Mac attacks after fumbles
Aticked-off Ben McAdoo made Geno Smith and Wayne Gallman run a lap around the field at Tuesday’s practice after two fumbles on two consecutive Smith snaps at quarterback.
“The ball was on the ground way too much today,” McAdoo said. “We needed an opportunity to gain our composure, so I gave a couple players an opportunity to gain their composure.”
Smith first fumbled a snap with the offense backed up against the goal line that would have led to a safety in a game. A furious McAdoo yanked Smith out of the drill and replaced him with Josh Johnson for one snap.
Smith returned the next snap but then he and the rookie running back Gallman promptly fumbled the handoff exchange, and defensive end Avery Moss recovered. McAdoo’s patience ran out.
The coach didn’t want to hear about fatigue following the team’s second straight long, grueling practice, either, after the Giants’ final official practice of camp.
“We could use that as an excuse, but we won’t,” McAdoo said. “(It was) sloppy, unfocused.
“This week’s gonna be our most challenging week,” he continued. “We’ve got three games in 11 days coming up, so we need to make sure we get the most out of this week right here, and that’s by design. We’re gonna be a little bit heavy-legged, we’re gonna be sore, but we’re gonna build calluses, and when we get our legs back, it’s gonna lead to great things for us. But we’re not gonna get em back anytime soon.”
Damon Harrison and the Giants’ players understand their coach is preparing them for their final preseason games Monday night at Cleveland, the following Saturday against the Jets (Aug. 26) and the subsequent Thursday at the New England Patriots (Aug. 31).
But even Snacks admitted after a conditioning run to close practice that days like Tuesdays are rough.
“Man, these are the tough days, these are the dog days of camp,” Harrison said. “Everybody’s dinged up, everybody’s nicked up, hurt in some way … and you’ve just got to grind through it. I tell everybody, ‘These are the days we should get paid for, not during the season. These are the tough days, man. The Sundays and Mondays are easy.”
Still, McAdoo’s restlessness is based not just on what he sees now but what he saw last year as a rookie coach. Trends that start in the preseason easily can bleed into games that count.
Last August in the Giants’ second preseason game at Buffalo and Eli Manning’s first start, the first-team offense gained only one first down in four drives. McAdoo said then that the first offense “wasn’t very good, to put it politely.”
Manning went 4-for-9 for 44 yards, the run game averaged 2.1 yards per carry, and the offensive line had one penalty on each of the first three drives (John Jerry, Ereck Flowers and Weston Richburg). Then when Manning came out of the game, an Andre Williams fumble on first down gave the ball right back to Buffalo.
McAdoo responded by leaving most of the line on the field for the whole first half and explained: “They played longer into the game because they didn’t move the ball.”
It may seem early, but that offense in McAdoo’s rookie year as head coach finished 26th in scoring for 2016. Whether he’s coaching starters or backups, he can’t stand for the same costly mistakes.
COLLINS SITS
Safety Landon Collins missed the final day of training camp due to an illness, the team said. He is expected to return when the Giants resume practice on Thursday… LB B.J. Goodson was unable to finish practice due to a sore back. Undrafted rookie Calvin Munson took some reps at middle linebacker in Goodson’s place. … Running back Shaun Draughn and linebacker J.T. Thomas were activated from the PUP list and the team signed linebacker Steven Daniels. … DT Corbin Bryant missed practice due to an elbow injury he sustained in Monday’s camp. McAdoo said the team is exploring other options, which included a tryout for two defensive tackles on Tuesday. … LB Mark Herzlich (stinger) sat for the second straight day. … WR Kevin Snead, S Ryan Murphy and S Duke Ihenaco also worked out on the side . ... The Giants placed Corbin Bryant on the injured reserve with an elbow injury. They signed Bobby Richardson, who played 15 games with the Saints in 2015 as a rookie and spent last season on the practice squads of the Saints, Washington and Chiefs.