Monday 2 August (Morning)

* It wasn’t a good morning for FB Madison Hedgecock, who dropped two passes that were right in his hands.

* It also wasn’t a good morning for TE Travis Beckum, who had another dropped pass. Beckum looked like he started to turn up field without securing the ball. It also didn't help matters that a defender was closing in on him, but still it was a pass he should have had.

* So far there is much to like about Aaron Ross as a punt returner. On the handful of chances he had, he showed good vision and a quick burst in making the first guy miss. He also did a nice job in fielding the ball cleanly. Ross told me he’s excited about having the chance to return punts and that if it gets him on the field, even better. I’ll have more from Ross later this week.

* RB Brandon Jacobs showed a nice little burst at the end of a reception when he turned and ran for additional yardage. Jacobs ran most of his plays away from where I was standing so it was hard to gauge how well he was cutting and planting on that surgically repaired knee.

* Adam Koets, working with both the first and second teams given the absence of Shaun O'Hara this morning, was involved in a botched snap (though to be fair, I couldn’t tell if it was the quarterback’s fault of Koets’ from where I was standing). There was another play in which there appeared to be some confusion regarding the snap count, and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride was not pleased when the ball wasn’t snapped.

* WR Ramses Barden continues to do a nice job making receptions. However on two of his catches, he left his feet much too early. It's almost as though Barden tries to make the receptions harder than they need to be and that is one of the things offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride had back in the spring.

* Gartrell Johnson, who struggled in the co dittoing drills yesterday, too a run to the house. Actually what happened is once the whistle blew, I stead of running the requisite 20 yArds, he went the distance of the field and then hustled all the way back to the opposite end zone. No rigor mortis on that run!

* S John Busing, who has yet to have his name added to his jersey knocked away a pass intended for Derek Hagan in a nice defensive play.

* The play of the morning was a gorgeous one-handed interception by Corey Webster on a pass intended for Mario Manningham. Although Manningham didn't adjust on the route, Webster did and the result was a highlight-reel interception.

* Not much from first-rounder Jason Pierre-Paul, who looked tentative in his snaps. He seems to be feeling his way around the defense still and didn't look particularly quick off the snap. But it’s early still and Pierre-Paul, who worked with the two’s, has a lot of upside.

* DT Linval Joseph managed to penetrate into the backfield on a handle of occasions, but they ran the play away from him.

Monday 2 August (Afternoon)

* Nice job by LB Keith Bulluck, working with the twos, to quickly fill a hole and stop Brandon Jacobs in his tracks. Speaking of Jacobs, on a couple of runs he looked a tad tentative in approaching the line of scrimmage, though once he burst through a crease, he shifted into that next gear and picked up significant yardage.

* Jerome Johnson, the other fullback in camp, looked very fluid in going out into the flat and catching a pass, showing soft hands in the process. On another pass that was short-hopped., Johnson dove in an attempt to pick it off the ground, but it was beyond hope. Johnson is an intriguing player who is very solid looking yet who seems light on his feet. While there likely won’t be room for him on the roster, he certainly did a nice job in the afternoon practice.

* Nice job by Steve Smith who beat Deon Grant and Clint Sintim for a catch along the right sideline. Sintim looked a step too slow in getting over, as he seemed to be fooled by the play action.

* Jonathan Goff, working at MLB with the ones, blew up a run by Andre Brown for about a four-yard loss. Goff read it all the way and timed his charge perfectly.

* Amazing move by CB Aaron Ross to knock away a pass intended for Ramses Barden, who’s a good six inches taller than the cornerback.

* In the game of chicken, where two gunners have to tag the punt returner, Sinorice Moss was late getting started up field and was easily tagged out by the gunners.

*Hakeem Nicks couldn’t hold onto a short pass that was zipped over to him, as it hit him in the hands and bounced away.

* WR Derek Hagan continues to have a solid camp as he fended off a jam by rookie CB Seth Williams and came down with a reception along the
sidelines. As Williams jogged back to the huddle, safeties coach David
Merritt had to remind him to make sure he pushes the receiver out of bounds as Hagan picked up about six yards after the catch.

* WR Tim Brown torched S Michael Johnson on a deep sideline pass. Johnson must have thought that Brown was a bit closer as once the ball took flight and he turned around, Brown was about five yards away as Johnson tried to swat at the ball.

* A couple of offside penalties by the defensive line, first by Chris Canty and then by Osi Umenyiora, the latter of whom was working with the ones. Canty later redeemed himself by timing his jump perfectly to crash into the backfield for a sack.

