The start: Not good.
The finish: Quite good.
Maybe this will help the Giants in the long run. Because not everything on offense will go their way early in games and they are going to have to fight through those downs to find some ups.
“That’s ball,’’ quarterback Russell Wilson said Tuesday. “Sometimes not everything goes our way right away, but how we responded was great. Our resiliency throughout practice, the execution at the end there and just making big-time touchdowns and big plays.’’
The opening of the first of two joint practices with the Jets, this one on their Florham Park turf, was pretty much unsightly for Wilson and the starting offensive unit — a group taking the field without its top wide receiver, Malik Nabers, and best offensive lineman, Andrew Thomas.
It could have been a sign that it was going to be a long, hot, unproductive morning or work. In past years, struggling out of the gate led to struggling down the stretch.
This time around, Wilson closed out in style, going 3-for-3 in the red zone, working against the Jets starting defense, three touchdowns to three different players to turn those frowns upside down.
“We battled through it, they made some plays, we made some plays,’’ Wilson said. “I think that’s part of the game. Sometimes you play games where not everything goes your way that possession and just be able to reload and go to the next possession — that’s good experience, too. You need that sometimes.’’
It was a fast start for Wilson in the opening 7-on-7, as the ball did not hit the ground and he went 4-for-4, connecting with tight end Theo Johnson, twice finding Beaux Collins and then firing to Wan’Dale Robinson.
“We were pretty much lights-out, guys were on it, all in spots, in locations where we want to be,’’ Wilson said. “I thought we did a good job of that.’’
Rookie Jaxson Dart looked fine in his first turn in 7-on-7, completing passes to Devin Singletary and Montrell Washington.
Of course, these are basically pitch-and-catch drills, with no linemen and thus no pressure applied to the quarterback.
When it was time for the first 11-on-11 team period, the linemen hit the field and things immediately bogged down for Wilson and the starting unit.
First snap: Wilson pressured and a holding penalty called on the offensive line. Next, defensive tackle Jay Tufele pushed guard Greg Van Roten back into the pocket to ruin the play. Next, Wilson looked over the middle and his pass was batted down by linebacker Jamien Sherwood. Next, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor could not hold his block on edge rusher Will McDonald IV, leaving Wilson with no room to maneuver.
Dart’s first three plays in 11-on-11 resulted in a false start up front, an incomplete pass, a scramble caused by pressure and, finally, a bullet of a completion to Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
In the second team period, the Giants ran the ball better, with Tyrone Tracy Jr. busting off a sizable gain. Wilson’s deep ball glanced off the hands of Darius Slayton, though, and Wilson’s toss over the middle, intended for Robinson, was thrown into coverage and cornerback Brandon Stephens came away with the breakup.
Dart’s second try in a team period was also sluggish. Washington failed to come down with a pass off his hands. Dart then dropped a shotgun snap as the play was blown dead.
It looked as if Dart took his eyes off the ball for an instant.
It was at this juncture that Jameis Winston, the veteran taking third-team reps, gathered the entire squad together in a huddle off to the side, clearly trying to exhort his teammates to compete at a higher level.
“Jameis and I, we both have a lot of experience, a lot of understanding of what we want to do, how we want to motivate, how we want to lead,’’ Wilson said. “Me and Jameis in that period were like ‘You got this one, I’ll get the next one.’ Back and forth. He’s got those great motivational speeches.’’
In the next team period, Wilson found Johnson on the right side, hitting him in stride. Dart followed with an overthrow of tight end Greg Dulcich, who was open, before stepping up in the pocket to locate and connect with Smith-Marsette.
With both teams circling the same field for the final 11-on-11, the Giants put their best offensive action on tape.
Operating in a red zone drill, Wilson took command and got the Giants into the end zone. Not once, not twice, but three times, going a perfect 3-for-3.
After finding Robinson on the left side, Wilson drilled the ball into the waiting hands of Johnson, who split defensive backs Andre Cisco and Tony Adams in the end zone. Singletary scored from in close after that.
To finish off his day, Wilson found Slayton with a scoring pass, Slayton beating Adams to the ball.
“I thought it was a great day for us, especially at the end,’’ Wilson said. “There was a lot of good juice at the end.’’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
