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On the offensive
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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AUGUST 8, 2009

ALBANY, NY - When NFL coaches meet the media, the snap from center is not usually a hot topic of discussion. But it was today for Tom Coughlin and Pat Flaherty.

The Giants' head coach and offensive line coach both fielded questions about football's most basic element. But to be honest, the simple act of transferring the ball from the center to the quarterback has been problematic at times during training camp at the University at Albany.

It hasn't been an issue with Pro Bowler Shaun O'Hara, the starting center. But O'Hara missed this morning's practice with a triceps issue. Adam Koets, a seldom-used tackle before he was moved to backup center in the offseason, ran with the first team and muffed a shotgun snap. Several more snaps were slightly off-target and saved by Eli Manning's long reach. Koets had three bad snaps in a row in a practice earlier this week. Tuten Reyes and Kevin Boothe also failed to connect with the quarterback on shotgun snaps, prompting a loud rebuke from Coughlin.

At his post-practice session with the media a short time later, a calmer Coughlin was asked if the snaps are "starting to get to you?"

"It is, and I'll never back off from feeling like that," Coughlin said. "You have some guys in there and here comes the pressure in the A-gap and they're like, 'Oh my god, I have to block this guy in the A-gap,' but they forget about the snap. You have to do it many times under pressure so that the snap part of it becomes automatic and the moving into position to make those very difficult blocks is then your primary objective. But yes, I am disappointed those three sailed over their head. The (centers) don't even know it until they turn back around. We have two tall quarterbacks and the third (high snap), the tall quarterback would have needed a step ladder."

When do the Giants need to begin to execute those flawlessly?

"Maybe yesterday - probably yesterday," Coughlin said.

Flaherty was similarly impatient.

"The first thing we do after we stretch every day is a center-quarterback exchange, and we try to simulate as much as we can the defender being on the center," Flaherty said. "As coach I need to get that up a little bit, because we have some problems each and every day and today we had some problem with the shotgun snap. It's mostly the defense now moving around and our center having to make a lot of calls and he's thinking and he's snapping and his technique is out of whack. It's nothing that at this point I would panic about. We're just going to go back to square one and we're going to work harder."

Left guard Rich Seubert could fill in at center, but he has missed most of camp with a sore shoulder. Coughlin hopes to get him back early in the week. Except for some scout team work last season, Koets had never played center before. Reyes has played guard exclusively in his 10-year career and Boothe, a fourth-year pro, has played guard and tackle.

Flaherty said such inexperience can't be used as an excuse.

"They're not natural centers, but when you look at the NFL ... some centers were positional players who are now snapping the ball," he said. "The Pro Bowl center from the New York Giants in 2008 was another positional player before he came to the Giants (O'Hara played tackle in college and guard for the Cleveland Browns). He was in his fifth year when he played center for the Giants for the first year. So the guys we have right now, Adam Koets is in his third year, Kevin Boothe really had never snapped a ball before. You have a little bit of patience, yet I'm not going to stand before you and say that I'm not nervous about it. But we're going to accelerate and get the thing going, because in the preseason and the season we don't want the ball on the ground."

Order will be restored, at least among the starters, when O'Hara returns to practice. But every team strives to develop quality backups at each position. And as the Giants have learned in this camp, even the most basic tasks can't be taken for granted. No one pays attention to the center unless they're called for a penalty or they muff a snap.

Koets relishes his opportunity, but he would prefer to keep a lineman's standard anonymity.

"Obviously, the snapping's been an issue for me," Koets said. "I'm in transition and it's something I have to get used to and something I have to eliminate. It's just repetition, doing the same thing every time - even the way you're thinking.

"Besides that, it's a challenge every day. I'm going to go out there to prove what I can do and try to learn from Shaun and try to become a better football player. The other day I actually had a pretty good practice until that whole debacle (after which Coughlin ordered a new center into the huddle). I'm taking steps to make sure that doesn't happen."