* Speaking of Umenyiora, he split time with DE Justin Tuck for most of the afternoon instead of Mathias Kiwanuka. No big deal though as the Giants like their players to be versatile enough to play at as many spots as possible.

* DT Jay Alford, showing no signs of the knee injury that kept him out of the spring minicamp, looked particularly nimble as he collapsed the pocket and blew up an Andre Brown run.

* LB Adrian Tracy also had a nice showing in the afternoon by getting into the backfield to disrupt the run

* In the red zone work, Osi Umenyiora used that quick first step to beat David Diehl, who was lined up at left tackle.

* WR Sinorice Moss made a pretty diving catch to end practice on an up note for the offense.

Tuesday 3 August (Morning)

* LB Michael Boley looked to be in mid-season form as he was quick to diagnose and blow up running plays. on a couple of snaps, Boley was actually identified as the Mike by QB Eli Manning, a move in which the defense did a nice job of disguising it's coverage until the last minute.

* RB Brandon Jacobs, who traditionally has received the first snap on running plays until this camp at least -- that honor has been going to Ahmad Bradshaw -- didn't look as explosive with his first steps he ran into a pile and didn't lower his shoulder until it was literally too late.

* TE Bear Pascoe continued to impress. Not only did he do a good job shedding his blocks, he released out into space and caught the passes thrown his way. Pascoe, who is 6-5, had told me two months ago that his biggest objective in camp was going to be getting lower to get the proper leverage. Looks like he took the coaching instruction to heart as he has done an exceptional job of bending his knees and getting up underneath his man.

* Nice job by WR Ramses Barden to adjust on a comeback route instead of trying to turn it into a circus-like catch. However, Barden went on to drop three passes that were right in his hands.

* WR Sinorice Moss contines to have a good camp, catching everything thrown his way. Will this be the year that Moss, in for Hakeem Nicks this morning, finally puts it all together or has his time run out? The answer depends on what he does on special teams as the fourth and fifth receivers need to be able to contribute in that aspect.

* Speaking of receivers who have been having a solid camp so far, add Derek Hagan to the list. Hagan is already a proven commodity on special teams and has looked equally impressive with the chances he's had in the passing game so far.

* WR Steve Smith made a wonderful catch against Corey Webster -- this was the play on which Webster developed a cramp. Kudos to Smith for hanging onto the ball as it initially looked like Webster had stolen it from him.

* One thing that was particularly impressive about the defense was how they swarmed against the run. The defensive tackles did a nice job across the board of creating congestion in the running lanes and forcing the running backs to scrap and claw for every inch.

* Jason Pierre-Paul took some snaps with the one’s in place of Justin Tuck, who was likely pacing himself.

* The Giants did some work on kickoffs for the first time this camp and Lawrence Tynes was consistently good on each of his attempts. Tynes managed to get good height and distance on his kicks with normal breeze to speak of, and just looked more comfortable on these kickoffs than we recall seeing him in recent years.

* Although it was speculated that Zak DeOssie took off his pads after special teams practice, he didn't do so due to an injury. As first reported back in May, DeOssie is going to do his work exclusively with special teams and doesn't appear to be a factor any more in the linebacker equation.

Tuesday 3 August (Afternoon)

* Early in the practice, Hakeem Nicks did a nice job adjusting his route to snag a touchdown pass against Terrell Thomas. Not to be outdone, however, on the next play, Thomas made his first interception of camp against Nicks when the ball was thrown right to him. Thomas, not happy that Nicks beat him on the first play, promptly went over to the corner of the field to punish himself by doing some pushups for missing the first play.

* RB Brandon Jacobs took full advantage of a big hole and then shifted into his downhill gear as he plowed his way down the field along the near sideline. At times Jacobs still looks like he’s pussy footing a bit, as he approaches the line – that could be because he’s waiting for something to open up, but when he lowers his shoulders, look out.

* WR Ramses Barden continues to put on a show for the spectators, leaving his feet unnecessarily and making some routine catches more difficult than he needs to. We can certainly appreciate the enthusiasm, but there was one pass where if he stayed on his feet, he might have been able to pick up a few more yards.

* Another nice job by Terrell Thomas in breaking up a pass intended for Duke Calhoun. You can really see the corners are far more aggressive than they’ve been in the past – that’s the Perry Fewell effect taking hold and it’s quite a sight to see.

* The play of the afternoon was Aaron Ross’ interception of a pass intended for Derek Hagan. Ross, from the nickel back spot, fully extended himself, tipped the pass in the air and away from the receiver and came down with the rebound before taking off like a bandit.

