An approaching thunderstorm cut the Giants’ outdoor practice short on Wednesday, so the team moved inside to SUNY Albany's basketball court to finish practice without pads and at a much slower pace.
Those who know just how much coach Tom Coughlin distains the new rules limiting training camp practices have an idea of how the two-time Super Bowl champion responded.
“Can we pick up an extra day now that we’ve had our day off,” Coughlin asked, knowing full well that any effort to add more practice time would be fruitless. “From what I understand, the clock is even running on you when you have something like this happen."
Bennett makes news for his play: Tight end Martellus Bennett has been a popular quote at training camp, but on Wednesday it was Coughlin praising Bennett rather than Bennett discussing TV shows or black unicorns.
“I’ve seen a guy that had some issues in the spring with the hamstring and really couldn’t go,” Coughlin said. “Now he’s in here and he’s healthy. He’s done a nice job blocking, and he’s made some very fine catches. He’s picked things up along the way, so I like the progress he’s making.”
Bennett’s presence is important after the loss of both Jake Ballard -- he's now with the Patriots -- and Travis Beckum, who is beginning the year on PUP.
Injury still an issue for Boley: Weakside linebacker Michael Boley continues to have issues with his hamstring, although an MRI didn’t reveal anything that needed to be corrected surgically.
“Ware going to have to get him right,” Coughlin said. “He is still sore and doesn’t feel like he can really explode."
Boley and fellow weakside linebacker Keith Rivers have each had hamstring issues, so second-year linebackers Jacquian Williams and Spencer Paysinger have gotten more time at the position.
Hosley is back: Cornerback Jayron Hosley returned to practice after leaving Monday’s session with a laceration on his leg that required stitches. Cornerbacks coach Peter Giunta mentioned Hosley as one of the players that could end up at nickelback if Terrell Thomas’ knee injury ends up keeping him out for a long time.
News better for Hixon than Thomas: WR Domenik Hixon was the player that Thomas collided with during Sunday’s practice, which is where Thomas' knee injury might have occurred. Like Thomas, Hixon is also coming off his second torn ACL, but he's OK.
Hixon has looked sharp early, and since he can play any of the team’s three wide receiver positions, he can contribute to the offense in any number of ways.
“To me it looks like he hasn’t missed a beat,” Giants receivers coach Kevin M. Gilbride said. “So he’s doing a great job.”
But does he need to dial it down in practice to avoid another ACL tear?
“The great thing about Domenik is that he’s so competitive that he doesn’t want to dial it back at all,” Gilbride said. “It’s up to us as coaches to dial him back and restrict his repetitions during practice, so we make sure he doesn’t injure his knee or get overly fatigued in that area. They say he worked his butt off in rehab and that he’s ready to go and that’s what I’ve seen.”
Not quite ready for prime time: Gilbride said rookie second-round pick Rueben Randle still needs time to develop into an “NFL-ready” receiver. Before the season, there was a lot of buzz that Randle, an LSU product, was ready to contribute right away.
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