1. Jones found the perfect fit with McAdoo, Giants.
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The New York Giants added another piece to their deep wide receiver corps on Friday with the signing of veteran James Jones, who has more career catches, receiving yards and touchdowns than anyone on the roster. After spending seven of his eight NFL seasons in Green Bay, Jones was reunited with former Packers assistant coach and current Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, making it a perfect fit for the offense.
"For me, it's a real comfortable offense for receivers. There really isn't a lot of thinking— it's just going out there and playing. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks, as they should, because they're making the big bucks," said Jones, who added that he had only seen Eli Manning on TV before meeting him this week. "But [McAdoo's offense] just allows you to go out there and play and not really have to think too much."
2. Washington "not worried" about receiver competition.
With the talented list of receivers, the question becomes what the pecking order will look like, but that's why there is training camp and preseason games. Corey Washington exceled in those departments last summer, making the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie out of Newberry.
"Attitude and effort, those are the only things I can control," Washington said. "I'm not worried. I'm just going to go out there and practice every day and we'll see what the Giants do when it comes to the 53-man roster."
3. Offensive line is likely to stay the same.
From the beginning of organized team activities (OTAs) to minicamp and now the first practice of training camp, the new-look offensive line has remained the same with rookie Ereck Flowers at left tackle, Justin Pugh at left guard, Weston Richburg at center, Geoff Schwartz at right guard and Marshall Newhouse at right tackle. And at this point, barring anything unforeseen, the configuration is likely to stick throughout the summer.
"I'm fairly certain our offensive line is what we're going to keep going forward unless there are injuries or something happens," Schwartz said before Saturday's practice. "I think we have kind of kept the same group all of OTAs and obviously opened camp that way. There's always room for changes, it always happens. There's always competition. I think the group we roll out now is what we've been working with. I know we're confident, at least up front, that we can get it done."
4. NFL not too fast for Collins.
Rookie Landon Collins, a unanimous All-America safety out of Alabama and the Giants' second-round pick, has been penciled in as a starter since Day 1 with the Giants. And after his first taste of a professional training camp, he's up to the task.
"No, it's not too fast for me," Collins said. "I feel like it's not too fast. I can read, I'm very keen on what's going on. I pay attention a lot and I pick up the defense very well. It gives me the chance to worry about what the offense is doing and not trying to make play calls."
5. Moore is full-go after spring bonding with Spags.
Third-year defensive end Damontre Moore, who recorded the first 5.5 sacks of his career in 2014, missed time this spring as he took classes at Texas A&M and recovered from a shoulder injury. But that didn't stop him from bonding with Steve Spagnuolo, his new defensive coordinator. Moore, now "full-go" physically, said today that the two text each other and share similar personalities.
"I like the high energy," Moore said. "It's just a switch of pace, so when the scheme part isn't going right, but you have that energy from your coach, it kind of trickles down to the players."
6. A lot more in the "tank" for the offense.
The Giants climbed into the top 10 on offense last season in Ben McAdoo's first run as offensive coordinator, and now that the players have some experience with the scheme, they can expand the playbook in Year 2.
"We will be able to show a little bit more in our playbook and add on some of the things that we did last year," running back Rashad Jennings said. "We have a lot in the tank that we didn't even get to last year, so, yeah, you'll see a lot more."
7. Prince had a bone to pick with Odell.
The return of wide receivers Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham Jr. highlighted the first practice of training camp on Friday at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. And no one got a better look at them than cornerback Prince Amukamara, who has to cover them every day in practice.
"[Cruz] looked great running routes," Amukamara said. "It really doesn't seem like he missed a step. And man, Odell looked great, too. He looks pretty fast also."
Amukamara also joked about a big play Beckham had yesterday when he zigzagged through the defense, which is not allowed to play with full contact in pracice.
"It's funny you brought that up because we've been arguing about that since this morning," Amukamara told a group of reporters. "[Beckham] keeps saying that I wasn't a factor and that he was more worried about DRC [cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie]. It was on film and I think I would have got him because he did cut back. He just said like you touched me and we're not playing two-hand touch or whatever. I told him, 'All right, next time I'm going to give it to you. Let me clarify that: I'm going to hit you.'"
Giants players meet the media before training camp.