The New York Giants held their second annual Fan Fest on Friday night at MetLife Stadium and from the onset, it was the Kayvon Thibodeaux show.
The rookie edge rusher consistently found himself in the backfield, disrupting the rhythm and timing of the offense. He repeatedly forced quarterback Daniel Jones to flush the pocket and adjust on the fly.
Thibodeaux just drew another holding penalty, this time on Andrew Thomas. Every play no matter who is trying to block Thibodeaux so far.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) August 5, 2022
Lot of lava at Daniel Jones' feet. Pressure from Leonard Williams and Thibodeaux, who was doubled.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) August 5, 2022
“He’s tough to block. He’s done a really great job these last few practices of getting his feet underneath him. He’s got a variety of pass rush moves. Again, he’s a rookie. We’ll see when the reps become live,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters after the scrimmage. “He’s a good young player. He’s got a lot to work on. I hope he draws more (holds).
“He’s a humble guy. He knows he doesn’t have all the answers. I think he relies a lot on the veterans, and (outside linebackers coach) Drew (Wilkins) is doing a good job with him. He’s been a good teammate, and everything that we’ve kind of researched on him, so far, it’s been right on point.”
But Thibodeaux wasn’t alone in terms of dominance on Friday night. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who has been the star of training camp thus far, was also creating problems. Meanwhile, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson nearly had a pick-6 but the ball slipped through his hands.
It is important to note however, there was no game-planning done ahead of the scrimmage. And with so many cameras around, the Giants hid much of their playbook and didn’t use nearly as much motion as we’ve seen in other practices this summer.
“I think that’s the great thing about training camp. You don’t gameplan, and you don’t anticipate. You just go out there, and you trust your rules,” Daboll said. “And you see what you got to fix on both sides of the ball — whether it’s turning a guy free, whether it’s a screen for 20 yards on a third down and long situation, whatever that may be. A missed protection.
“There’s certainly things in every practice. That’s what training camp it for: to improve fundamentals and techniques and to improve upon your assignments against whether you want to call it un-scouted looks or different situations. That’s why communication is so important really in every area of the field.”
The Giants will return to practice on Sunday.
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