NY Giants- NY Jets Joint Practice Report: Early Struggles for Giants Offense

Florham Park, NJ - Day 1 of the New York Giants-New York Jets joint practice is in the books, capping a blistering hot day.

The Jets defense outperformed the Giants offense for most of the practice, but the Giants offense made a comeback in the red zone work, scoring a few times.

Here are some quick takeaways. We’ll have more coming up later.

Injury Updates

As reported before the start of the practice,  Giants receivers Malik Nabers and Da’Quan Felton, running back Cam Skattebo, linebacker Demtrius Flanigan-Fowles, cornerbacks Dru Phillips, Korie Black, and Tre Hawkins III, and guard Evan Neal did not partake in this practice.  

As per usual, head coach Brian Daboll didn’t offer any insight into what any of the players are nursing. 

Regarding Nabers, he missed the entire spring with a toe issue that Daboll, back in the spring, said dated back to the receiver’s college days at LSU. Nabers also got banged up during a training camp practice early on, appearing to have injured his shoulder. 

He managed to return from that for a few practices, but was right back on the sideline, leaving one to believe that it could be the toe issue, so it’s unknown. D'Aboll didn’t shed any light on what’s been keeping Albers sidelined, but it’s believed to be the toe issue. But what is believed to be known is that NAbers is dealing with a toe issue that kept him out of the entire spring. 

Midway through the practice, offensive tackle James Hudson III, who has been working at left tackle while Andrew Thomas is on PUP, walked off the field with a member of the team’s training staff. Still, he was back outside, helmet in hand, a little while later, leaving one to believe that he might have done inside for fluids.

There was a hold-your-breath moment when tight end Theo Johnson went down to the ground in a heap after a play in which he made a catch. Johnson was down for a few seconds but then popped right up as though nothing had happened. 

With Evan Neal sidelined, Jake Kubas got some reps at right guard, rotating with Greg Van Roten. Meanwhile, Andrew Thomas (foot) remains on PUP, with Daboll not offering any hint as to when the left tackle might be ready. 

The Giants, remember, have a quick turnaround between their preseason game vs. the Jets this weekend and the preseason finale against the Patriots. Thomas wasn’t expected to play at all, even if he came off PUP, but certainly the longer this drags on, the more concerning it becomes in terms of his being able to get into football shape.

Offensive Performance 

The Giants' offensive line did a nice job against the Jets’ defensive line, with the Giants winning most of those reps. Among the standouts, I had included Jon Runyan beating Derek Nnandi, James Hudson rebounding after losing his reps against Michael Clemons, topping Phiarian Mathis, and Marcus Mbow winning his rep against Alijah Vera-Tucker. Otherwise, I thought the Jets won that sequence.  

Offensively speaking, the Giants were functioning well during 7-on-7s, but not so much so during team drills. Early on, the Jets' defense was smothering the mid to deep range passes. It got to the point where, after enough failed plays, quarterback Jameis Winston gathered everyone into a huddle to give some words of encouragement and to give his teammates a chance to catch their collective breath.

“That’s ball,”  Giants quarterback Russell Wilson said of the offense’s early struggles. “Sometimes not everything goes our way right away, but I think how we responded was great. 

“I think our resiliency throughout practice, as we talked about, the execution at the end there, and just making big-time touchdowns and big plays. I loved seeing Theo get in the end zone, Slay, I think (running back Devin Singletary) Motor scored too, on that one. I thought there were a lot of good things throughout practice.

The Giants did have some success on shorter passes to the flat, and the running game between the tackles seemed to bear some fruit. But it wasn’t until the end of the practice, when the two teams did red zone drills, that the Giants offense looked a lot better, recording three straight touchdowns in the red zone (Theo Johnson in traffic, Devin Singletary on a rush between the tackles, and Darius Slayton). 

Wilson agreed and seemed pleased with how the offense responded.

“I thought we really answered at the end. I think we had three touchdowns down there at the end and just made some big plays. I thought (wide receiver Darius Slayton), Slay had that touchdown catch, that was a big play. (Tight end) Theo (Johnson) having that touchdown catch as well, really good play by him, so there was a lot of really good juice at the end.” 

Tempers Flare 

The Giants have done a good job of refraining from fisticuffs this summer, but there were a couple of close calls in this practice. Rookie offensive lineman Marcus Mbow took exception to a Jets defender grabbing and holding onto his face mask a little too long past the whistle. 

The situation escalated quickly when guard Aaron Stinnie and Jets defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis exchanged punches for a few seconds before being broken up.

Giants Defense

Disclaimer: I wasn’t watching the Giants defense against the Jets offense at the start of practice–Brandon Olsen will have his takes from that coming up. But I did hear several cheers from the Jets crowd, which would suggest some plays were being made against the Giants, and one of the Jets writers who was watching that side of the ball happened to mention to me that Justin Field started 5-of-5, which could explain the cheers coming from that side of the field.

Later in the practice, when the teams merged onto one field, I thought it interesting that Art Green and O’Donnell Fortune received some first-team reps. I’m not sure if that necessarily had anything to do with Deonte Banks’s performance, but to be fair, the Giants’ depth at cornerback is a bit thin given the injuries, as previously noted in this report. 

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.

More from New York Giants On SI