ALBANY — Replacing two tall and talented veteran receivers will take some time. That was clearly evident yesterday as the Giants hit the field for their first training camp practice.
In the first full team period of the summer there were eight pass attempts and only two completions by the four quarterbacks, Eli Manning, David Carr, Andre Woodson and Rhett Bomar. No more Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer means moving the ball through the air will be a challenge.
The first four passes fell incomplete. Manning overthrew Domenik Hixon over the middle. Manning’s first deep ball of camp was an ugly, wobbly pass intended for Steve Smith that wasn’t close to hitting the mark, with safety Travonti Johnson making the breakup. Manning then threw the ball off the hands of Sinorice Moss and Woodson’s accurate short toss was dropped by David Tyree.
The first completion was worth waiting for, as Carr lofted a tight spiral deep and directly into the hands of Moss, who benefited from cornerback Corey Webster falling down on the play. Carr later connected again deep, this time to Derek Hagan, as Terrell Thomas slipped and fell.
Manning was not sharp. He threw two interceptions, one on a diving grab by safety Kenny Phillips and a second when he fired to a well-covered Steve Smith and Aaron Ross jumped for the pickoff. Phillips, who inherits a starting job with the free agent loss of James Butler, had a second interception when Webster tipped Carr’s pass into his waiting hands.
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First-round pick Hakeem Nicks did not catch a pass in his first practice and only had the ball thrown in his direction one time. He caught one pass in the afternoon. “It was fast, high intensity, everybody flying around, it was real enthusiastic,” Nicks said. . . . DEs Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck are practicing only once a day. . . . Adam Koets, working as the backup center, struggled with three botched quarterback-center exchanges.
