LET'S GET PHYSICAL
It’s a bit more than summer shovin’ as brawl breaks out at Giants camp
The Giants are no longer punchless.
A brawl broke out Monday at practice that included punches exchanged by center Jon Feliciano and linebacker Cam Brown, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson shoving Brown in a rare break from protocol and both sidelines emptying.
Tempers flared for four straight plays, beginning when Saquon Barkley lowered his shoulder and knocked cornerback Aaron Robinson off his feet during a “thud” tempo period when tackling is prohibited. Barkley was replaced by running back Antonio Williams, who was on the receiving end of Robinson’s hard swipe at the ball on the next play and linebacker Tae Crowder tossing him to the ground on the third. “It got a little hot out there, but when you cool off in the locker room, that’s the energy you want to see from [Saquon],” safety Julian Love said. “I know we won’t be caught sleeping again when that comes.” The powder keg was lit for the next snap, when Feliciano sought out Crowder like a missile and kneed him as they tumbled to the ground. Brown dragged Feliciano out from the pile on his buttocks as he seemingly played dead with his protective Guardian cap pulled over his eyes.
Feliciano rose to his feet and threw a punch at Brown, who already was locked up with Johnson. Brown went around the corner of the scrum to retaliate at Feliciano. Both had helmets on, which is a formula for a hand injury. Johnson’s involvement struck some inside the facility as unprofessional.
Feliciano, Brown and Crowder were not made available to the media upon request, while Johnson previously was scheduled to speak Wednesday. The NFL Players Association typically does not get involved in a coach-player situation unless a player files a complaint.
“I don’t think any of us have crossed a line,” Love said. “We know Jon. He’s not crossing the line. It gets intense, things happen. We’re going to respond. [The offense] can expect that and we can expect that from them. We don’t take it personally. You defend your guys.”
Head coach Brian Daboll gathered players together for a threeminute lecture as fans in the stands started a “Let’s Go Giants!” chant. The fight couldn’t have come as a complete surprise to Daboll, who sensed his players were gassed but didn’t pull back with a preseason game looming Thursday.
“He says, ‘Losing teams do that,’ ” rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger said of Daboll’s message, “so we’ve got to come out and be physical, but we’ve got to be smart as well.”
Daboll inherited a Giants team that is an NFL-worst 22-59 over the past five seasons.
“Everything he said is correct: Losing your composure is losing football,” ninth-year pro defensive tackle Justin Ellis said. “There are going to be times where you are hot, you are tired, you don’t want to be bothered, you are losing or things might not be going your way — and you can’t lose your composure because there are people who want to talk crap and get you out of your head.”
Practice continued for another 15 minutes without incident, including another series for the first-teamers.
It was the second fight over two weeks of camp, but the tussle between offensive guard Shane Lemieux and defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams never escalated to the level of punches.
After the fight settled down, Barkley tapped Robinson as if to apologize for bringing more force than the practice rules dictate.
In general terms, “being a pro” is how running back Matt Breida described offensive players walking the fine line between displaying an ability to break tackles and understanding defensive players are handcuffed. It is a sore spot when offensive players initiate contact and then the defensive player who retaliates gets caught.
“The defense is typically the ones that get reprimanded the most, but then offensive guys do it and it’s like, ‘Cmon,’ ” linebacker Blake Martinez said. “It’s definitely tough.”
Edge rusher Jihad Ward tried to downplay the ugliness by calling it “people coming together as one” and giving “wild hugs.” Feliciano later shared The Post’s photo of his limp body being dragged by Brown with four laughing emojis.
“People outside are going to look at it like, ‘Oh! This is crazy,” Ward said, “but we’re going to laugh at it in the locker room.”
rdunleavy@nypost.com
Mike Kafka might be wise to add some whipped cream and sprinkles to the typically vanilla preseason game plan.
Like most teams, the Giants will not want to reveal too much to eagle-eyed future opponents Thursday when facing the Patriots. But Kafka, a first-time offensive coordinator, simultaneously is trying to impress head coach Brian Daboll and keep play-calling duties in his possession once the regular season begins. Therein lies a double-edged sword.
“I look at it as an opportunity,” Kafka said. “Everyone out there is working hard to make the team and show that they can build themselves a role. So, I’m looking to do my job to the best of my ability and put the guys in the best position to be successful. There’s a balance.”
The look of an offense crafted in combination by Daboll — the former Bills offensive coordinator — and Kafka — the former Chiefs quarterbacks coach — is the main point of intrigue in the preseason opener. The Bills (28.4) and Chiefs (28.2) ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, in points per game last season, while the Giants ranked No. 31 (15.2).
“Some of it is Dabes, some of it is Kafka,” said receiver Robert Foster, who played under Daboll at Alabama and with the Bills. “They’re different people, but they both come from aggressive teams, so it marinates well.”
Daniel Jones is doing a “phenomenal job” leading and pushing the tempo, Kafka said. No sooner were the words spoken then Jones misfired on 10 of 15 passes and threw two interceptions in Monday’s practice.
“As a quarterback, you’re playing the game through the eyes of a coordinator,” said Kafka, a former NFL journeyman third-stringer who moved into coaching in 2016. “You grow to understand what his intent is as a play-caller and why he’s calling a certain play. Once they get on the same page, I think that’s where you really see things that are special.”
One kink that needs to be worked out is communication. Not just between Jones and the rest of the offense, but also on the headset.
“Sometimes I get excited and amped up and might be a little too high with my volume,” Kafka said of his hurry to get the play to Jones. “I think that’s probably been the biggest thing right now. I’m probably just screaming it too fast, and then all of a sudden it kind of comes out a little too muddled.”
The Giants have spent a lot of practice time drilling red-zone, short-yardage, twominute and other situations, hoping open collaboration leads them to the same brain wavelength. Kafka should be thinking “What do I want to call?” versus second-guessing “What would Brian call?”
“This game is all about matchups,” said running back Matt Breida, who played with the Bills. “If we feel like we have a 1-on-1 matchup that’s better with our guy, we’re going to expose it all day. The best thing about this offense is it’s so explosive and you’re going to score a lot.”
➤ The Giants released their first unofficial depth chart Monday and it included four rookie starters (TE Daniel Bellinger ,WR Wan’Dale Robinson ,RT Evan Neal and OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux).
Other notable placements: TE Ricky SealsJones, who has missed eight straight practices, is a fifth-teamer; WR Darius Slayton is a second-teamer ahead of David Sills, C.J. Board and Collin Johnson, all of whom seem higher up in the practice reps rotation; CB Rodarius Williams (ACL recovery) and S Dane Belton (broken collarbone) are second-teamers and OLB Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) is a firstteamer despite not practicing.