The Day at Camp
Following a day of wall-to-wall meetings, it was back to the two-a-days, with the Giants managing to squeeze in the morning practice despite threatening skies. Still the slick grass, which had been rained upon earlier in the day, made for some treacherous conditions at times, particularly where the offense was concerned.

There were at least two botched center-quarterback exchanges in the morning practice; receivers were slip-sliding on the wet turf and it just seemed like an overall rusty performance. Things did settle down as the morning went on, but certainly Tom Coughlin couldn't have been too thrilled with the rocky start.

In a somewhat curious twist, we spotted something rather curious toward the end of practice, just before the field goal drills. Tight end Jeremy Shockey caught a pass from Eli Manning and went to the ground immediately, despite there being no defenders in front of him. Shockey could have probably picked up additional yardage, but he instead took a knee. Then on the next play, Amani Toomer seemed to purposely knock a ball down to the ground. Immediately following, the field goal unit came out.

Our best guess on both plays was ball control. Perhaps the Giants are instructing their receivers to make the reception and fall on the ball rather than risk a fumble in field goal territory. In Toomer’s case, obviously the incomplete pass would stop the clock and allow the field goal unit to get out onto the field. So this is something we will watch for, especially in game situations.

Who’s Hot
Brandon Jacobs. He’s big and fast, defying logic and physics we think. But another thing we’ve noticed is that Jacobs is getting far larger holes than we can recall seeing for Tiki Barber or any of the other running backs for that matter.

Part of that, we think, is that defenders are making half-hearted attempts to bring Jacobs down. We know that in the off-season his teammates joked about not wanting to have to tackle someone with Jacobs’ size and speed, but certainly this morning’s practice showed that they’re not kidding around; Jacobs is someone who must be either cut off at the knees or gang tackled because he’s just that powerful.

Sinorice Moss. Eli Manning connected with Moss on three consecutive passes, the first a nice recovery on a ball that was thrown behind him; the second a strike right between the numbers and the third a long ball in which Moss beat cornerback Corey Webster.  

Who's Not
Guy Whimper. He continues to get manhandled by defenders who project to career backups. In fact, the only time Whimper seemed to win a battle against Jonas Seawright (his primary nemesis) was when the coaches asked tight end Michael Matthews to help with blocking.

Tim Hasselbeck. During one 11-on-11 series, Hasselbeck didn't even get any reps. Is this the beginning of the end for the six-year veteran out of Boston College?

Quote-worthy
"I don't think there's a tackle in this league who can stay with me one-on-one."

— DE Osi Umenyiora

Medical Watch
First, the good news. Kevin Dockery, who missed the first week with a concussion, was back in action with the one’s. Corey Webster, who had been limited to one practice to day as he continued to recover from hip surgery, was cleared to go full speed for both practices here on out.

First rounder Aaron Ross sprained a glute muscle during Saturday night’s practice, and he’ll be out for a couple of days. WR Plaxico Burress (sprained ankle), who was supposed to be back today, remained out of action with no return date in sight. And add DB Michael Stone (hip flexor), CB EJ Underwood and DB Travonti Johnson to the list of players sidelined for the evening session.

Gibril Wilson left the evening session midway through with back spasms. Also LB Gerris Wilkinson had to leave practice with an injury to his right knee, and offensive lineman Todd Londot twisted his left ankle.

Up Next
Tomorrow features a single practice session at 2:40 pm

See Also

• Head Coach Tom Coughlin's Media Session Transcript
• Letters to the Editor
• Editor Pat Traina’s full camp report
• Player Perspective: DE/DT Justin Tuck

Denotes a premium feature accessible only via login. Subscribers may login here.