MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The biggest takeaway from the New York Giants’ first and only joint practice of the preseason: It was HOT.
And while I would love to complain about sweating on the sidelines through the 90-degree heat and a RealFeel temperature of over 100 degrees, I know the players had it worse. Except after Thursday’s sun-drenched practice against the Miami Dolphins, the Giants weren’t complaining.
Instead, they were crediting new coach John Harbaugh for helping them not only survive the day, but dominate it.
Giants players said they felt prepared for Thursday’s heat because of all the long, grueling practices that have come throughout camp. Harbaugh has had his team practicing in the afternoon, in the peak of the summer heat, in both West Virginia and New Jersey. It’s also worth pointing out — and my beat partner, Dan Duggan, did — that going into Thursday, the Giants had already conducted 16 training camp practices in 21 days. Last year, the Giants didn’t get to practice No. 16 until the 33rd day of camp.
“I ain’t gonna lie, if we didn’t practice as hard as we do, I don’t know if we would have made it through this heat,” Burns said Thursday. “And the level of competition that we practiced with today. But I feel like us practicing as hard as we do, definitely prepared us for all of this.”
The Giants not only looked prepared, they looked dominant. No, the Dolphins aren’t projected to be one of the league’s best teams, but the Giants manhandled their opponents Thursday. Perhaps most encouraging for the team and its fans: Quarterback Jaxson Dart put together one of his best days of camp.
With that, let’s get into everything that happened on a busy and sweltering day in Miami.
Attendance
Wide receivers Malik Nabers and Jalin Hyatt were the only players in attendance not in full pads. Nabers was spotted out of uniform, as he continues to work back from a torn ACL he suffered last season. Nabers took big steps in his recovery this week, returning to full-speed team drills in back-to-back practices, including one that was padded, but Thursday’s joint session was not in the plans for Nabers, as it was “not as controlled of an environment.”
Injury report
Rookie starting right guard Francis Mauigoa left midway through practice, walking off with training staff without his pads or jersey. Harbaugh said the rookie suffered a stinger but doesn’t seem too serious. Josh Ezeudu replaced Mauigoa and played the rest of the practice with the starters.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas gave fans a brief scare when he missed the end of a series and was seen seated on the ground. However, the All-Pro was just dealing with an equipment issue with his cleats, and he returned the next series. Marcus Mbow subbed in for Thomas in the interim.
Observations
Dart dialed in
Quarterback Dart delivered what may have been his strongest practice of camp, finishing 17-of-21 passing with one interception in the team sessions. His favorite target Thursday, as it has been throughout camp, was tight end Isaiah Likely. Likely finished with six receptions Thursday, including two in the offense’s final two-minute drive situation.
While the Giants settled for a field goal in that situation, Theo Johnson may have scored earlier in the series. He hauled in a pass and ran into the end zone, but because no tackling is allowed in this setting, it’s tough to know if he’d have actually scored in a game situation.
Rookie third-round receiver Malachi Fields also delivered a solid day, as he continues to put together his case for the No. 2 receiver role alongside Nabers. Fields caught a pass in that final drive and had room to run, but he went down to preserve clock time and set up the field goal. Fields also made a nice grab off a long Dart pass.
“We didn’t really run any of our play action, any of our downfield play actions against Minnesota,” Harbaugh said of the Giants’ preseason opener. “So, you saw a few more of those in practice today. … Those are the type of passes you work off the run game. Those are good chunk plays for us, and we had a number of chunk gains off play action (today), which was good to see.”
Throwing punches
Given the heat and the increased aggression that comes with a joint practice, it felt like it was only a matter of time Thursday until tensions reached a boiling point. That came a little past the midway point Thursday, when a scuffle broke out between the Giants’ defense and Dolphins offense. A play later, on the Giants’ offensive side, the tensions really escalated. Following a Calvin Austin III completion from quarterback Jameis Winston, there was a whole lot of shoving before the sidelines completely cleared. It looked like Winston took a punch as he got involved in the kerfuffle. It was the longest of the handful of dustups Thursday.
On the next series with the starters, another scuffle broke out, following a cheap shot taken on running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. A final skirmish occurred after the Giants’ made field goal that concluded practice.
Starting right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor was not on the field for that final drive due to the coaches’ approach to fights.
“Anybody that threw a punch in the scrimmages would be treated like a game,” Harbaugh said.
While Eluemunor’s punch wasn’t a hard one, it was to the face, and as Harbaugh said, “That’ll get you in the game.”
Defensive dominance
I was primarily focused on the Giants offense Thursday, so I wasn’t as dialed in on the defense, but it was clear from talking to players, coaches and other reporters that the defense had themselves a day. That stemmed from the pass rush, which Harbaugh called “ferocious.”
Outside linebacker Brian Burns estimated the team tallied more than six sacks.
“We had splashes in the beginning, but I wanted to swarm from when we first got out here, and it just took a little bit to get going,” Burns said. “But I let it be known, we don’t wait to get punched in the mouth. That didn’t happen, but we don’t wait to get punched in the mouth to fire off on somebody.”
It looked like the defense forced a three-and-out in the final two-minute drill, which featured sacks from Abdul Carter and cornerback Dru Phillips. Both starting units stayed on the field to keep the drill going, and the Dolphins ended up with a field goal. Harbaugh said Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley wanted his starters to get another shot, and the Giants pulled some of their starters, including the whole defensive line.
“The first set, obviously, I mean, I think they lost yards, didn’t they?,” Harbaugh said. “The goal there is to get the ball back. We would have had the ball back with 40-something seconds after we knocked them back. We had a chance, maybe, to go get a field goal. No timeouts, but you want to get the ball back and see if you can go get your field goal. That’s the goal.”
The two starting outside corners in this drill were Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II, who were then replaced by Paulson Adebo and Korie Black.
Kicking competition
While there were no seven-on-seven periods in Thursday’s practice, there was still time for special teams. For the Giants, one of the most intriguing areas remains at kicker. Rookie Dominic Zvada finished the 5-for-5 in the kicking period, while Ben Sauls went 3-for-5.
In the final two-minute drill, it was Zvada who attempted and made field goal from about 40 yards out.
Play of the day
Veteran running back Najee Harris signed with the Giants just two days ago after visiting Monday. He partook in Tuesday’s practice, running only individual drills as he got acclimated. But Harris was taking team reps Thursday, tallying three carries. While Harbaugh said Harris would need a few weeks to get back into football shape, the coach thought Harris “looked good” Thursday. Harris pinballed through Dolphins defenders a couple of times, showing why the Giants were interested in bringing in the big, physical back.
While it came with the second string, Harris’ standout moment of the day was a short touchdown run that elicited cheers from his teammates.
Why did the Giants sign Najee Harris?
Charlotte Carroll
Quote of the day
“I don’t think I really like it that much, but I said I was going to do it, so I’m just going to keep riding with it. I did it in college, but I didn’t do it last year, so I was like, ‘Let’s see maybe a few years after college and see if I can grow it out better because I had to dye it in college. (But) it’s not very good now, so.” — QB Jaxson Dart, on his mustache that he plans to clean up before Week 1
What do you think, Giants fans? Do you like QB Jaxson Dart’s mustache? Sam Navarro / Imagn Images
Next up
The Giants will take on the Dolphins in their second preseason game at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Miami. Harbaugh and his coaching staff have yet to determine how much, if at all, the Giants starters will play.
