Shurmur & Co. set to start planning for Jags

There are always a series of firsts when a new head coach puts in his system. The Giants, over the past few months, were given a small bite as to how coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Mike Shula prepare for a game and an opponent. The preseason, though, is barely a mouth-sized appetizer. The full meal starts now, with the Giants finally on the clock for their regular-season opener Sept. 9 against the Jaguars. “Yeah, definitely, you get a taste of it in preseason, but obviously you don’t do a ton of game planning,’’ Eli Manning said Friday. “Excited about the process this coming week and I look forward to talking with them, getting on the same page and seeing what their ideas are and what schemes we want to run against Jacksonville.’’

Manning admitted he has been looking at the Jacksonville defense “the last couple of days,’’ watching film of the Jaguars from this summer and last season. This is not a familiar foe for Manning or the Giants.

“They are talented,’’ he said. “Their front seven is talented, their back four is talented. They have a good scheme and they do it very well. They play fast and are in the right spots. It will be fun to pick coach Shurmur’s brain and see what plays we will have installed and what’s the best way to attack them. We’ll have opportunities to make plays and we have to make them.’’

Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree said he has done “a little bit’’ of work on the Jaguars, who are one of the NFL’s most run-heavy teams, preferring to pound away with Leonard Fournette.

“They’re definitely a team that likes to run the ball,’’ Ogletree said. “We’re going to pride ourselves on stopping the run each and every week. What better to start than with them?’’

Shurmur gave the players off this weekend, reminding them to get their rest and eat healthy. They have plenty of information on Jacksonville only a click away on their iPads. During recent practices, the drills Shurmur put his team through emphasized elements of the Jaguars, even if the players did not notice.

“Even though we didn’t say, ‘Hey, this is a Jacksonville play,’ or ‘this is Jacksonville’s defense,’ ’’ Shurmur said. “It’s out there, and I’m sure some of them will look at it, but we’ll get them re-centered on Monday.’’