Koets was with the Giants the entire season the previous two years, but few players have worked further under the radar. A sixth-round draft choice in 2007, his entire NFL game experience (aside from preseason work) was the NFC Wild Card Game in Tampa Bay that year and the 2008 regular season finale in Minnesota. Indeed, those are the only two contests he was active for. It's been quite an adjustment for a player who started the last 37 games at tackle at Oregon State.

The coaches told Koets they wanted to move him inside this offseason, after the organization chose not to re-sign Grey Ruegamer.

"Techniques and what you're doing out there are completely different," Koets said. "Obviously, having the ball is different. But the guys you're blocking, the sets - everything is different. But at the end of the day, you're playing football and executing what you need to do.

"I'm just glad to have the opportunity. I'm getting plenty of opportunities. I need to step up and show what I can do."

NOTES

*General manager Jerry Reese said he had nothing new to report on the negotiations on a new contract for Eli Manning. Several media outlets reported earlier this week that Manning has agreed to a lucrative multi-year deal.

"There are a lot of details in this kind of a deal," Reese said. "I'm not concerned at all."

*In addition to O'Hara and Seubert (who continues to do individual drills), wide receivers Hakeem Nicks (hamstring) and David Tyree (hip flexor) and defensive lineman Chris Canty (hamstring) missed practice, as did several players limited to one workout a day - Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Barry Cofield.

*The most spectacular play of practice was turned in by safety Kenny Phillips, who leaped high over Domenik Hixon to pick off a Manning pass.

"Quite an interception," Coughlin said. "That was a tough play. You had three guys there, and Domenik Hixon could have come down with it and Kenny did. He made a nice play on that ball. It looked like the receiver was going to be able to outrun the coverage and the ball would arrive at the right time, but that wasn't the way it was."

*Rookie receiver Ramses Barden showed off his strong hands by leaping over free agent safety Vince Anderson to make a terrific catch...Mario Manningham got ahead of the field to haul in a long pass from Andre' Woodson...Sinorice Moss continues to show off his quickness, both in getting open and after he catches the ball...Rookie tight end Travis Beckum has made several nice plays. "Beckum has gotten a little bit better each day," Coughlin said. "The thing I think he's started to do a little better is the physical aspect as a blocker."

*Coughlin praised wide receiver Derek Hagan, who played 36 games for the Miami Dolphins the previous three seasons.

"He hasn't dropped any passes," Coughlin said. "He's been a 'Johnny-on-the-spot' kind of guy. Everybody knows about his abilities on special teams. He's made a lot of real good plays for us. He's had a good camp at this point."

EVENING UPDATE

Tom Coughlin wants his team to be tough and physical, but this evening's practice was too feisty even for him. There were several brief offense vs. defense skirmishes that included pushing, shoving, jawing and some punches. Linebacker Bryan Kehl and fullback Madison Hedgecock clearly got on each other's nerves and at one point briefly wrestled on the ground. The showdowns - plus offensive lineman Clifford Louis grabbing his lower leg in pain - prompted Coughlin to bring the team together for a mid-practice lecture about working intelligently. The incidents stopped after his talk. Louis suffered an ankle injury, while another reserve lineman, Kevin Boothe, left practice with a pectoral injury. No prognosis was given for either player.

*The practice featured several highlight-reel catches, the best of which was probably Domenik Hixon stretching out parallel to the ground to haul in Eli Manning's long pass in a 7-on-7 drill...On the next play, Steve Smith outjumped fellow USC alum Terrell Thomas for another tremendous catch...Shaun Bodiford got open down the field to catch a pass from Rhett Bomar...Derek Hagan continued his impressive day with another leaping catch...Darcy Johnson made a couple of athletic grabs late in practice...Corey Webster and rookie safety Sha'reff Rashad intercepted passes...Lawrence Tynes hit all six of his field goal attempts and is now 20-for-22 in camp...

*NFL officials worked the practice for the first time in this camp. In attendance were back judge Jim Howey, head linesman Tony Veteri, field judge Steve Zimmer, umpire Bruce Stritesky and umpire/trainer Jim Quirk.

*Today's attendance was 4,610 (2,360 in the morning and 2,250 in the evening. That brings the camp total to 20,085.