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5 Things We Learned

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5 Things We Learned: Azeez Ojulari has 'taken full advantage' of opportunity

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The Giants were back on the practice field Thursday at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center as they continue preparations for Sunday's NFC East matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Prior to practice, Giants coordinators Mike Kafka, Shane Bowen, and Michael Ghobrial met with the media for their weekly press conferences. Additionally, coach Brian Daboll briefly spoke to reporters prior to the start of practice.

Here are five things we learned Thursday.

1. Azeez has "taken full advantage" of opportunity

Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari continued his dominant stretch with two sacks of Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson on Monday. The fourth-year edge rusher now has a sack in each of the last three games, and five sacks total in that span, since Kayvon Thibodeaux was placed on injured reserve with a wrist injury. Despite playing limited snaps in the first five outings of the season, Ojulari's six sacks have him tied for 10th in the NFL. It's safe to say the 24-year-old has impressed the coaching staff with his play throughout the season.

"I've been really pleased with Azeez and what he's been able to do," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen told the media. "Again, it's a professional football league, faced adversity, brought (outside linebacker) Brian Burns in, fell into a backup rotational role, kept working, kept responding to adversity, to a challenge in front of him. And then when his opportunity presented itself, he's taken full advantage. So, really proud of him and the way he's went about his business through the offseason, through training camp, up to this point. And excited to see the production that he's having for us right now."

Speaking of Burns, he too got to Wilson for a sack on Monday night, which extended the veteran's streak of games with a sack to four. Burns has registered a total of five sacks and 11 quarterback hits in his last six games, with his sack total tying him for 14th on the NFL leaderboard. Similar to Ojulari, Bowen told the media how pleased he's been with Burns' work ethic since the day he arrived in East Rutherford.

"I would say the daily approach, the weekly approach, the mental aspect of him," Bowen said on what's impressed him about Burns. "You never really know what you're going to get from that standpoint. You guys see all the film just like we do and what he's able to do from a skill set standpoint. But the football knowledge, the football IQ, the ability to talk protections, talk how offensive linemen are playing him. All those things correlate to being able to find success on the field. Those are those little advantages that he's able to kind of create for himself because of that. So, I would say that's probably the one thing just not really surprised by, just didn't really know where that stood coming in."

View photos of the Giants on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

2. Tracy 'trending in the right direction'

One of the biggest reasons the offense was able to move the ball with some success against a tough Steelers defense on Monday was the performance of Tyrone Tracy Jr. The rookie running back enjoyed the best game of his young NFL career as he carried the ball 20 times for 145 yards, good for an average of 7.2 yards per carry, and a touchdown while adding two receptions for five yards. Tracy had four runs of 10+ yards, including his 45-yard touchdown run in which he reached a top speed of 20.60 miles per hour, the fastest speed by a Giants offensive ball carrier over the last two seasons, according to Next Gen Stats. This was also the Giants' longest offensive play of the season.

Tracy has now finished with over 100 yards from scrimmage in three of the last four games, including two outings with an average yards per carry over 7.0. The rookie back has started and led the backfield in touches in all four of those games.

"Tracy has had some really good production," assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. "I think that's kudos to, number one, the offensive line. The offensive line's done a really nice job. Carm (Carmen Bricillo) and JT (Joel Thomas) and the running back group, along with Tracy, getting the most out of it and maximizing those opportunities. I think Tracy, every day, has come to work, continuing to get better.

"Things that he sees in practice that's maybe not super clean or not perfect, they get the adjustments, they get it fixed and the next day it looks a lot better. Going through that process with a young player potentially seeing some things for the first time, which happens. But he's done a great job of seeing it and being presented with those things and keep on working on it."

Tracy Jr. was placed in the concussion protocol following Monday's game in Pittsburgh. However, coach Brian Daboll told the media Thursday that the rookie back has progressed through the protocol and was a limited participant at Thursday's practice, wearing a red, non-contact uniform.

Daboll said Tracy is "trending in the right direction" for Sunday's game against the Commanders.

