T-Rock's Take on the Giants

Camp is progressing. This morning's practice was exactly one minute longer than yesterday's. Things are clearly getting more serious around here.

Sorry for the delay. I started this post earlier and then got sidetracked by player interviews and things. That's why the post time probably says something around 11 a.m. and it wasn't up until closer to 1:30.

Plaxico did not practice. He started out doing his Jugs drills and then went into full non-practice mode with the exercise bike and taking a knee at various points around the field. Rookie Nate Robinson did not practice either after injuring his hamstring on Friday afternoon. Seemed like he was walking with a pretty pronounced limp, too. Sam Madison didn;t practice either and will probably go this afternoon.

Click below for the 11-on-11s. At the behest of Glauber, I've begun including some detail on the runs and some defensive notes even though they're not in full pads and saying something is for a big gain or a loss is a judgement call. Full pads when they get back on the field Monday, I've been told. Also, it sounds like this afternoon they'll leave the confines of the main stadium and head for the designated practice fields. Plenty of room to stretch out over there.

Some notes:

Manning hit Toomer for a big gain again, only this time it wouldn't have counted in a normal game. That's because Osi Umenyiora would have either splattered Manning on the turf for a sack or TE Michael Matthews would have been called for holding against Osi. That play is designated below with a *.

Domenik Hixon, who is filling in for Plaxico with the starting unit, had a rough start to practice. He didn't get a hot read and ran a longer route than expected and Manning threw behind him. Later, though, he made a nice catch on a ball, coming back to make a sliding grab. Coughlin had good things to say about Hixon, noting that he had a very impressive spring.

Most of the good action today was in 7-on-7 drills. That's when Manning hit Toomer deep down the sideline for the second straight day (only this time it was to the left). Webster was the corner over there but was tripped up as the ball arrived. Or maybe he fell on his own. It was hard to see from where I was standing

Moss had a deep pump-and-go pass from Wright go off his fingertips after beating Aaron Ross down the right sideline. Someone from the stands yelled out "Turn in your playbook, Sinorice!" D.J. Hall, the star of rookie camp, made a nice catch on a high pass from Woodson on a 12-yard out, getting both feet down with his back to the sideline and his momentum carrying him away from the field. Not an easy thing to do. And Kenny Phillips almost had his first interception of the camp when Woodson's pass over the middle was popped off by Brandon London and Phillips, coming in for the "hit," had a chance to get his hands on the ball. Already Phillips' career is on the downslope. If this were minicamp he would have made that play. (I'm kidding, of course!)

Best throw of the day so far was from Woodson. D.J. Hall was across the courtyard outside the cafeteria and wanted the keys to the car so he could get in while Woodson took care of some business. Woodson chucked them and hit Hall in stride while he was already going up the stairs.

Seemed like the defense is starting to turn up the heat on the offense. Two passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage in 11-on-11s and Chase Blackburn was all over the place on blitzes, pass coverage and run-stopping. Of course, that was with the second unit.

Shane Olivea was playing RT with the third unit.