Giants Rookie Mini Camp Thoughts
The Giants rookies recently got their first practices under their belts as members on the Big Blue Wrecking Crew at their rookie mini camp. I have also included a few other Giants notes from the past few days. Here are some of the highlights:
- DJ Hall, the undrafted rookie free agent receiver from Alabama, was the most impressive offensive player in camp. A talented playmaker at Alabama who had some character issues which caused him to fall in the draft, Hall is making the most of his opportunity with the Giants so far. The 6′2 195lb receiver made several spectacular catches, with most of his success coming against second round cornerback Terrell Thomas. Hall thinks that if he continues to do what he is doing, he will make this team. The biggest obstacle Hall will have to cross to make this team is the overall depth we have at wide receiver. We know Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Steve Smith will be on the roster. We also have to assume that Mario Manningham and Sinorice Moss will be on the team. Dominick Hixon and David Tyree should have good shots at roster spots because of their exceptional special teams talents. Michael Jennings is also returning from an achilles injury which cost him all of last season. That makes eight wide receivers without Hall. Most teams carry six, so the talented Hall will have his work cut out for him.Â
- Quarterback Andre Woodson and Wide Receiver Mario Mannngham both left practice with minor injuries and did not return. Manningham tweaked a hip flexor and Woodson strained his quad, however neither injury is believed to be serious. A few other lesser known players were also nicked up and missed some practice time. Tom Coughlin took a dig at them later in the day, saying “The main lesson today is that you can’t miss practice and expect to make an NFL team.”Â
- The first two passes Andre Woodson threw as a Giant were intercepted by Big Blue’s rookie linebackers. Woodson was first picked off by Bryan Kehl, the Giants fourth round selection and then by Jonathan Goff the Giants fifth round pick. Goff is seeing work at inside linebacker right now, while Kehl is getting most of his reps on the weakside.    Â
- Kenny Phillips is wearing number 21, in order to honor a fellow University of Miami safety, the late Shawn Taylor. Phillips is working at both safety spots right now, and when asked how he can help on this team, the first thing he mentioned was special teams. Smart answer if you know Tom Coughlin.
- The Giants made a few roster moves yesterday, signing offensive tackle Jacob Hobbs from Albany, defensive tackles Brian Soi of Utah and Nate Robinson of Akron, defensive end Alex Morrow of USC, corner Miguel Scott of NCST, Safety Terrance Stringer of Tuskegee and long snapper Nick Leeson of Virgina Tech. To make room for these players, the GMen released linebacker Rory Johnson from Ole Miss, defensive tackle Joshua Muse of Louisiana Tech and kicker Owen Tolson from Army. These moves brought the Giants to the 80 player roster limit.    Â
- Andre Woodson thought he would be drafted in the second round, and says he does not understand why he fell all the way to round six. An unnamed league source told profootballtalk.com that he blames the media, especially ESPN’s Todd McShay. McShay had Woodson pegged as a third rounder. The source claims that McShay could not get a job as a talent scout with any NFL team, even as an intern. He says everyone in the NFL knew that Woodson would drop, because he stares down receivers and has a slow delivery with a hitch in it. He says these so called “experts” give players unrealistic hopes with their bad evaluations.
- Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride says that he expects Jeremy Shockey to be a Giant next season, although it is out of his hands. He says if Shockey is still with the team, he will be a feature player in the offense.   Â
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Kenny Phillips, Steve Smith, 2008 NFL Draft, Jonathan Goff, Bryan Kehl, David Tyree, Sinorice Moss, Tom Coughlin, Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Giants 101.
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40 Responses to “Giants Rookie Mini Camp Thoughts”
May 13th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
If Gilbride is true to his word i want to see shockey featured like he was when fassel was here, more flexed out in the slot or in motion. Lets keep the blocking duties for Michael Matthews which is a decent blocker as well.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
To add to my other comment. Shockey should be happy this happen because now his absents let other TE come in and learn how to block and now Gilbride will have more confidence in those other guys to do that job and let shockey do what he does best in terrifying the opposing LB’s and safeties
May 13th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Analyzing the Shockey situation is tuff. He has proven in the past that he is a top tier TE, at the same time, he’s had his games where he breaks off his routes and drops passes. He has developed into an extremely good run blocker, which enabled us to transition from TIVI Barber to our 3backattack last year. Again, at the same time, he has an ego, and would rather be the feature than the helper. He’s a TE, blocking is part of his job. He should continue to do it and shut his trap about not getting the ball so much. I want to see him get the ball more. . . like the Fassel years, but we dont need to be pushing the issue if we are getting the job done. I doubt he can stay healthy for an entire season, which is probally why the saints didnt make a reasonable offer. Is he going to be a cancer or a playmaker?? We’ll see, GO BLUE!
