Only two OTAs left after number eight today. It was a beautiful, sunny day with the defense getting their hands on the ball a lot in the secondary.

•  Nice read by Dalvin Tomlinson on a screen pass from Eli Manning to Saquon Barkley on the first play of practice. The second-year defensive lineman from Alabama went up-field but quickly read the screen and got his hand on Manning's pass.

• I'm not sure why the third play of practice stuck out to me, but it did. Manning had plenty of time to throw in the pocket, went through a couple reads, and fit an on-target pass into a small window to wide receiver Hunter Sharp in front of cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Good execution all-around by the offense on a play that just looked in rhythm and precise.

• Excellent coverage during team drills. Manning went back to throw and looked at about three different receivers before rolling out and throwing the ball away. He had a lot of time to throw but couldn't find anyone.

• It was an up and down day for tight end Jerell Adams, who did a good job getting separation couple of times but dropped two on-target passes from Davis Webb. He did catch a bullet from Webb while being covered by Michael Thomas.

• Good awareness by defensive tackl A.J. Francis, who quickly scooped up a fumbled snap by quarterback Kyle Lauletta and took it the other way for what would have been a touchdown.

• Marshall Koehn was 6 of 8 on field goals, including a make from 56 yards, but he missed his first kick from inside 40 yards.

• During the punt return period, Hunter Sharp, Sterling Shepard, Travis Rudolph and Kalif Raymond worked as returners.

• One way I am seeing Saquon Barkley being used is on circle routes over the middle. It's nearly impossible for linebackers to stay with him. On one red zone play, he blew right by Olivier Vernon for a catch. He found himself wide open on another, but the ball hit off his hands right to safety Michael Thomas for an interception.

• The Giants offense ran six plays inside the five-yard line, and from my point of view, it only looked like one play, a pass from Lauletta, would have went for a touchdown.

• We are seeing constant rotation at the safety position, with Michael Thomas getting some looks with the first team at practice today. I am curious to see if there is a more permanent fixture there next to Landon Collins when he is fully returned from his arm injury.

• In an excellent play by the defense in red zone drills, Manning tried to get the ball over the middle to Rhett Ellison, but William Gay got his hands on it and knocked it up in the air. Vernon plucked the ball out of the air and took it the other way. Excellent hustle by Cody Latimer tracking down Vernon.

• Nice catch by wide receiver Roger Lewis on the sideline. He was covered tightly by Teddy Williams but stayed with the ball after juggling Webb's pass and gaining control before going out of bounds.

• A couple of nice pre-snap reads by the offense and defense. On one play, Webb recognized the defense didn't have any player more than 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and tried to go deep but couldn't connect with Marquis Bundy. A few plays later, the offense emptied the backfield, and linebacker Calvin Munson directed traffic to make sure everyone had his man in coverage.

• Even though Alec Ogletree is clearly the MIKE linebacker on defense, I like the way coordinator James Bettcher and linebackers coach Bill McGovern are making sure to get B.J. Goodson some reps as the guy who receives the play and communicates as the MIKE. It is very important for his development.

• A fun situation drill to close practice today. The offense had it second and 14 and had two plays to make a first down. The defense won against the offense all three times.