Because of rain, the Giants moved their practice this evening into the field house at the Timex Performance Center. It was their first practice in full pads.
"Glad to be in pads," Coughlin said. "Padded work was necessary, obviously."
The workout included some hits that were harder and more direct than Coughlin would have preferred, but that is a common occurrence among young players this early in camp. "It was good," Coughlin said of the hitting. "There were a couple of spots where it was a little too good, as always.
"There were a couple of things that did disappoint me that we will teach and overcome with the young guys. It was good but you can see that some of the rust has to come off."
Backup center Jim Cordle was helped off after he was hit blocking on a kickoff return, but after being examined by the medical staff he participated in the next drill.
*Coughlin commented on two of the team's newest acquisitions, offensive lineman Stacy Andrews and defensive tackle Gabe Watson.
"(Andrews) really looks good," Coughlin said. "He's come in light (about 318 pounds). He weighed, whatever you want a number to be, 340. He looks to be in outstanding shape. He's got good feet. We plan to play him at tackle, which if you remember a couple of years ago, that is the spot that he gained great recognition at.
"(Watson is) in good shape. Light on his feet. We know quite a bit about him. I'll tell you, a year or two ago he was pretty darn exciting. I can't tell you snap for snap what happened over the last year, but he's a strong, powerful guy that shows good athleticism and quickness. His availability was attractive to us. Hopefully, he'll look at this as a new start and do something about it."
*Tight end Travis Beckum was very active and made two good catches on the sideline. Asked if Beckum might have a larger role in the offense, Coughlin said, "That's the plan."…Darius Reynaud somehow got wide open deep down the middle of the field and caught a Sage Rosenfels pass…Hakeem Nicks made a diving catch on the left sideline, then pointed to his feet to emphasize that he had stayed inbounds…On the first two plays of the second team period, Antrel Rolle raced up to disrupt a run and Chris Canty knocked down an Eli Manning pass.
*Wide receiver Devin Thomas rolled his ankle.
*The Giants have instituted a phone hotline for fans seeking information about training camp practices. Fans may call 201-935-8111, extension 9385 to learn about practices times and other camp info.