* In field goal attempts, my eyes were on Lawrence Tynes, who was perfect on all of his attempts. My eyes, however, were on Matt Dodge and how he fared as the holder. I’ll have a bit more detail about his in the upcoming issue of Inside Football (which will be available for single purchase by the way), but out of the seven or so attempts Tynes had, I’d say maybe the last two of Dodge’s holds were compact and efficient.

* Kudos to Rutgers alumnus WR Tim Brown, who in the daily game of chicken, was so shifty and elusive that he easily got by gunners Ramses Barden and Derek Hagan, drawing a huge round of cheers from his teammates.

* FB Madison Hedgecock shook off yesterday’s dry spell in the pass receiving area with a catch at the end of a diagonal route. Meanwhile his competition, Jerome Johnson, seems to be more at ease with catching the ball, though I’ve yet to really see how well Johnson can block, which is the first order of business for the fullback spot.

* CB Bruce Johnson continues to have a fine camp, breaking up a couple of more passes, including one intended for the speedy Tim Brown. Johnson played Brown very tightly, sitting on his hip. He then reached in and swatted the ball away for the pass breakup.

Thursday 5th August (Morning)

* Terrell Thomas nearly came up with an interception on a pass intended for TE Scott Chandler, a play in which LB Jon Goff did a nice job pressuring the quarterback with a delayed blitz.

* Guy Whimper took a few snaps at right guard for Chris Snee. Snee did come back in the lineup later on and seemed to be fine.

* Rich Seubert, getting some work at center with the starters, had a botched snap that Mathias Kiwanuka alertly scooped it up and headed to the end zone.

* Gorgeous sideline catch by Ramses Barden, who despite being off balance, somehow managed to right himself and walk the tight rope along the sideline for a nice gain, all the while staying in bounds. Barden has had a couple of solid practices of late.

* Rhett Bomar might have easily been sacked four times this morning -- he is still holding onto the football much too long while he makes his reads.

* Scary moment for Aaron Ross when on a punt return, his leg slid out from under him and he fell facedown. Ross got up and tried to walk it off, but didn't look too happy about it. Later on though, he was moving around fine.

* Madison Hedgecock had more passes thrown his way this morning and caught about half of them, including a couple that were slightly off-target.

* Good job by Clint Sintim to break up a pass intended for Sinorice Moss.

* Tim Brown made a series of pretty plays, but just barely missed getting his hands on a ball thrown in front of him for which he had to dive.

* Antrel Rolle picked off a poorly thrown pass by Jim Sorgi that was well off its mark, making it too easy for Rolle to pick off.

* Speaking of the defense, they were really fired up as they continued to get the better of their offensive counterparts. Meanwhile the offensive coaches were doing a lot of yelling themselves, as the offense didn’t seem to be in a consistent rhythm.

Thursday 5th August (Evening)

* It wasn’t a sharp practice for C Adam Koets, who was chewed out a
couple of times by offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride for not keeping
up with the desired tempo. Koets also had a problem or two with the
snap, hitting QB Jim Sorgi in the knee on one. With Shaun O’Hara
sidelined until at least next week, Koets is getting time with the one’s
and the two’s.
* WR Tim Brown had a pair of dropped passes in one-on-one drills, a
rare occurrence considering he’s been pretty good with catching
everything thrown his way of late.
* WR Sinorice Moss continued to shine in practice, making a near acrobatic catch that just grazed off the tip of his fingers.
* In 11-on-11s, Michael Johnson was in at safety for Deon Grant.
Meanwhile this was the first time this summer the Giants worked with a
play clock and all three quarterbacks let it run down to zero at least
twice, with Eli Manning being the biggest offender in this regard with
three “delays of game”.
* Rookie free agent Michael Greco has worked at both strong and free
safety; tonight he was lined up deep (free) and did a nice job with
providing deep help as part of the second team.
* DB Courtney Brown did a nice job breaking up a pass intended for WR Duke Calhoun, getting a hand in there at the last second.
* P Matt Dodge did a nice job with his holds for field goals save for
the first attempt, which resulted in a non-kick. Dodge even got a
couple of poor snaps down in time for Lawrence Tynes to convert.’
* LB Michael Boley very nearly had an interception when he went up in
the air and knocked down a pass with one hand, trying to tip it to
himself. However, he couldn’t’ quite find the handle.
* Rhett Bomar threw a gorgeous pass to TE Kevin Boss, who shook free from LB Bryan Kehl in coverage.
* Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride decided to try a little
trickery with the flea flicker, as Eli Manning handed off to Brandon
Jacobs, who flicked the ball back. Manning then found Sinorice Moss down
the field for the completion.
* DE Osi Umenyiora, who always has that first quick step off the snap, looked to be offside a couple of times.
* Mathias Kiwanuka had a nice couple of plays, shooting into the
backfield against William Beatty and blowing up a run and then following
that up a few plays later with what would have been a sack.
* Dave Tollefson also abused Beatty for a sack and then followed that
up by whizzing by Adam Koets, who was pulling on a running play, and
nailing the running back for a loss of yardage.
* Bomar connected with Derek Hagan for a long touchdown. Hagan beat S John Busing and CB DJ Johnson on the play.
* DT Nate Collins swatted down a ball at the line of scrimmage. Then on a stunt, he was blatantly held by OT Herb Taylor.
* In the two-minute offense, Terrell Thomas got into position to
knock a ball away from Steve Smith deep down the field. In this
practice, Thomas seemed to have more opportunities to guard against the
number one receiver (Smith), which was a goal of his, and he did well
with his chances.
* DE Jason Pierre-Paul, trying to time his jump just right, came up
short as Ahmad Bradshaw made a sudden cut and dashed by Pierre-Paul, who
in desperation tried to reach back to grab onto something.
* DE Justin Tuck swatted down a pass at the line of scrimmage.
* S Antrel Rolle ended practice in style for the defense by picking
off a pass intended for Kevin Boss and taking it all the way to the
house.

