Plenty of NFL teams feel good about the work they completed in training camp and it is fair to say optimism abounds at many outposts throughout the league. The Giants can be counted among those teams “feeling good about themselves’’ as they await their Sept. 10 season opener for validation that their preparation put them in position for early success.
There is no way to know, of course, what the work in the summer will lead to as the temperature drops and the stakes get higher. But there is one unequivocal certainty coming out of the past month — and, really, stretching back into the spring — that can already be considered an early victory for the Giants: They have their health, and at this time of year, if a team has its health, it has everything.
Getting the team to the starting gate as intact as possible is one of the deepest concerns among general managers. As the saying goes, the injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent, as in, there will always be injuries. Which players are hit with injuries, and when they occur, is often a key barometer in determining if a team can successfully navigate through a difficult stretch or else helplessly fall by the wayside.
At the moment, heading into the week before the first real week of work for the games that count, the Giants are in fine shape. Every one of their projected 22 starters is expected to line up for the season-opener against the Cowboys. Moreover, none of the 22 projected starters is carrying any sort of ache or pain or ailment into the season, other than the normal aches and pains associated with putting on a helmet and shoulder pads and repeatedly running into another large human.
Some of this is good fortune. Much of it is careful planning on how to best keep bodies fresh and injuries to a minimum.
Brian Daboll, who is briefed every day about injuries and informed who is a go, who needs to sit, who needs to be limited and who needs to be monitored, credits several members of the Giants medical and training staff for keeping him in the know: Head athletic trainer Ronnie Barnes, director of rehabilitation Leigh Weiss, assistant strength and conditioning coach Mark Loecher and director of performance Sam Coad.
“It’s not just kind of the week; we’ve got a lot of games here early in the season, too,’’ Daboll said, alluding to a schedule that has the Giants playing their first three games in a span of 12 days. “So, it’s an all-encompassing evaluation of, really, call it the first part of the season back to training camp, and I thought the strength staff, the trainers, sports science, they did a lot of research, they put a lot of work into it. They’ve done a good job.
“So I … input it, and I don’t always agree with it. As a coach, you want to [players to] be out there all the time, but they certainly had a well thought-out process, very detailed. Did a really good job with it.’’
Some situations, such as when Evan Neal entered the concussion protocol earlier this summer, follow strict guidelines. Most others must be evaluated on a case-to-case basis.
Every step a player takes on the field is monitored with GPS data, allowing the medical personnel to alert the coaching staff when a player might be overloading. And Daboll was quick to adapt. He staggered the practice schedule, going early at the start of camp and then moving practices back to later in the day to allow for additional rest and recovery for the players.
“Veteran rest days’’ were generously sprinkled in, with defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, tight end Darren Waller and left tackle Andew Thomas among those who were told to take a day off during camp.
Saquon Barkley did not participate in the offseason workout program because he had not signed the franchise tag tender, and after he did report to camp, his usage was carefully scripted. There were days when he was used heavily and days when he worked in individual drills and then became a spectator.
Sterling Shepard, coming off a torn ACL, was on one day, off one day, sometimes a participant in the team period 11-on-11 drills and other times held off on the side.
“I think each year is different,’’ Daboll said. “We’ve changed a bunch. Schedules, times, sleep, rest time, breaks in practice, longer periods at some stuff, shorter on other stuff, longer periods at the end, a ton of stuff that those guys have really dug into and done a good job.’’
It worked. The Giants have their health as the end of August arrives.
Want to catch a game? The Giants schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
As the running back turns
The soap opera that is the life of the modern-day NFL running back took a turn just before camp when Barkley, after failing to come to terms on a long-term deal, accepted a one-year contract from the Giants worth up to $11 million.
Last week, the much-discussed cratering of the running back market took yet another turn when Josh Jacobs, after missing all of Raiders training camp, signed a one-year deal worth up to $12 million.
“I saw he showed up to camp and I texted him congratulations and good luck,’’ Barkley told The Post earlier this week.
Barkley is also monitoring the deteriorating relationship between Jonathan Taylor and the Colts.
Taylor led the NFL in 2021 with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns and was considered a rising star in Indianapolis, the heart and soul of the offense. Taylor wants a new deal, the Colts balked, Taylor held out of camp. When he finally reported, he never took the field, as he said he was still rehabbing from an offseason ankle surgery. Taylor then requested a trade. He didn’t get one and, instead, will be sidelined for the first four games of the season after the Colts left him on the physically unable to perform list.
“I know Jonathan Taylor is one of the best players in the league, obviously had a down year last year with some injuries, but he showed when he’s healthy what he’s able to do and what he’s able to bring to an offense,’’ Barkley said. “Hopefully, the trade is able to go through and he’s able to go to a team that respects him and values him.’’
Barkley made peace with the disappointment over his failed contract negotiations with the Giants. Now Jacobs will have to try to do the same with the Raiders. Taylor remains in limbo. All in all, it has been a rough summer for some of the NFL’s top running backs.
Jersey guy might stay home
Rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito did not look as if he was destined to stay around with his showing in the spring but he made strides and now is a viable option for the practice squad.
The native of Cedar Grove, N.J. finished the preseason completing 67.2 percent of his passes (43 of 64) for 453 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked nine times and often under duress working behind second- and third-team offensive linemen.
“I think Tommy’s improved since he’s been here,’’ Daboll said. “He’s improved in the practices and the meeting room since he first got here. I think he’s come a long way and certainly learned a lot. You can tell it’s important to him. He’s gone out there and played well and executed when we played. I’m proud of how he’s competed and how he’s improved.’’
Asked and answered
Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:
Why were the Giants able to get Isaiah Simmons for only a seventh-round draft pick?
Now that is a mystery, isn’t it? If you were a fan of the Cardinals the past three seasons you probably were frustrated with Simmons, who did not live up to expectations after being drafted No. 8 overall in 2020. Simmons was a do-everything defender at Clemson and his unique versatility was supposed to make him a weapon almost anywhere on the field.
In Arizona, it was clear Simmons was indeed capable of many things because of his height/weight/speed traits but he did not excel in any one area. And the Cardinals’ new front office and coaching staff has taken to getting rid of many of the holdover players on the roster they inherited.
It is surprising the Cardinals could not rustle up a fifth- or sixth-round pick for Simmons, though. He is only 25 years old and has never missed a game in his three-year career. Plus, he is inexpensive, with a salary cap hit of $1.01 million.
The Cardinals desire to make changes played nicely into the Giants’ hands. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale runs what he calls a “positionless’’ defense and the anticipation is he will find a spot where Simmons can take advantage of his unique skillset. And if he can’t, since Simmons is in the last year of his contract, if this does not work out with the Giants there is no further financial obligation.
Now that training camp has ended is it more of the same grind for the players leading into the regular season?
Not really. The Giants will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week and then will have a nice three-day weekend, with no practices on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Sounds just like people in other professions squeezing in a last hurrah for the summer before Labor Day, doesn’t it? That three-day break will be the longest the players have away from football until the Giants’ bye, which is not until Week 13 in late November. So, if any player wants to get away from it all for a few days, this will be the time to do it. After that, the grind is real.
