New York Giants Practice Report: Sunday Morning Tune-up

The New York Giants were back on the field Sunday after a day off, and to no one’s surprise, the shorts and shells practice was their shortest and perhaps lightest of the camp. It was a 45-minute affair as the Giants are gearing up for a two-day joint practice session with the Detroit Lions that will be conducted in full pads starting Monday.

Quarterback Daniel Jones unofficially finished 7-of-9 in this practice with one interception that bounced off the hands of tight end Daniel Bellinger and to safety Jason Pinnock, who ran it back for a Pick-6. 

I thought Jones had receivers Wan’Dale Robinson and Malik Nabers wide open on this play, though. The defender covering Nabers (Dru Phillips, who took the first-team reps at slot cornerback) cut inside while Nabers went outside. Jones didn’t bother to look toward that side of the field. He also had Robinson wide open in the flat.  

Outside linebacker Brian Burns continued to have his way with the offensive line, which, in my eyes, remains something of a concern. Particularly on the interior, the Giants had Greg Van Roten working again at the center, while John Michael Schmitz was still held out of practice. 

The problem, as I see it, is that the constant moving around of the offensive line isn’t really allowing for the build-up of cohesive communication, which is especially necessary when it comes to stunts and blitzes. 

The other concern I have is that when (we hope) Schmitz does return to practice, he has yet to work with Van Roten next to him. So I am curious to see how that communication process goes with yet another shuffling likely on deck and time starting to wind down.

Burns was in the backfield for what would have been at least three pressures, two of which you could say were sacks that wiped out two of Jones’s completions (including a touchdown pass to receiver Wan’Dale Robinson). Burns has given left tackle Andrew Thomas some headaches this summer and did so again on one of his “sacks.”

Burns has really looked good in this camp with the pressures, so it should be fun to see if he can create the same kind of havoc against the Lions starting Monday.

That said, Burns versus the Lions offensive line is going to be a fun matchup to watch.