NFC East news: Giants O-line putting in the work, Eagles’ secondary showing up in practice

Giants’ John Michael Schmitz improving footwork, second-level blocking – John Fennelly, USA Today

Extra work is being put in on New York’s O-line.

New York Giants second-year center John Michael Schmitz is determined to realize the potential the team saw in him last spring when they selected him in the second round of the NFL draft.

Schmitz was thrust into the middle of a unit that was decimated by injuries and lacked the necessary cohesion to succeed. This year will be different as Schmitz has some new faces around him plus a year of service under his belt.

On Thursday, at the team’s offseason workout, Schmitz was asked what he zeroed in on this offseason to improve his game.

“A lot of it was my footwork and that second-level blocking for me, maintaining blocks,” he told reporters. “At the end of the day, at the center position, take leadership and take control of the leadership role.”

And the Giants need leadership along the line. They would like that to come from Schmitz going forward and added two veteran guards — Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor — to bolster the interior of the line.

“I’m very excited to have those guys here. They’re great guys. Not only on the field but off the field. They want to be here. They want to get better. Very excited for our O-line room. We’re headed in a great direction,” he said. “They help me out. They help me understand certain situations, what to be aware of, what they’re seeing on film. It can be a different view of what I’m seeing because they’ve had more experience.”

Pro Football Focus Names Washington Commanders’ X-Factor For 2024 Season – Caleb Skinner, Sports Illustrated

The most important position in football is shaping up to be Washington’s X-Factor.

It is a new time in the DMV.

The Washington Commanders and their fans should be ecstatic with the direction in which their franchise is headed. They brought in a solid head coach, got a great general manager, put together a veteran free agency class, and topped it all off with a pretty sick draft class that included second overall pick and Heisman-winner out of LSU QB Jayden Daniels.

The Commanders are betting on Daniels to be their quarterback of the future and Pro Football Focus tends to agree as they listed the uber-talented QB as Washington’s x-factor for the 2024 season.

“Washington brought in several veterans and put together a huge draft class, but the team’s fate lies in the hands of second-overall pick Jayden Daniels. The 2023 Heisman winner was the best player in college football last season. His dual-threat ability should inject life into a team that has perpetually struggled to find a franchise quarterback.”

It may take some time for everyone to get on the same page, but on paper, that shouldn’t take long and the offense should at least flourish in this new system as long as the offensive line holds up after being one of the worst in the league in 2023.

Eagles OTAs observations: Ballhawks in the secondary – Dave Zangaro, NBC Sports Philadelphia

A focus on the secondary seems to be paying off for the Eagles.

On Thursday, the Eagles were on the field for OTAs again.

5. The best defensive plays of the game came from the secondary. A couple of nice interceptions on this day from ballhawking defensive backs:

• On a backed-up play (3rd-and-6 from their own 5-yard line), Jalen Hurts was picked off by Isaiah Rodgers, who took it the other way for a pick-6. Great break on the ball from Rodgers, who has not looked rusty since coming back from a year-long suspension.

• Garner, working as a second-team safety, leaped in the air to pick off an underthrown ball from Kenny Pickett on a deep pass to John Ross. Nice play from Garner but a poor wobbler of a throw from Pickett, who had another ugly pass later.

• Practice ended with an interception from CB Shon Stephens, who earned a spot on the 90-man roster after a tryout at rookie camp. Good story.

• Another big defensive play came from Ringo, who had great coverage deep down the left sideline on Campbell. Ringo stepped in to break up the pass from Hurts. It was a nice play but Ringo was upset he didn’t pick it off and he heard about it from some of his teammates.

• The other interception came from Baun on a tipped ball. The pass was tipped to Baun, who then tipped it up to himself and held on.