00:04All right, lots of breakdown from today, Tuesday's practice.
00:08Wide receiver Calvin Austin III goes down with a potentially serious knee injury.
00:14We'll wait to hear from John Harbaugh and the team on an official statement.
00:18Brandon London, Ryan Dunleavy, this is your New York Post post-practice report.
00:22It's a Blue Rush episode.
00:24Well, let's start with that because, I mean, for the Giants to have such a Harbaugh-esque type training camp,
00:3313 practices in 16 days, I believe.
00:36You're down in White Sofa Springs.
00:38They got out relatively scotch-free when it came to the injuries.
00:42Fast forward to today, first rep of one-on-ones.
00:45Calvin Austin's running an out route.
00:48Teddy Banks is on him at the top of the route.
00:50Puts his right knee into the ground.
00:52He drops, he goes down, he grabs it.
00:55You can hear him kind of yelling in pain.
00:58They kind of pause practice for a moment.
01:00Offensive line, defensive line comes and walks over.
01:03Everybody, his teammates, dap him up.
01:04The cards come out.
01:05He leaves.
01:07First and foremost, Ryan Dunleavy, just in case I didn't see something you saw,
01:11what did you see on the actual play, and how much does this hurt this Giants offense going forward?
01:15It was one-on-one, and Tay was, you know, touching him, like, you know, just getting a feel for
01:20him.
01:20And it seemed like Austin put his foot in.
01:22He was going to make a cut in, and he just went down.
01:25He screamed in pain.
01:27I saw John Mara.
01:28He got on the cart.
01:29Practice came to a standstill.
01:32John Mara actually came over and consoled him as well as all his teammates.
01:37Just a heartbreaking moment.
01:39Everybody knows what a torn ACL looks like.
01:41We don't know that's what that is, but that's sure what it looked like, which would be a season-ending
01:46injury.
01:48So just terrible for Austin, who was having a really nice summer as a dependable guy on the inside, on
01:54the outside.
01:54He's on a one-year contract, and you start thinking about what that means.
01:58It's just terrible business of football, obviously, Brandon, as you know.
02:03It goes right on.
02:04Like, you know, practice resumed, and now you start thinking, okay, what does the wide receiver depth chart look like?
02:11And so no one wants to win a job because a teammate got hurt.
02:15That's the worst way to do it.
02:17But then Braxton Berrios took over the slot reps.
02:20Yes, he did.
02:21He was already the number one kick returner and punt returner, so I would take him off the bubble now,
02:25and I would say he's probably on the Giants.
02:28Odell Beckham was very involved in this practice today, including a sick one-handed catch that you have a video
02:34of on Instagram.
02:38And Mooney had a terrific practice, including a touchdown down the seam.
02:42So the rest of the receivers stepped up.
02:44Mooney was already on this team.
02:46Odell was the one you were like, is he wide receiver six?
02:49Is he wide receiver seven?
02:50If Calvin Austin's not here, we don't know that, but it sure looked like that.
02:54I would say Odell Beckham is on the Giants.
02:56Yeah, and I would say, like, if Odell came down with that catch in Miami, that I was going to
03:00put him as a for-sure guy on the Giants.
03:03So just an NFL depth chart, NFL roster, you know, throughout the course of the league because of what he's
03:09been able to show.
03:10On a catch he had today on a dig route, on a six route, catches it in double coverage almost,
03:15puts his foot into the ground and shows some of that burst, some of that elusiveness.
03:19So, again, as a bubble guy, Ryan, who spent his time on the – you could call me Mr. Bubbles
03:26from my time in the NFL.
03:28You never want to see a guy get hurt, but you've gotten yourself ready for moments like this.
03:34It's always next man up in football.
03:37But when we talk about – because people are going to be like, well, who is this Calvin Austin, the
03:41third guy?
03:41Like, he doesn't jump.
03:42I wasn't going to draft him in fantasy.
03:44If you've been paying attention to the reports and you've been watching practices,
03:48you know that this is probably the most reliable wide receiver Jackson Dart has been going to.
03:54I say receiver because Isaiah Likely is a tight end.
03:58I thought that they got Wondell's replacement at the fraction of the cost.
04:05I'm talking Walmart prices, baby.
04:07They rolled back – you know how the smile used to go through and slashing all the prices, you know.
