* The first padded practice meant the first set of one-on-ones between the offensive and defensive lines. It was a very competitive period with a spirited back and forth.
* Speaking broadly, the offensive line more than held its own against a very talented Giants defensive front. Evan Neal had two excellent reps at guard, anchoring down and stymying the pass rush of Chauncey Gholston and Cory Durden. Gholston had two excellent reps, winning with his length and power, which also showed up during team drills.
* Jermaine Eluemunor held his own against all three Giants primary edge rushers, successfully riding Brian Burns and Abdul Carter around the quarterback, and slowing down Kayvon Thibodeaux. Carter won with different rushes on his other reps, using his quickness and power to win inside quickly. Thibodeaux had an intense back and forth battle with James Hudson, with both players winning reps against each other.
* John Michael Schmitz had two strong reps, anchoring down and withstanding power rushes from D.J. Davidson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Rookie Darius Alexander showed his power, winning with some bull rushes. Josh Ezeudu did well with reps at left tackle and left guard. Elijah Chatman did an excellent job utilizing his power and leverage to push guards into the backfield.
* During those 1-on-1’s, the receivers and defensive backs worked on their bunch formations, which forces defenders to navigate traffic to stay with their assigned wide receivers. Russell Wilson hit Tyrone Tracy on a slant and run that might have ended up as a touchdown. Dru Phillips also had a pass break-up during that period.
* The team portion of practice was almost exclusively run plays, though there were some play action and quick passes mixed in to keep the defense honest. Cam Skattebo flashed his ability to find the right rushing lane and burst through it into the second level. He was also more than willing to lower his head to grind out yards in short yardage situations when the team practiced trying to run the ball out of the shadow of their own end zone. Devin Singletary and Tracy also had good runs.
* Safety Jevon Holland, edge Tomon Fox, safety Makari Paige and linebacker Ty Summers all had what would have been tackles for loss if they were taking players to the ground. The practice tempo was “thud”, which means the defender squares up the offensive player and wraps up but does not take the ballcarrier to the ground. Fox also had a potential sack. Holland, defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris and Elijah Chatman all had pressures.
* On one of those play action passes, Jaxson Dart threw a nice pass downfield to Zach Pascal on a skinny post over the middle, but Cor’Dale Flott made a great play and knocked the ball away. Cornerback Art Green made a great one-handed interception on a slightly overthrown pass from Jameis Winston on a deep ball.
* Practice ended with two “situations”. The offense started on their own one-yard line and both the first and second units had three plays to get a first down. The offense converted on third down on a really nice Tyrone Tracy run up the middle through a hole opened up well by the offensive line; Tracy found the opening and accelerated through. The second unit converted on just two plays. Dart completed a short slant to Lil’Jordan Humphrey on first down before executing a perfect play action and taking naked bootleg around the edge for a first down. Dart wisely slid down at the end of the play.
* The Giants will practice in pads for a second consecutive day tomorrow before a day off on Wednesday.
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