May 13th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
if this team was a PASS first offense then Shockey would be happy, because that would mean more chances for him to get the ball. however, we are a RUN first offense, which means he’s gotta block more then he’s gotta catch. i know he doesn’t like it, but the man has to get his ego in check.
Shockey is the best OVERALL TE in the game. he is the best blocking TE and he is a Top 5 catching TE.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Amen to what you said about Shockey Chris of LI.
Bottom line is he is a big threat to any team Big Blue plays and can take the focus off some of the receiving corp. On a side note, I have seen him give touchdown balls to Soldiers in the End zone and kids in the stands many times. As a Veteran and a Father I hope he stays. He is True Blue!
May 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
i am not convinced sinorice moss is guaranteed a roster spot.
also, glad someone finally called out mcshay at espn - he really is terrible.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I definitely agree on Moss, Bill B. I cannot see how he is safe to make the roster.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
DJ Hall didn’t make any plays on Terrell Thomas. He made plays on #41 & #46.
Thomas wears #30 last time i checked.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
listen…i think DJ Hall…with his size of 6-2 200 or whatever it is has much more to bring to the table than Sinorice moss or even Fan favorite michael jennings. On another note Tyree really isn’t even used as a wide receiver hes a special teams pro bowler…who made an insane catch, he really was never used in the offense prior to that which was because of the lack of anything at wide reciever. Reality has to kick in, i like hixon though as a return man but he brings nothing else to the table and Bradshaw did a great job when he returned as well so if thats the case you can cut Hixon loose too. Plax, toomer, smith, manningham and Hall your first 5 with Tyree as the 6th seems in my opinion the best depth we can have. and from what i read at different sites DJ Hall did make catches on Thomas.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
i think the Giants will have 7, not the usual 6. Plax, Toomer, Smith and Manningham are no brainers.
i think Moss gets on more year, and might get some tries as our punt returner, at least to see if we could get rid of McQuarters. Tyree is a special teams ace, and is a decent option at WR when you want to rest the others. the final and seventh spot will be between Hixon, Hall and Jennings. Hixon is great returner, Hall looks like he has good potential, and Jennings apparently showed a lot last year in preseason. so its a toss up between them to see who makes the team. unless of course Hall impresses so much he gets the nod over Moss, and its Moss who has to fight with Hixon and Jennings for a spot.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Shockey is a poison in the locker room with his “me, me, me” bull(manure). Did the SB run WITHOUT him show him anything? Apparently not. He is as dense as he is self-absorbed. He would be happy losing as long as he got his numbers. I hope they trade this Diva for a team player or two.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
The main criticism I heard of Hall is not just his character, but that he shies away from point of contact. If he’s as good as advertised, he will find a way to get a roster spot, but I think it’s wayy too early to put Hall in your top 5 on the Giants’ WR depth chart. I’ve heard nothing on him being good as a special teams contributor, and that will be a big key from Giant receivers #5+ on the depth chart.
I have a feeling this rookie class is solid, but the 2 people who are likely to play the most this year are their first two picks - Phillips at safety and Thomas as nickelback. I think the others will be brought along more slowly barring injuries.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I dont know what Coackwkr is talking about. does shockey have an ego… yes but he has every right to have one. he is by far the best overall TE in the NFL, and dont say that the Giants won the SB because he was without the team. that’s all BS. if he was playing in the SB the Giants would of doubled the Pats. score. and about the self absorbed comment he is not like that at all. he is a team player with a fierce attitude. he hypes that football team up. he is a leader on that team. you cant trade one of the best TE in the NFL especially shockey. if i had to pick the best TE’s iun the NFL it be Shockey and Witten. those two are in a whole other league of their own.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
yeah why does everyone say “we won the Super Bowl without Shockey, so obviously the team is better off without him”
we also won without Kiwanuka. should we get rid of him?
what about Ward? he was gone and we won it so why did we resign him?
