The Giants got a brief scare when projected starting left guard Shane Lemieux had to be carted off the field with a knee injury in the first week of camp. But the gritty Lemieux, who has been rehabbing the injury, has made rapid progress to where he's been able to be out there on the practice field every day.
"It’s good to be back out here with the guys. I’m enjoying it," Lemieux said Tuesday. "Training camp’s different now. I get to see faces of my teammates. I get to know the guys. Getting with (Offensive Line Coach) Rob Sale, (Assistant Offensive Line) Coach Ben (Wilkerson), Coach Flats (Offensive Consultant Pat Flaherty), it’s going good. Really enjoying this."
Lemieux said his injury happened when he planted his foot awkwardly and admitted that he became angry at himself for getting hurt.
"I like to practice. I like to work," he said. "I want to get better every single day and I’m just taking it a day at a time."
A lot is riding on Lemieux's second season with the team as he looks to solidify his hold on the left guard spot.
Last season, Lemieux was thrust into action when incumbent Will Hernandez went down with COVID-19. According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants fifth-round pick out of Oregon played in 504 snaps, 299 of which were as a pass blocker, and he allowed 25 quarterback pressures.
"I think every single year through my football career, every offseason there’s highs and lows," Lemieux said of his rookie season.
"There are things you can take into the offseason. I had some struggles last year, but I think every single year since I was a little kid, I had struggles, so taking them not in a negative view, but saying, ‘OK, this is an opportunity where I can come in and fix my game this year.’ It’s not a negative, don’t put it in a negative. Take it next year and build off of it, and there are positives to build off of, too, so it’s keeping it even keel.
"I know what I got to work on and that’s the biggest key right now is knowing practice to practice where you’re lacking, what you’ve got to work on that day. You can’t focus on 10 different things in practice, you’ve got to focus on one thing so you can get better at it every single day."
Lemieux also takes pride in his growing reputation as a nasty player on the gridiron.
"Yeah, I took a lot of pride in that as being my characteristic ever since I was a young football player and the way I was taught to play this game is through physicality and nastiness," he said.
"But you can talk about it or you can do it, you know what I mean? If you watch tape, you want to see it on tape. You can’t just say you’re a nasty player and not do it. I’d rather walk the walk than talk the talk."
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