The New York Giants and New York Jets gathered in Florham Park on Tuesday morning for the first of two joint practices ahead of their Saturday night matchup at MetLife Stadium.
The home-and-home practices will see the Jets host on Tuesday before the Giants play host on Wednesday in East Rutherford.
Both practices are scheduled to last two hours and 15 minutes, which is the longest for the Giants this summer.
Practice ends early
Practice was originally scheduled to run from 10:00 a.m. ET until 12:15 p.m. ET, but the Giants and Jets called their joint sessions just before Noon ET.
Both defenses dominated the day.
Near fight
After roughly an hour and 45 minutes of practice, things finally got a little testy on the field when a Jets defender grabbed the facemask of Giants rookie offensive lineman Marcu Mbow and held on a little too long.
One play later, Giants guard Aaron Stinnie and Jets defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis got into it, leading to a scrum.
While cooler heads prevailed, the temperature was turned up.
James Hudson banged up?
Veteran offensive lineman James Hudson appeared to get banged up during practice on Tuesday. He left the field and headed toward the locker room with a trainer.
Hudson returned to the sideline with helmet in hand, leading to a sigh of relief.
Banks picked on
After a “rusty” performance against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, cornerback Deonte Banks was the primary target of Jets quarterback Justin Fields on Tuesday.
That is not what the Giants want to see or what the fans want to hear.
Winston addresses offense
The Giants’ offense — particularly the offensive line — struggled in the first series of 11-on-11s, allowing two sacks and a batted pass. They were also penalized for holding.
Afterward, veteran quarterback Jameis Winston gathered the unit and addressed them.
2 more working on the side
In addition to the growing list of Giants not participating in practice, linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and cornerback Korie Black were working on the side Tuesday.
Black is dealing with a groin issue. It’s unclear what ailment is limiting Flannigan-Fowles.
Collins back with the 1’s
With wide receiver Malik Nabers again sitting out, undrafted rookie Beaux Collins returned to practice and was put with the first team.
No tackling
Giants head coach Brian Daboll and Jets head coach Aaron Glenn met early on Tuesday morning to finalize practice plans. There was one notable update.
“We are not tackling. That’ll be for the game,” Daboll told reporters.
Walking wounded
Giants head coach Brian Daboll has repeatedly said that players who can practice and play will practice and play.
Unfortunately for Big Blue, a number of players can’t and won’t practice on Tuesday: Wide receivers Malik Nabers, Jalin Hyatt and Da’Quan Felton, guard Evan Neal, running back Cam Skattebo, and cornerbacks Dru Phillips and Tre Hawkins.
No fighting
Whenever the Giants and Jets get together, things tend to get a bit testy. However, this time around, head coaches Brian Daboll and Aaron Glenn are hoping to avoid that.
“We’re going out there for one thing: to get better. Period,” Glenn said on Monday. “It’s the only reason that we’re doing this — is to get better against another team. And I look forward to that.”
“We have an outline of how we’re going to practice in terms of the periods, when we’re going to be separate, and when we’re going to be together,” Daboll said. “Usually, that involves some type of one-on-one work, and then I’ll be on the Giants’ offensive field, he’ll be on the Jets’ offensive field, and what we talked about is when he’s on that field and I’m on that field, you’re the head coach of that field.
“We want to practice the right way, get work out of it, try to keep the being on the ground and cheap shots and all that other stuff out of it. It’s like we’re practicing against one another on our own teams, but get work out of it against different skillsets, different schemes.”
Friendship led to joint practices
Giants head coach Brian Daboll credited his friendship with Jets head coach Aaron Glenn for helping to facilitate these joint practices.
“I’d say a number of years,” Daboll said when asked how far his relationship with Glenn goes back. “Since he was a DB coach back at the Saints, but obviously, he was a player when I first started in this league, so I’ve known AG for a long time. I have a lot of respect for him as a man and as a coach. Easy to work with.
“We’ve communicated a bunch throughout the years. Obviously, the last couple of years at Detroit, when he was the defensive coordinator, and we’ve gone through situations of how we’re going to practice, what we want the tempo to be, the periods. I got a lot of respect for him, and the communication process has been good.”
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants offense struggled in first joint practice with Jets
Reporting by Dan Benton, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