May 13th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Witten(#1), Gates(#2) and Gonzalez(#3) are all better pass-catching TEs then Shockey(#4). but none of them can match him in overall effort. Shockey is THE best blocker. therefor in overall evaluation its Shockey at #1, with maybe Witten at #2. (i’m not sure on how good of a blocker he is).
some TEs are good at catching. some are good at blocking. we are lucky enough to have one that is GREAT at both and people want to trade him? i just don’t understand that.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Shockey is an OK blocker. He certainly did not do a better job than Seubert did at the weak-side TE position while blocking for Tiki in 2006.
If we don’t trade Shockey, fine. However, there is only one ball to go around and the likelihood of the Giants using four WR formations increase with the drafting of Manningham. That will probably engender a very unhappy Jeremy Shockey.
BTW, Witten, Gates, Gonzalez, Da. Clark and Winslow Jr. are all better TEs than Shockey.
However, if there are enough balls to go around, maybe Shockey improves in the pass offense given that the seam will be larger provided that the Giant WRs are better equipped to spread the field.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Hi to all,
I’m with the guys on here who think Moss doesn’t have his spot guaranteed. If DJ Hall continues to make plays, there’s no reason why they would let him go, and keep Moss, no matter if they moved up in the draft to get him. He hasn’t produced anything since coming in, and if we have talented wr’s in camp, who would make this offense even more potent…..bye bye SM.
peace.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Moss isnt going anywhere. Reese said himself that this upcoming season is going to be looked at like its his sophomore season. Im a Moss fan and even though I don’t think hes going to be nearly as good as his bro, I think that he has a good opportunity to “shock the world” this season haha.
Oh yeah and get rid of Shockey?
what a joke. whered all you haters come from.
We are loaded with wideouts this season…
1. Plax
2. Toomer
3. S. Smith
4. Manningham
5.Moss
6. DJ Hall
7. Jennings
8. B. London
the last three might not make the team but they will play somewhere this season.
and Hixon and Tyree
Here are some cuts that I think will happen before 08
Blackburn
McQuarters
Hixon
Jennings
London
Lorenzen
A Wright
Dockery
just some thoughts…
May 14th, 2008 at 5:02 am
i think that eli will have a breakout year and ol’ kenny will smash peoples faces in ! go blue
May 14th, 2008 at 5:46 am
This post looks like a copy of this webpage
http://www.nj.com/giants/
May 14th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Ed Mac -Blackburn and Dockery arent getting cut, they provide quality depth to the defense and neither is London as he is a practice squad player who the team is very high on. what would be the benefit of cutting him? Everyone else on your list however is a prime candidate for a pink slip.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Boom -ssshhh, dont give away Rich’s source (cut and paste) :)
May 14th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Listen guys.
There is not a lot of Giants news going around right now, so all of the sites are going to have a lot of the same information. I did not copy and paste anything, never have, never will. Please do not call me out on that…if you like their coverage better, go to their site. I’ll start writing about the ‘09 NFL Draft prospects if need be, which 90% of you hate. We are just trying to get you the most recent information on the Giants. Just don’t claim that I have EVER copy and pasted anything from another site unless you can back it up word for word, because it is total B.S.
Thanks,
ROC
May 14th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Im pretty surprised this site has nothing supporting the Shockey situation. Rumor has it, he’s unhappy. Thats probally a rumor coming from ESPN. I want info on what shockey is saying.
Your minicamp post is crap. I got more info from giants.com. Did you guys take a vacation??
May 14th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Lyle - I actually forgot about Winslow Jr. I’d put him in front of Shockey when it comes to catching. but Dallas Clark has PEYTON MANNING throwing to him. you might have heard of him, he is considered one of the best QBs to play the game. if Shockey had the older Manning throwing to him, he’d be throwing out eye popping numbers all season.
