Camp Has Started.. Commence Puff Pieces

Nothing like the start of camp to convince the fans of 32 teams how their entry in the NFL Sweepstakes will win the Super Bowl this year.

Here we are 3 days into camp and I’ve already been suckered into picturing greatness. Saints, always setting me up for ultimate pain

— Saints Nation Blog (@SaintsNationBlg) July 30, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOkay maybe I am exaggerating. Maybe there are only ~30 teams whose fans have “been suckered.” Cleveland and Tennessee are probably dreaming of how their fortunes can get to a 0.500 record.

Free Agency in today’s NFL is the well from which hope springs eternal.  The NY Giants have a reasonable belief that things can get a lot better than 6-10, based on the arrival of Damon Harrison, Janoris Jenkins and Olivier Vernon.  Add guys like Cruz and JPP making much more meaningful contributions than last year, and those are 5 playmakers the Gmen can use to make a difference.

So where are we early in camp?

• Harrison has a very cautionary PUP for a knee, saying he is fine
• R1 pick Eli Apple was already a little “handsy” with covering OBJ in 7 on 7 drills
• Kennard had a pick of Eli
• Cruz is on schedule (that’s polite for saying he is not injured but still not at full throttle)
• Everyone and their mother is sky high on R2 pick Sterling Shepard, even if he is making mistakes in his first 2 practices
• Smell the Glove! JPP says that his injured hand is now just as good as his other hand.
• Vernon does extra laps than everyone else because he has a lot to prove
• Thompson is vocal, whether his presnap calls are correct or not
• The CBs are all practicing at corner and in the slot
• Half the team is not on IR yet. Wellman gets a raise.
• Oops… early Day 3 OBJ takes a fall, carted away, Wellman demoted.
• OBJ only cleated, a couple of cuts,  Wellman clean.

I wish JPP’s word could be a little more credible. Maybe he is correct, but this guy is a professional boaster as much as he is a professional football player. So pardon me for waiting until I see the glovehand shed blockers and grab running backs.  His pattern is always to be a step behind on the truth. Last year when his hand was nearly blown off he said he was ok.  Then when he made it up to NJ he said he could play and he couldn’t.  Then when he finally was able to play he said he was going to wear a glove, and he wore a cast. Now he says his glove hand is as good as his other hand.  If his hyperbole is any guide, we will see him wear the glove but it won’t yet be the same as his other hand.

DRC in the slot? A stiff wind will get this guy hurt. Not in love with it, but if it gives the team an unpredictable and flexible rotation, understood.

A few words on McAdoo. His transition to Head Coach is not the huge adjustment others have. He knows the personnel. He knows the terminology of his coordinators. So much of this goes back to the Giants in 2013 when they were underachieving.  Gilbride and Fewell were replaced, but in successive years. Coughlin should have probably been replaced sooner, because an overhaul was what we got anyway. It was noteworthy that McAdoo said that Packers HC Mike McCarthy was his #1 biggest influence, NOT Tom Coughlin. Obviously Coughlin did many things that will help McAdoo, but it is still good to see McAdoo be his own man and do things his way. My expectations for him are high. That does not me think that 2016 will be a Super Bowl, but it certainly makes me think the playoffs are possible.