04:11I thought they got his replacement at the fraction of a cost.
04:15So, for him to go down, that's – it's highly unfortunate.
04:18You know, highly unfortunate.
04:19But, again, next man up.
04:21Now I want to see what they do with Mooney, Slayton, OBJ in terms of –
04:29Who goes into that slot.
04:29Who goes into that slot.
04:31Braxton Berrios has had success within the NFL.
04:35But I haven't looked at him as, okay, he's a guy or he could be a game-breaker in the
04:42slot.
04:42Likely is going to be in the slot, too.
04:44A lot like Theo Johnson didn't practice today.
04:46But there's going to be a lot of times where either Theo Johnson or Manhurts is the in-line tight
04:51end
04:51and Likely is a slot receiver, too.
04:53Yeah, without a doubt.
04:54Without a doubt.
04:54All right.
04:55But, yeah, it was just unfortunate to see Calvin Austin III go down.
04:59But, again, next man up.
05:01We'll wait.
05:01Make sure you guys watch the reports from the New York Post as we wait for an official statement from
05:08the New York Giants.
05:09What are we writing about that you want to share with the people, Ryan?
05:14Tyrone Tracy, right?
05:15I mean, he's one of the biggest stories around the Giants right now.
05:17A guy who's had back-to-back 1,000 yards from scrimmage seasons.
05:22Has been pretty much the starter.
05:25Was already getting, you know, time-shared with Cam Scadaboo.
05:30Then Najee Harris comes in.
05:32Now he's made, you know, probably the two biggest mistakes in the two preseason games.
05:36I just wanted to check in on him and see, like, what's his mindset like?
05:40You know, how's he handling it?
05:42Upbeat as always.
05:44Not naive.
05:45He knows he's, you know, knows he's a little bit in the doghouse.
05:48Absolutely.
05:50But confident that he'll, you know, when the opportunity comes, he'll deliver.
05:53You know, said all the things about, you know, those are just one plays.
05:57You've got to look at the whole film.
05:58I fall back on my resume.
06:00I know I can pass block.
06:02I know I don't fumble.
06:03I think he had five, I think, as a rookie.
06:06Then he didn't have one all last year until the last game of the season.
06:09So he knows how to address a weakness.
06:11That's what he's got to do.
06:12He's got to go back and attack it and win some snaps back.
06:15And sometimes that's a lot harder than said.
06:18You know, you look at when the player goes through adversity in the NFL,
06:21a lot of the players, they rely on their faith.
06:23You talk about, you know, God.
06:24And God wants me.
06:25And I understand that I'm going through a battle.
06:28Sometimes it's just like I need to go out there and make a play.
06:31It's that easy.
06:32You don't even need to pray for that.
06:34Just, you know, God gave you this ability to have back-to-back seasons
06:38of 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
06:40You're just going through a little hiccup.
06:42Now it's just all about going out there Friday against the Jets
06:47and putting some plays on tape.
06:49You need to stuff somebody in the pass-blocking game,
06:53put somebody on their ass, and then you need to break a run or two,
06:56take a hit or two, and make sure you got that thing high and tight
06:59like Tiki Barber.
07:00Like that's really what it comes down to because when they go out
07:04and they get a Najee Harris, it wasn't about just kicking the tires
07:09to see if he was going to be okay returning from the Achilles injuries.
07:13This man, his resume trumps all of their resumes in the running back room.
07:19You see the goal line run today where they gave the ball to Najee
07:22on like the two-yard line, and he just ran over some second-team linebacker.
07:27He's going to play.
07:28He was a guy that's going to play.
07:30If you talk fantasy, he might steal some touchdowns.
07:32Absolutely.
07:32So when you talk about, you can't let that get into your head.
07:37And, you know, the block, the missed block happened before he got there.
07:41Then Najee Harris gets there, and that fumble was just weird.
07:44No one touched him.
07:45So now this is just one of those things I feel like Tyrone Tracy Jr.
07:48just needs to get out of his head and get out there on the field
07:51and make some plays.
07:53We briefly talked about the offensive line today.
07:56We haven't spoke much about the offensive line here on Blue Rush.
08:00Please, all the big people out there, all the big hog mollies, we love you,
08:03but it's hard to watch one-on-ones and seven-on-sevens
08:06and then look down the field and watch team run.