OBSERVATION DECK

If you think the Giants are going to slowly bring along Pierre-Paul and Linval Joseph, think again. They want Joseph breathing down Rocky Bernard's neck this season. And so far, Joseph's done a tremendous job soaking up a lot of information. But when Coughlin's standing a few feet away, he better know when he's supposed to be in a drill. Reese told me Monday afternoon that Pierre-Paul and Joseph have to help out immediately.

I thought former Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck would look a little stiff since he hasn't done any live scrimmaging since his ACL surgery last December. Instead, he's moved around really well and seems to be comfortable in Fewell's defense.

Second-year tight end Travis Beckum's going to get every opportunity in the world to contribute, but it's not good to flat-out drop a ball when Rhett Bomar threads the needle in team drills.

Defensive end Dave Tollefson is one of those steady players who refuses to go away. Nothing flashy, but he's relentless in pursuing the quarterback. I noticed that he's added a little inside spin move to his game. Some of the young offensive linemen haven't known what to do with him.

Sixth-round draft pick Adrian Tracy is a fish out of water at linebacker. The former William & Mary defensive end has some athleticism, but he could use a redshirt (practice squad) year.

Former Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty is in remarkable condition in this camp. Even Coughlin marveled at how Canty breezed through sprints. Canty has some close friends with the Cowboys (Jay Ratliff, Stephen Bowen, Jason Hatcher) and he'd like to send a message that Jerry Jones made a mistake in letting him walk.

I've given up trying to cut Sinorice Moss. I already have him on my 2013 projected Giants roster. It's crowded at receiver again, but the little guy won't go away. And he had a really nice day Monday.

If Ramses Barden ever finds a way to take his practices to the games, the Giants will have a remarkable weapon in the red zone. Manning told me Monday that Barden has won him over. He has some Plaxico Burress-like tendencies -- and I'm talking about the good tendencies. Even when he's covered, Barden has a knack for making catches. He's just an enormous target.

Reese refuses to give up on linebacker Gerris Wilkinson. The former Georgia Tech player has teased the Giants with his athleticism, but his career has been hampered by injuries and inconsistency.

Fullback Madison Hedgecock has a little competition in rookie Jerome Johnson. Hedgecock drops way too many passes. If Johnson shows anything in the passing game, this thing could get interesting.


I don't know if he'll hold off Bulluck, but middle linebacker Jonathan Goff looks so much more confident to me in this camp. He's doing a great job communicating and he's done a nice job in coverage.

Clint Sintim went through some growing pains last season, but he looks the part of a starter now. He hasn't let any of the Giants' misdirection plays fool him.

Either Antrel Rolle is really, really good at safety or I spent too much time watching C.C. Brown and Aaron Rouse chasing cars last season. I think Rolle's an excellent fit for Fewell's defense. If Phillips can return to form, he and Rolle could be one of the best tandems in the league. Deon Grant was a good pickup because of his durability. He just doesn't miss any games, and the Giants need more of those players.

I know Steve Smith had a breakout season, but Hakeem Nicks looks like a No. 1 wide receiver to me. I thought it was telling that he was the one receiver whom Manning asked to join him at the Manning Passing Academy. Those two are putting on a show early in camp.

*Recently retired
punter Jeff Feagles arrived in camp to work with Dodge. Feagles said he
will stay for two or three days this week and return to Albany next
week.