The Giants‘ two ‘Mr. Unlimiteds’ finished Tuesday’s joint practice against the Jets with a bang.
Big money pass rusher Brian Burns and the Giants’ pass rush got after Justin Fields and the Jets’ starting offense for at least four sacks on the grass in Florham Park.
“I think his game is unlimited, honestly,” star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said of Burns.
Then starting quarterback Russell Wilson led the Giants’ offense to three red-zone touchdowns on three consecutive plays to end practice on a high note.
Wilson threw TD passes to tight end Theo Johnson and wide receiver Darius Slayton, and he handed off to Devin Singletary for a well-blocked touchdown run on a read option.
“I thought we really answered at the end,” Wilson said.
The offense needed that late boost, though, because it was a train wreck for most of practice going up against a starting Jets defense playing without linemen Quinnen Williams and Jermaine Johnson II.
Wilson was sacked three times on the offense’s first four 11-on-11 plays from scrimmage, with the Jets’ Michael Clemons, Jay Tufele and Will McDonald IV beating Giants linemen James Hudson III, Greg Van Roten and Jermaine Eluemunor, respectively.
Of course it didn’t help that Wilson was playing without top receiver Malik Nabers and top lineman Andrew Thomas, who remained sidelined due to undisclosed injuries. But coach Brian Daboll was red-hot early anyway after the early pass protection issues.
The Giants ran better than they threw the ball, highlighted by a Singletary cutback past Clemons for a big gain. But Wilson’s starting unit struggled to gain any yards especially through the air.
It was so bad, in fact, that third-string quarterback Jameis Winston huddled the offense together after the first 11-on-11 period to rally the team for the remainder of practice.
Rookie Jaxson Dart just missed two deep throws up the seam to tight end Greg Dulcich and receiver Dalen Cambre, which would have led to an explosive day, and also had a fumbled shotgun snap. But Dart made the three most impressive throws in the first team period, as well, with completions to Ihmir Smith-Marsette, the tight end Johnson and Montrell Washington.
Daboll was fired up and excited. Dart handled a blitz with his dart to Smith-Marsette particularly well. His downfield throw to Johnson deep up the right side featured strong pass protection, play action and nice touch from the quarterback.
Dart’s red zone period was a slog. It included a false start by tackle Josh Ezeudu, one of approximately six penalties called against the offense on the day. But Zach Pascal made an incredible toe-tapping, bobbled catch on the left side of the end zone to secure the rookie’s lone TD.
Winston and Tommy DeVito only took four reps apiece. And Daboll gave Dart no reps with the starters.
So for now, Wilson and the first-team offense will have to learn from the bad and try to emphasize the good. It was encouraging that the Giants could end on that high note heading into Wednesday’s second joint practice in East Rutherford at their own building.
“Sometimes not everything goes our way right away, but I think how we responded was great,” Wilson said.
At least the defense showed up in a big way. The Giants are going to need to hold teams to low scores if the offense looks the way it did on Tuesday.
Burns and rookie Abdul Carter in particular were flashing, with Lawrence and Thibodeaux also bringing the heat.
“They’re good. They’re really good,” said the Jets’ Fields. “They have speed on the outside with Brian. Dex has been a menace for some years on the inside. Abdul is good, too, he can move around a lot. You can see them moving him around to the second level. I’m exited to see them play this year. They’re gonna be really good up front.”
Burns, the seventh-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL ($28.2 million per year), terrorized rookie Jets tackle Armand Membou. He’s aiming for more than last season’s 8.5 sacks.
“He can speed rush you, he can power you, he can finesse you,” Lawrence said of Burns. “He’s not a little guy either. He’s got a lot to his game. And he’s tapped into it more this training camp, and that’s good to see.”
The Giants defense just needs to keep fine-tuning for that Week 1 opener at Washington in September. They’re showing signs of coming together already in mid-August.
“I mean, I think so, I would hope so,” safety Jevon Holland said. “Otherwise we’re not going to win a lot of games if we don’t.”
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