as for saying Shockey isn’t even that good of a blocker, well thats just wrong. of course Seubert is going to be better at it then him. Seubert is a GUARD, his job is to block big DTs trying to shot the gap or bull-rushing him. when Shock first came in, he was worse then your average TE at blocking but he has greatly improed. ask anyone, from the experts, to the scouts, to the bloggers of Giants 101 (both of them) and they will all say that as a TIGHT END Shockey is one of the best, if not the best blocker in the game right now. and while Witten, Gates, Gonzalez and Winslow are all better PASS-CATCHING TEs then him, Shockey is the best OVERALL TE because he is Top 5 talent in catching and he is the best blocker out of them all.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:30 am
i don’t know if anyone has said it yet, though they probably have, but i think Ward was only resigned to a one year deal because the Giants want to have an insurance policy for Jacobs. and i’m not just talking about injuries. Jacobs contract runs out at the end of the season. if the Giants can’t hash anything out with Jacobs because Jacobs is demanding more money then they think he is worth, and refuse to meet his demands, then they still have Ward sitting there, who they will then hope they can get a good deal done with.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
This is not Giants related -
Love him or hate him Boston Biased Bill Simmons is one of the most popular sportswriters around today. He has been missing from ESPN.com over the past few weeks, and deadspin.com did some research to find out why. Looks like he is on the outs with management. Check this out if you are interested:
http://deadspin.com/390425/sim.....e-not-kept
ROC
May 14th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
gates>>>>>>shockey overall
shockey drops way too many easy catches on 3rd downs.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Rich. I have enjoyed this webpage for years but just recently grown to dislike it. Reacting to a post by saying bs is “totally” unprofessional to place on your own website. With that comment I lost respect for you as a journalist/blogger. You should always keep your cool and respond with the facts and not anger. Also, Unless you were there don’t post news as your own. Give credit to your source where you received the information.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
It is true that most of us don’t really like to hear about the 09 draft but i think there is lots of stuff you could write about such as:
-upcoming position battles
-player who we expect to see improvement from in 08
-And my favorite a grade on every player last year and ther performance
May 14th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Seriously if you don’t like this site why act like a troll and say how bad it is, when u can just as easily stop coming here. Don’t act like little kids here were here to talk about the best team in football the NYGIANTS not bbitch about little things.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:19 am
no way blackburn is getting cut
May 15th, 2008 at 10:43 am
All these TE getting named as better than Shockey is a bit silly. Specially Dallas Clark? Are you kidding me? The only other TE that competes with Shockey across the board is Witten. Moving on, I dont think it will be a huge shock if the Giants let go of Jacobs once his contracts up. I mean lets be real 99% of bruising style backs just dont last in this league. Plus we have plenty of depth at RB. Its gonna be tough to see who gets cut, but after what JR said I dont see Moss getting cut even though at this point I think he should.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
after taking another look at the depth chart I realize that Blackburn isnt gettin cut. Even though Goff is going to take his spot as the #2 MLB I think Blackburn is way to valuable to let go because of special teams. Dockery on the other hand I do not agree with. I know he is somewhat of a vet, but I think him and Butler gave up way to many plays last year. RDubs is a better cover player than dockery.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Fun fact today i played basketball with Cory Webster in secaucus, he’s a cool guys and down to earth. thier was like 20 ppl thier and he felt like he was just one of the guys.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Chris of LI:
I didn’t say Shockey wasn’t a good blocker, I said that he was OK (not great, good).
He is not among the top five tight ends. He is certainly not the best or even close to it. And I’ll back that up with every GM in the NFL (nobody wants to give the Giants more than a 2nd round choice for him……….. and that was only one team). I’m sure that the GMs around the NFL would give 1st round choices for all of the five aforementioned TEs including Da. Clark.
By the way, another point well taken. As you pointed out: The Giants do not need a TE to block on the weak side. They can use a backup guard/tackle such as Guy Whimper to block as a TE as did Seubert in 2006. So where is Shockey’s value if his pass catching skills have indeed diminished?
BTW (again) check out how many passes Shockey has caught over 20 yards in the past couple of years; you will be quite disappointed. His receiving ability has definitely diminished and the new offensive philosophy (4 WR sets) which will be put into place this year will afford Shockey (I’m afraid to say) less opportunities.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Ed Mac -RDubs is also due to make about 3 times what Dockery is.And is what 6-7 yrs older?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
YoureRightImWrong:
You’re Wrong!
Shockey is not among the blue chip TEs anymore. And as I previously mentioned, all the GMs in the NFL would disagree with you as the Giants have not been offered anything resembling even close to a 1st round pick for him.
That basically illustrates his diminished value.
BTW: When is the last time Shockey caught a TD pass for more than 20 yards?
May 15th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Rich O’Callaghan — i was breakin balls about the cut and paste!! it was a joke hence the:) afterwards! Ive even complemented you on 2-3 of your last posts. Dont get so defensive bro.
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