08:09How is this Giants offensive line shaping out as we are, what, 19 days away
08:16going up against a Cowboys front seven?
08:19That got better.
08:20I don't like watching the offensive line in practice on run plays
08:24because I can never tell you.
08:26You're not tackled, so I can never tell when the play is going to end,
08:29how big the hole is going to be.
08:31So, like, to me, I evaluate them off preseason games,
08:34and I evaluate their pass blocking in practice because you get a good feel for it.
08:38For the most part, I think it should be a good offensive line.
08:42I've talked to people around the NFL who say for the first time in umpteen years,
08:46the Giants offensive line should be a strength of this team.
08:49They have, what do you want?
08:50You want talent?
08:51Well, they've invested in free agents and high draft picks.
08:55Yep.
08:55You want chemistry?
08:57Well, four of the guys have played together for two years, right?
09:00Like, this is year three together for Illuminor, Thomas, Runyon, and Schmitz, right?
09:05So, and then you want youth.
09:10Yeah, youth.
09:11They have that.
09:12So, right?
09:12And depth.
09:13And they have that with J.C. Davis and Marcus Bowe.
09:16They have that.
09:17So, they have the makings of a good offensive line.
09:20Today, Illuminor didn't do team drills,
09:22and CeCe hasn't done team drills since he got the stinger in Miami.
09:26So, it wasn't a great day to evaluate them, but I think they have depth.
09:30You saw Bowe and Stinney step in.
09:34So, and then the one play that stuck out to me today was Abdul Carter bull rushing John Michael Schmitz
09:39and putting him on his butt.
09:40That can't happen.
09:42That's got to stop happening.
09:43That's happened too much to John Michael Schmitz.
09:44And I think that's the question mark within the offensive line.
09:49Now, if John Michael Schmitz, how he's going to hold up,
09:51especially when you've got Quinnen Williams and a potential Aaron Donald back-to-back week,
09:56how he's going to handle the big, bulkier guys within the NFC East,
10:00and just the NFC as a whole.
10:03So, waiting to see how he kind of, what type of season he starts out with.
10:08And do you think there's any way the Giants could potentially make a play
10:14or look at the waiver wire for a center?
10:17Do you see?
10:18I think they have good offensive line depth.
10:21Center is the one spot where you're like, you know, like if Lucas Patrick makes the team,
10:26he's done it for a while.
10:28He was signed to be the backup center.
10:30He's got a balky knee, has missed some time during training camp.
10:33Brian Hudson is a guy who's taken some first-team snaps here when Patrick and Schmitz were banged up.
10:40I think he could be on the 53.
10:42I don't think they'd be ready to be handing him a job if Schmitz was ready.
10:45They have a lot invested in Schmitz.
10:47He's probably, he's not one of the best players on the team,
10:49but he might be one of the most irreplaceable on the team because of what they have behind him.
10:53So, could that be a place they go?
10:55Yes, but I think overall they're pretty happy with their offensive line depth.
10:58And if you steal a waiver claim center, then what?
11:01You're going to lose a, then your Josh Izudu's not going to be on the team as a guard,
11:05and he's actually had a pretty good camp.
11:07Just to go throwback Tuesday, they've addressed the offensive line once and for all?
11:12No, no, no, no, no, no.
11:13No, yeah.
11:14You can see what I'm going there.
11:16Once and for all, and we're a lot more confident in the offensive line than you are.
11:21And then like three weeks later, they made like four moves.
11:23Yeah.
11:24The Giants offensive line has been a disaster for as long as I've been covering the team for,
11:28since you've been playing, basically.
11:30And since the great offensive lineman basically retired after that Super Bowl,
11:35I think, clip this, come back and haunt me,
11:39I think this should be the best offensive line they've had since their last Super Bowl.
11:43All right.
11:43And the fact that we're not talking about the offensive line as much throughout the course of training camp,
11:49that is a good thing.
11:51All right.
11:51That's going to wrap up this edition of Blue Rush,
11:53your New York Post Sports Post Practice Report.
11:56For Ryan Dunleavy, I'm Brandon London.
11:58See you guys.
11:59Mr. Bubbles.
11:59On Wednesday, Mr. Bubbles.
Comments