E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

GIANTS' MANDATORY MINICAMP COMES TO A CLOSE;
IS THERE REASON FOR CONCERN OVER CRUZ, OBJ?

By Dave Klein
As the Giants' three-day mandatory minicamp (except for Jason Pierre-Paul, one assumes) closed its doors Thursday afternoon, there was concern that the team's two most electrifying offensive weapons hadn't produced enough.

Or anything.

Neither of the two spectacular wide receivers, Victor Cruz or Odell Beckham Jr., participated in practice sessions. Cruz is coming back from a torn patella tendon while Beckham, last season's NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, was hobbled by a sore hamstring.

Head coach Tom Coughlin tried to assure everyone that there is no reason to worry. "Both of them will be ready for training camp [July 30]," he said. "I thought both did what we wanted. They were running and we just didn't want to risk an injury now. They'll have six weeks to recuperate, to rehab, and then it'll be time for training camp."

Hard work, usually a Coughlin mantra, worked its way into this conversation as well. "The big thing is we worked hard and yet we still have a long way to go," he said. "Our two practices were good, intense. The guys worked hard. Sometimes maybe it was a little too physical but that's how it goes. So we kind of set the tone for when we come back."

Coughlin added: "Odell feels better, but he needs to feel a whole lot better by training camp," but denied that there was any thought - at least for now - of placing him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at the start of the summer training period.

The good news is that without Cruz and Beckham several other wide receivers got added time to work out, and one of them, the probably No. 3 (or a starter if Cruz goes to the slot) was Rueben Randle. He seems to have found a new grasp of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's playbook and in fact caught the "winning" touchdown pass that ended Thursday's practice.

The bad news, of course, is that Cruz and Beckham aren't absolutely ready yet and now much will depend on them to continue their workouts without the benefit of team drills.

In fact, Beckham appeared to be annoyed and angry with the needles being tossed by his teammates, seemingly good-natured ribbing that he has missed the practices just like last summer when he strained his hamstring, and now after his spectacular 2014 season (he caught 91 passed for 1,205 yards in the last 12 games, having missed the first four) he might be feeling "too big" to take part.

"None of that is true," he told a representative from ESPN. "I would rather practice than watch."

But then he skipped out on a scheduled interview session with the assembled media.

McAdoo insisted that being the team's major offensive weapon was Beckham's status last season, especially when Cruz went down, and acknowledged that he did it well. "But those opportunities are earned," he said. "Every year is new and you have to earn what's going to happen. It takes work."

Coughlin said he was impressed with the rookie crop, singling out safety Landon Collins (second round) and defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa (Double O), and added that first round pick Ereck Flowers, the probable starting left tackle, "seems to thrive with the more you can throw at him. He just has to understand that he will get out there and make errors and make plays but he has to recognize that.

"Collins has done a good job and gotten better and I think he is starting to direct traffic back there [in the secondary]."

Flowers, it should be noted, signed his contract and, in a highly unusual turn of events, did so without the use of an agent. "It worked out well," he said. "We got it done. It was friendly and it went smoothly."

With the torn pectoral muscle suffered by the starting left tackle, Will Beatty, during a weight-lifting session, Flowers almost has to be the starter now. "He was the ninth pick in the draft and so there are expectations," said line coach Pat Flaherty. "Whether it happens now or later, the expectation was that he would be a starting tackle for us."

Sooner than later appears to be the answer at this moment, and all the coaches, from Coughlin to McAdoo to Flaherty, agree that Flowers has all the tools and has worked hard.

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- Team Giants

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