3. Trying to slow down Daniels

The Giants' defense is faced with a tough challenge this weekend as they attempt to slow down one of the NFL's biggest rising stars in Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Giants were able to keep Daniels and the rest of the Commanders offense out of the end zone in the Week 2 meeting between the two teams, as Washington was forced to settle for seven field goals. Daniels finished the game with 226 passing yards and a 99.1 passer rating to go with an additional 44 yards on the ground.

The rookie quarterback has seemingly taken a big step in his development since this first matchup between the NFC East foes. Daniels has seven passing touchdowns since Week 3 along with two rushing touchdowns. Through his first eight games, the No. 2 overall pick is completing over 71 percent of his passes while averaging 217.0 passing yards per game in addition to 53.0 rushing yards per outing and 5.7 yards per attempt.

"He's having a heck of a year," Bowen told reporters Thursday. "The shots down the field, they're on target, they're catchable balls. I think the run game is always a factor, the scrambles, everything with him. I mean even with the ribs last week; I think he had eight carries for 52 or something like that. So that's always part of it, but you see the growth, especially in the passing game, you see the growth from him getting more comfortable back there. He can make every throw. He's able to make every throw going into the first game too. So, elite quarterback as a rookie who can really do a lot of things that can hurt you."

One of the biggest changes since the Week 2 matchup is the increase in usage of wide receiver Terry McLaurin. The talented wideout caught a total of eight passes for 39 yards across the first two games of the season, but has three games with over 100 receiving yards in the six weeks since. Over the last six games, McLaurin has caught 32 passes for 540 yards and four touchdowns as the veteran receiver and rookie quarterback's developing chemistry has been on full display.

"I think early on, I don't know how much 17 was utilized going into that game for us," said Bowen. "Obviously that connection has skyrocketed over the past few weeks here."

4. Smith-Marsette an 'energy giver'

Following the injury to Gunner Olszewski early in the season, the Giants went out and signed Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The veteran return specialist has brought consistent production to the return game ever since.

Smith-Marsette returned three kickoffs against the Steelers on Monday, including a 47-yard return early in the fourth quarter that set the Giants up close to midfield. This was the team's longest kickoff return of the season. The Giants would go on to score their first touchdown of the game on that drive. While this was Smith-Marsette's biggest impact play since joining the Giants, special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said the returner has brought a lot to the special teams group over the last month and a half, both on and off the field.

"He's an energy giver," Ghobrial said. "Guys really do appreciate his intent and the way he approaches the game. There's a calmness, there's a coolness to him. I think that's ultimately what you want in a returner. A guy that when he takes the field, he feels like he has the ability to score every time. He has made good decisions. He's, for the most part, taken care of the football in terms of what we're asking him to do.

"He's always learned from the situations that we're like, 'Okay, maybe this is an opportunity to take or maybe this is an opportunity where we don't necessarily take advantage of a return here, knowing this.' He tries to learn as much football as he can. He wants to understand what the blocking schemes are and where these things hit. I was happy for him when he got an explosive return on kickoff return, something we certainly wanted to improve on"

5. Injury & roster updates

Coach Brian Daboll briefly met with the media prior to the start of Thursday's practice, where he updated the status of several injured players.

Cornerback Adoree' Jackson has missed the last two games due to a neck injury. Barring any setbacks over the next few days, the veteran corner should be "good to go" for Sunday's game, according to Daboll. Jackson was officially limited on Thursday.

The Giants are getting healthier as only two players on the active roster were unable to participate in Thursday's practice in some capacity – wide receiver Bryce Ford Wheaton (Achilles) and punter Jamie Gillan (left hamstring).

Earlier this week, the Giants made a series of roster moves pertaining to the team's practice squad as they signed offensive tackles Garret Greenfield and Marcellus Johnson. In corresponding moves, safety Gervarrius Owens and fullback/tight end Jakob Johnson were released from the practice squad.

Johnson, 6-4 and 307 pounds, first joined the Giants as a rookie free agent on May 10. He played in all three preseason games before his release on Aug. 27. Johnson was signed to the practice squad the following day and was cut again on Sept. 10. A week later, Johnson joined the practice squad of the Minnesota Vikings, who released him earlier this week.

Greenfield, 6-6 and 210 pounds, joined the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie from South Dakota State on May 3. He was waived on Aug. 27, signed to Seattle's practice squad on Aug. 28, and released on Aug. 30.

View photos from the all-time series between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.

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