New York Giants Practice Report, 7/31

The New York Giants held their second consecutive practice indoors yesterday due to extreme heat and thunder, 7/31.

Players who stood out:

As much as many are craving a QB competition this is Eli’s best camp in years, maybe ever. His arm has looked fine and his consistency is sharp. He had a nice connection with Golden Tate in the intermediate areas of the field yesterday.

Alonzo Russell continues to work with the second-team offense and certainly makes enough plays to get first-team reps. So far he looks like he might actually make the team considering he is the pass catcher Daniel Jones is most in sync with early on. Today the two connected for a touchdown in the red zone during a 2-minute drill.

Oshane Ximines hasn’t gotten to the quarterback a whole lot but he gets into the backfield and batted down a Daniel Jones pass which has been a trend for 3 straight practices. His quickness looks like a handful for offensive linemen.

Antoine Bethea doesn’t seem to get beat very often leading to some quiet stretches of practice but today he intercepted a pass from Manning intended for Barkley on a wheel route. Check it out:

First and Second team cornerbacks have been active since camp opened. Jenkins and Baker are expected to produce but guys like Julian Love, Grant Haley, Sam Beal, and Corey Ballentine make a lot of plays every day. Whether it’s interceptions or deflections they have all done more good than bad in camp so far. This will be a strong unit for the first time in a while.

Golden Tate has a hard time doing much deep down the field but he’s establishing a good connection with Eli in the intermediate areas of the field. Today he made some nice grabs in tight coverage.

Lorenzo Carter looks like he’s progressed again since the pads came on a few practices ago. He got into the backfield a little more than he has in the last few days. He was potentially in range for a couple of sacks but hard to tell until there’s a quarterback he can actually hit.

Camp Battles:

Oshane Ximines might be locked into pass rusher number four duties by default. There’s not much behind him and with Markus Golden on light duty, he saw a lot of time against the first-team offense. The good news is he’s more polished than your typical 3rd round pass rusher.

Alonzo Russell continues to work with the second-team but he looks worthy of a camp battle with Bennie Fowler. He’s routinely made plays with Daniel Jones in every practice and caught a touchdown pass from Jones during a two-minute drill. Keeping a receiver that connects well with your future quarterback always sounds like a smart move.

Tae Davis seems to have a lead on BJ Goodson at this point at inside linebacker but Ryan Connelly seems like he’s determined to make this a three-way battle. Connelly was active with the second-team defense with a pass deflection and a would-be sack on Jones.

Wayne Gallman remains ahead of Rod Smith in the race for the third running back spot. Paul Perkins seems like he’s already claimed the second spot.

Bumps and Bruises:

Sterling Shepard participated in team drills, he looks like he’s playing week 1 of the regular season barring a setback.

Sam Beal worked his way back into practice and had a nice performance with a pass deflection and excellent coverage against second-team receivers. Beal looks like one of the best reserve cornerbacks in the league.

Amba Etta-Tawo couldn’t practice due to an illness.

Markus Golden isn’t injured but had an easy day to manage his workload.

Significant injuries:

Big George is still in under the concussion protocol with hopes of being cleared before the first preseason game next week.

Mark McLaurin could potentially miss the entire season with a foot fracture.

Final Thoughts:

The secondary continues to be one of the main standouts from practice every day whether it’s the first-team or second-team. James Bettcher should have all of the pieces he needs on the backend to support an aggressive defense in 2019.