The Giants didn't put on the pads until Monday, but the biggest collision of training camp occurred unintentionally on Friday.

Brian Burns, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound outside linebacker, collided with Wan'Dale Robinson, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound wide receiver, while chasing down a long catch-and-run by tight end Greg Dulcich. The mass of humanity resulted in the Burns and Robinson being limited on Sunday. The former practiced on Monday, the first day in pads, while the latter was held back as a precaution after another collision on Sunday.

"It hurt," Burns said. "No, man. I was just trying to set the standard, trying to run to the ball, whip myself in shape for the season. I was rolling, too. Yeah, I don't think y'all seen the whole clip. I'm just glad that it wasn't too serious [for] me or Wan'Dale. We're both good."

Burns can laugh about it now. But he admitted it was "a bit of a scare" and "a bit of a shock," especially since a defensive lineman isn't normally spotted that far down the field.

"When you hit somebody that fast and you don't see it coming, it's like you just want to make sure everything's working," Burns said. "That's why you lay on the ground for a minute, take a breath, try to see what's really hurting. Other than that, once we got up and walked in, I was in a lot of pain, but after we got the scans and everything, it was all good. Everything was all good."

It was a reminder that you can never have enough edge rushers, of which the Giants have many.

"Man, everybody feels encouraged and excited and hyped up at the beginning of the season," Burns said about the hype around the defense. "You understand? At the same time, we look great on paper, but we didn't do [anything] yet."

Burns used, let's say, a different word in that bracket and the ones upcoming.

"It's all on us," he continued. "We can take this as far as we want to go. Everything looks good with the names that we have and the potential and this and that, but until we put that [stuff] to stamp, really nothing to talk about."

The fired-up Burns echoed what Dexter Lawrence said at the start of camp. The three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman challenged the defense and didn't hold back.

"[I let] them know if we want to get where we want to go, and that's the Super Bowl, that's the ultimate goal, we've got to prepare for that every day," Lawrence said. "We've got to train like that every day. We've got to recover like that every day. You've got to meet like that every day, you know what I'm saying? So, it's a process. Everything's a process and you have to enjoy it. And if you get bored, find something, challenge yourself like what can I work on today? What can I improve today? And that's the challenge and that's where you see greatness and that's when you get in the flow state."

Lawrence added: "They want to talk about our D-line and all this, but we haven't done anything yet and we have to come out here every day and improve and get better and challenge each other and just work and be critical and be coachable."

And be accountable.

"If I'm going to run the ball, you better run to the ball," Burns said. "So, I can't sit here and preach 'run to the ball' and get on people's cases if I'm not doing it. There's going to be times where I'm not going to do it and I need them to get on me, but you can't get on me if you aren't doing it. It's holding each other accountable and I've got to be – me, Bobby [Okereke], Jevón [Holland], all the leaders of the defense, Dex, all the leaders of the defense got to set the standard and be held to it. So, I can't say nothing unless I'm doing it."

Even if that comes with another collision?

"Hell no, I'm not doing that again," Burns said with another laugh. "Hell no. Trust me. I'll be sure to throttle down before I get anywhere close to that again. That was scary. I'm not going to lie. I'm not doing that again."

Gameday is another story. Burns will flip the switch back on, which is exactly what he saw Kayvon Thibodeaux do last season.

"I don't know if y'all peeped it, but he flipped the switch last year, playing a lot harder, playing a lot more physical," Burns said. "He's getting his edge. He had his edge today. KT has impressed me about how he handles himself in the building. He gets in early, he does his thing. All in all, he flipped that switch last year, so I expect big things from KT this year."

Burns said outside linebacker coach Charlie Bullen had a big influence on Thibodeaux in the room, which now includes third overall pick Abdul Carter. Burns "doesn't want to do too much talking" about Carter because the rookie will show you.

Case in point, Carter displayed his savviness on a spin move in a matchup with right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who has 100 NFL games under his belt with four different teams.

"The move was nice, great move, but what I'm more impressed with is the battle between him and Lu," Burns said. "It wasn't just all-out one move. He set that up. I like the fact that he was patient enough to set up that move and be able to execute it. It was a battle between them two. It wasn't just one move, it was a battle, but I like that he was patient enough to set it up."

Burns added: "All it comes down to is really just making sure that he's clean with the calls and the adjustments because it is moving a little bit faster. It is a little more detailed than college, but as far as raw athleticism, traits, he got it. I really don't got to talk too much on him. Y'all have seen it."