Three takeaways from Giants training camp so far
Giants running back Devin Singletary goes for a catch during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday. Credit: Ed Murray
Three takeaways from Giants training camp:
1. One of the players who has had a quieter camp so far is starting running back Devin Singletary.
Coach Brian Daboll and Singletary go back to their days in Buffalo together when Daboll was offensive coordinator and Singletary was given the nickname “Motor.”
As Giants guard Jon Runyan, Jr. said: “It fits.”
Runyan and Singletary, both first-year Giants, will have similar goals this season — to make the run game lethal. Runyan believes Singletary can make that happen.
“You see it every day with him,” Runyan said. “He's a true professional. He does everything right. There hasn't been one play where there's just kind of any lapse in anything. He's 100% committed.”
Singletary is coming off a year in Houston where he had a career-highs with 216 rushing attempts and 898 yards. He scored four touchdowns and caught 30 passes. And he’s not expected to be Saquon Barkley.
“Motor does everything right, all the techniques,” Runyan said. “I think we're all really excited to have him in the offense. I'm excited to have him run behind me and make me and the other four guys look really good. That's always really important when a running back can do that.”
2. One of the best matchups in camp has been left tackle Andrew Thomas vs. Brian Burns.
“Man, that's a fun matchup to watch,” Daboll said. “Those guys go at it. They make each other better. They’re both really good football players, so I think it helps us as a team.”
Burns, the 16th overall selection of the 2019 NFL Draft, was acquired for two draft choices in a trade with Carolina on March 13. A two-time Pro Bowler, he had 46 sacks in five seasons with the Panthers, including a career-high 12.5 in 2022.
The Giants drafted Thomas fourth overall in the 2020 draft. Last season, Thomas was limited by a hamstring injury that sidelined him for seven games.
“It's definitely great when you have a player like that to go against because they push you to stay on your P’s and Q’s, and I think we’re making each other better,” Thomas said.
Burns appreciates the competition.
“It’s been a constant battle between me and him,” Burns said. “I embrace the opportunity.”
3. For Giants fans who have not seen Daboll this summer, prepare to be shocked.
The coach has lost a lot of weight, though he has refused to divulge the number of pounds shed.
He only said it wasn't as extreme as the 100-plus pounds he lost one year as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
"I’ve got 30-40 friends. They kind of know my weight history, where it goes up and goes down," Daboll said. "There was a season in Cleveland where I lost 112 pounds. I didn’t lose nearly that much [this time]."
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
