After physicals and check-in rounded out Day 1, the New York Giants took the field at the Timex Performance Center on Saturday, practicing for the first time of the 2011 training camp.
The Giants went with helmets, shoulder pads and shorts on a mostly clear 85-degree night for two hours from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by a press conference from head coach Tom Coughlin.
Saturday's practiced opened up with the usual special teams jog-through and center-quarterback exchange drills. During the special teams period, Domenik Hixon, rookie Jerrel Jernigan, Darius Reynaud and Aaron Ross returned punts in that order.
Awaiting the arrival of offensive lineman David Baas, who signed with the Giants after playing both guard and center for the San Francisco 49ers, Eli Manning took the majority of snaps from Chris Snee, a three-time Pro Bowl selection at guard.
"He can snap the ball," Coughlin said. "He did it mostly tonight, the whole the time with the ones. We rotate them around. They all snap. I was very pleased the way he jumped in there. He jumped in there and assignment wise, he was making the calls and all of that stuff. It's a plus. You need all of those guys to do that inside."
Big Blue then ran through some individual drills broken down by position before it was time for full 11-on-11. The first play was a handoff to fifth-year running back D.J. Ware, who was practicing with the first team as he did earlier in the day during morning walk-through.
Aside from Manning, Sage Rosenfels and Ryan Perrilloux took plays under center while their wide receivers didn't leave many balls on the ground.
Hakeem Nicks and Domenik Hixon saw action, and Devin Thomas helped his case, making a handful of highlight-worthy grabs. One in particular was a sliding catch thrown by Rosenfels down the right sideline during 7-on-7's.
However, on the play before, Ross jumped a route intended for Jernigan, intercepting Rosenfels' pass and taking it to the end zone.
NEW YORK GIANTS DURING PRACTICE TWEETS(Follow New York Giants @Giants)
#giants QB Eli manning working under center - **VIEW PHOTO**
#giants wr hakeem nicks and #nyg coach kevin gilbride - **VIEW PHOTO**
#giants wr hakeem nicks and #nyg wr mario manningham playing catch before practice - **VIEW PHOTO **
#nyg oline working on some drills #giants - **VIDEO PHOTO **
#nyg dline work on their hand drills #Giants - **VIDEO PHOTO **#giants always stretch before real drills begin #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO**
Without the #nyg video staff players would b without film to watch so they can get better #giants - **VIEW PHOTO **
@markherzlich first offficial #giants training camp practice - **VIEW PHOTO**
#giants kr/pr awaits punt return! #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO**
#nyg dt Marvin austins hair covers his name on his Jersey #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO **
Former #giants lb carl banks is in attendence - **VIEW PHOTO **
#giants dline coach robert Nunn working with jtuck and jpp! - **VIEW PHOTO **
Say hello to the #nyg linebackers! #giants - **VIEW PHOTO**
#giants draft pick Tyler sash in his #nyg gear! - **VIEW PHOTO**
#nyg db terrell thomas goes for the loose ball! #giants - **VIEW PHOTO**
#giants coaches place emphasis on getting to the qb! #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO**
#giants QB sage rosenefls looks for the deep bomb! #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO **
#giants we Domenik Hixon comes down with the catch #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO**
#nyg #giants cb corey webster works in coverage - **VIEW PHOTO**
#nyg field. A #giants panoramic view! - **VIEW PHOTO**
1 2 3 the #giants defense said before breaking the huddle - **VIEW PHOTO**
Football is back! First time #giants offense goes against the #nygdefense - **VIEW PHOTO **
#giants qb sage Rosenfels leads the second unit #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO**
Jernigan returns a punt #nyg #giants - **VIEW PHOTO **
nyg 7 on 7 is the best thing to watch at #giants camp - **VIEW PHOTO **
giants practice has ended! #nyg - **VIEW PHOTO **
NYG DE JPP and DT Canty sign autographs for #Giants fans! - **VIEW PHOTO**
Rookie DT M. Austin getting to know the #Giants fans! Follow him @anchormanaustin - **VIEW PHOTO**
An hour later! @JustinTuckNYG91 meant it when he said he will sign until he can't see anymore! #NYG View Photo - **VIEW PHOTO **NEW YORK GIANTS PLAYER POST PRACTICE TWEETS@TerrellThomas24: 1st practice was good, team looked good, real basic and lots of fundamentals- gotta catch the rooks up #NYG
@TeamVic: Thanks guys!! Gmen fans are the best! RT @MartinDLarsen: @TeamVic you have a huge fan base here today!!!! CRUZ!!!
@PhilDillard: Good day of practice nice being out there running around with my teammates again #NYGiants #NYG #gobigblue
@DatBoyJPP: First practice went well today got at lot of work to put in but we will get there. Hard work pays off big time.
@JustinTuckNYG91: I'm a man of my word. Thx for coming out tonight
@anchormanaustin: Just had a great day a practice #I <3 this game
