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Giants training camp: 10 takeaways from Day 2

dan benton
·6 min read
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After a successful first day of training camp practice on Wednesday, the New York Giants were back at it again on Thursday. This time, they focused on areas outside of the red zone (although red zone drills were again included).

Head coach Brian Daboll met with reporters before practice started and then it was off to the races.

Here’s a look at 10 quick takeaways from Day 2 of training camp practice.

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No decision on offensive play-caller

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Brian Daboll isn’t ready to commit to an offensive play-caller just yet, but admits he’s been pleased with offensive coordinator Mike Kafka thus far.

Kafka called plays throughout the spring and that has continued over the first two days of training camp.

“He’s been on the headset with Daniel (Jones) and he’ll be doing that through camp,” Daboll said of Kafka. “As we get closer to (Week 1), we’ll sit down and discuss it.

“I’ve been really happy with Mike. Not just his communication with the quarterback, but how he’s handled the offensive staff and how he’s handled the players. He has a really good demeanor about himself.”

Joe Judge flavor?

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Brian Daboll has a background with both Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, so it should come as little surprise that he shares some commonalities with Joe Judge.

The first of those was evident on Thursday as the Giants conducted a very familiar ball security drill.

More roster changes

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The Giants continued tweaking their roster with the addition of veteran linebacker Austin Calitro.

Calitro entered the league as an undrafted free agent and has gone on to make 11 different stops over his seven seasons. He’s appeared in 47 regular season games with nine starts, totaling 94 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

In order to clear room for Calitro, the Giants waived linebacker Justin Hilliard, who had been suspended the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Causing conflicts

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During the Giants’ first training camp practice on Wednesday, it was clear that pre-snap motion is going to be a major part of their game. That’s a far cry from where the team was the previous two seasons.

On Thursday, Daboll said the pre-snap motion is designed to cause conflicts but it won’t be an every-down thing. Just most downs.

It’s also why the Giants place such an emphasis on “smart” players, Daboll said.

Those evil trash cans

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A year ago, Giants co-owner John Mara made headlines for kicking over a trash can in the owner’s box following another embarrassing loss.

On Thursday, it was Jihad Ward’s turn. He took aim at and subsequently booted an empty rubber trash can in retaliation for it injuring cornerback Darnay Holmes.

Luckily, Holmes returned to the field after missing just a single period during practice. It’s unclear if the trash can returned.

Wan'Dale Robinson out of the backfield

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The Giants are likely to be very creative on the offensive side of the ball this season and with play-makers like Saquon Barkley, Kadarius Toney and Wan’Dale Robinson, why wouldn’t they be?

They showed a glimpse of that on Thursday, giving Robinson — who had a great Day 1 — a carry out of the backfield.

Don’t be surprised to see Toney practice some pass attempts this summer, either. All of those things are in play come the regular season.

Richie James Jr. shines

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There’s been much debate over wide receiver Richie James Jr. and his standing on the Giants’ depth chart. But more than just a return man, James has made strides as a pass-catcher.

Thursday was no exception as James made several good-to-stellar plays.

The fact that James can excel on special teams and return both kicks and punts positions him well to make the 53-man roster.

Yung Joka

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As they’ve done in recent years, the Giants are playing music during practice. Unlike the previous two years however, it doesn’t stop during practice periods.

On Thursday, a very familiar sound blared over the speakers. The artist? None other than Kadarius Toney aka Yung Joka.

Warning: Music may be NSFW.

Kenny drops, Darius drops

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Wide receiver Kenny Golladay is having a rough start to camp. On Wednesday, he dropped a touchdown pass and on Thursday, he let up on a play leading to an incompletion.

The negative is obviously the drop. But if you’re desperate for some positivity, it was a good throw by Daniel Jones and a terrific punch-out by safety Julian Love.

Darius Slayton also had two bad drops on Thursday, including one on a cleanly thrown deep ball.

Quality at backup QB

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It’s no secret that the Giants struggled at quarterback when Daniel Jones went down a season ago. Mike Glennon and Jake Fromm simply couldn’t get the job done, so general manager Joe Schoen placed an emphasis on fixing that issue in 2022.

Enter Tyrod Taylor.

The hard-luck quarterback has looked to be an obvious improvement over his predecessors thus far despite the the Giants’ offense being quite a bit behind the defense early on.

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