Kadarius Toney was held out of the team part of the practice.

Offensive tackle Matt Gono, whose career reportedly is in jeopardy in light of a neck issue, was at the facility, according to Daboll, but did not practice.

"He’s here," Daboll said of Gono. "He’s not doing anything physical. But he’s here today."

Daboll also said he spoke to rookie Marcus McKethan following his unfortunate season-ending ACL injury.

"For a young player to have a non-contact injury, it was tough," Daboll said. "But he’s in good spirits. So, he’ll have to start rehabbing."

The Giants were to reportedly hold a workout for offensive linemen on Sunday.

Bigger Role for Joshua Ezeudu Coming?

If Daboll had his way, he'd have rookie offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu, the team's third-round draft pick, settle into one position to start.

Unfortunately, circumstances have dictated otherwise. In The spring, for example, the versatile Ezeudu stepped in at left tackle while Andrew Thomas was recovering from off-season ankle surgery. And so far this summer, Ezeudu has done work at both tackle spots and left guard, playing with the first and second-string offenses.

"I think we’ve put him in a lot of different spots early on in camp, and that’s not always easy for a rookie. But we’re going to need him to be flexible," Daboll said.

The Giants have had some early issues with the offensive line. They're currently without tackle Matt Gono (neck) and interior offensive lineman Marcus McKethan (ACL). And earlier in camp, they were without center Jon Feliciano (heat/hydration issue), which led to them moving left guard Shane Lemieux to center for some snaps while Eeudu stepped in at left guard.

"You’d like to let him sit at one spot as a young player, but where we are, and he did a good job in spring and up to this point right now of being able to play both spots. We’ll need him at each spot," Daboll said.

Preseason Play-time Plan Taking Shape

Daboll said every player deemed healthy enough would be on the field Thursday night when the Giants visit the New England Patriots in the preseason opener.

"I think that’s important to play football, to have live reps," Daboll said. "How many reps that’s going to be, I can’t tell you right now. I think it’s going to be less for some and more for others, and each game will have a plan going into it."

Daboll's approach is the opposite of what former head coach Joe Judge, whom the Giants will see on the Patriots' sideline, used to run. In his first season, Judge kept most of the starters out of the preseason opener. Then last year, he waited until the preseason finale to get the starters some live reps.

Not surprisingly, the Giants looked ill-prepared for the season's first few weeks.

Defensive Line Coach Andre Patterson Making Progress

The Giants have been without defensive line coach Andre Patterson this summer due to a medical issue, Daboll confirmed, adding that while there is no set date for his return, the 62-year-old defensive assistant should be back "sooner rather than later."

Meanwhile, former NFL defender Bryan Cox, hired as the assistant defensive line coach has been working with the Giants' defensive linemen in Patterson's absence.

"I was with Bryan when he was a player, and he was one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around," Daboll said of the decision to hire Cox, who had last served as an assistant defensive line coach with the Falcons from 2014-2016.

"As a linebacker, he was smart, tough, dependable. ... Then, I’ve been around him as he started his coaching career at different spots. He’s a very loyal person. He’s smart. He’s played a lot. He was a linebacker.

"But he was basically like a defensive lineman playing linebacker back in those days. But I thought he could add value to the staff. There were a lot of people in the room when he was interviewed. He’s a good teammate."