By Norb Pendergast - InReeseWeTrust.com 8/11/11
Today’s practice was pretty light and laid back due to the Giants preparing for their scrimmage Saturday night in Carolina. In their last practice open to the public before their preseason opener the team looked relaxed and like they were having fun. The notable Giants who did not practice were: Dominick Hixon, Clint Sintim, Osi Umenyiora and Travis Beckum to name a few. Overall there were not many highlights from today but some of the top performers were Aaron Ross, Mario Manningham, and Mathias Kiwanuka.
Kiwanuka looked quick off the edge on blitzes and would have recorded at least two sacks if practice were live. Mathias should be excited to see his first game action in nearly a full season since his neck injury ended his season early on last year.
Aaron Ross had a nice pass defended and an interception during practice and was in good position many times during practice. This preseason will be big for Ross to prove that he is fully recovered from injuries that have prevented him from reaching his potential the past couple of seasons.
Mario Manningham also had a nice day. Early on in practice he made a nice leaping reception on a deep post from Eli Manning. The ball was underthrown but Mario made a nice adjustment to make the catch. Later on in practice he made a nice catch for a touchdown while the team was practicing red zone offense and defense. He blew by Terrell Thomas who expected help from Antrel Rolle over the top. After the play the crowd could hear Rolle say “my fault”. In addition to these two plays Mario made another handful of catches.
Eli Manning also did not take every snap with the first team offense today. Not sure if anything was bothering him or if the coaching staff just wanted to get other quarterbacks reps with the first team if Eli does not play many snaps against Carolina.
Other news and notes
· Jacquian Williams made a nice pass break up while the teams were practicing in the red zone
· Devin Thomas returned to practice and made a couple of nice catches. He continues to have a strong preseason and make his case for a roster spot.
· Jerrel Jernigan looks like he will be returning punts for the first preseason game. His explosion should bring excitement to special teams this year; unfortunately he muffed the first punt in practice today.
· Brandon Jacobs had a scary moment in today’s practice. At the end of the day he collapsed to the ground and seemed to be in pain. Luckily he got up and continued to practice. Later on he caught a pass from Eli in which he would have scored a touchdown.
· Duke Calhoun caught a nice back-shoulder fade for a touchdown.
· Kenny Phillips made a nice leaping play in the end zone breaking up a pass that looked like a sure touchdown. Hopefully this will be the year Kenny stays healthy and is able to perform like he did the first two games of 2009