It is usually commonplace for the defense to be ahead of the offense in the first week of training camp and for the action to slow down and swing further toward the defense once players are in shoulder pads.
That was the case early in Monday’s first padded practice, but the tide turned and there were encouraging signs for the offensive line.
The final period focused on the running game, with the offense charged with running out the clock — a first down wins the game.
There were strong runs by Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary and rookie Cam Skattebo as the first- and second-team offense succeeded despite the defense knowing running plays were coming.
“It was a good day for the offense,’’ right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said.
“It’s always good to finish the day like that. It’s a competitive period. Whoever wins that drill basically wins the day, and so the offense got to win today. I’m sure the defense is going to come fired up tomorrow and try to win the day, too.’’
There were no fisticuffs on Day 1 in pads. In one-on-one drills featuring the offensive and defensive lines, LT James Hudson, subbing for Andrew Thomas (still on injured reserve) tried stopping Kayvon Thibodeaux by smacking down on him with his right arm.
It took defensive line coach Andre Patterson to cool things down to prevent further escalation, as Thibodeaux was steamed.
Hudson, signed to be a backup swing tackle, has been an irritant in camp.
“Yeah, he’s an intense dude,’’ Eluemunor said. “Sometimes you got to pull him back in because he’ll just dive off the edge of the boat. You say, ‘No, don’t do that.’ ’’
OLB Brian Burns admitted “it was a bit of a shock, bit of a scare’’ when he was blindsided Friday by WR Wan’Dale Robinson as the two players collided.
“When you hit somebody that fast and you don’t see it coming, it’s like you just want to make sure everything’s working,’’ Burns said. “That’s why you lay on the ground for a minute, take a breath, try to see what’s really hurting. Other than that, once we got up and walked in, I was in a lot of pain, but after we got the scans and everything, it was all good.’’
The Giants addressed an unexpected vacancy on their special teams with the re-signing of Gunner Olszewski.
An opening was created when Bryce Ford-Wheaton went down Sunday with a season-ending ruptured Achilles.
Olszewski missed the entire 2024 season when he suffered a groin injury warming up for the opener. He had a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown for the Giants in 2023.
Coach Brian Daboll clearly felt for Ford-Wheaton.
“Man, my heart aches for that man,’’ Daboll said. “He’s done everything he could do to get back. He’s a very good special teams player for us and was having a good camp from working back from his injury. He’s just laying there on the ground and you just can’t help but. … That’s the tough part of this business — probably one of the worst is seeing these guys go down that have put so much time and effort and energy into getting back and we’ll certainly miss him.’’
