It was a play worth performing, but Sterling Shepard went too far.
The smooth Shepard caused Corey Ballentine to fall into the cover and streak open, grabbing a deep pass from Daniel Jones and hanging through a collision with Julian Love on the 10-yard line. Shepard jumped up and bounced the ball up over 30 yards.
Because coach Joe Judge punished everything in Giants practice that would be a penalty in a game, he ordered Shepard to get the ball back and run back to him in midfield. The two talked until a slap on the back.
“It would have been a 15-yard penalty in a game, and that’s what he told me,” Shepard said. ‘I’ve been thinking about it, and it’s true. When you make a big play in practice, you tend to do things you might not do in a real game. Sometimes emotions get high in a game. Yes, I have to think about those things before I do them. ”
Shepard is one of the most animated players in practice, especially when the jaw starts over the line of scrimmage. He had no problem keeping his cool in games.
“You have to take coaching in every way, shape and form,” Shepard said. ‘I need someone to stay on me. You may be a 10-year-old veterinarian and think you’ve invented everything, but you really do not. It holds your ground. I appreciate having a coach like Coach Judge. ”
Judge does not hesitate to make an example of his stars, even after a “great game.”
“We will not accept that from every player on the team,” the judge said. ‘It’s a lesson he needs to take and move forward. But it is important that everyone else learns from the same lesson so that we do not have to repeat the mistake. ”
A rookie change occurred on the offensive line, when third-round Matt Peart clashed with the first team at the expense of first-round Andrew Thomas. They work on both left and right approaches.
“He’s a guy who comes to work every day with a lunch box and he’s constantly improving,” Judge Peart said. “We guys will work in different places and make sure we build in versatility and position depth.”
The Giants signed undrafted rookie RB Tavien Feaster (cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars) and dropped out of WR Tony Brown.
The Giants considered splitting into two mixed teams ahead of Friday’s scrimmage, but will keep the tendency against defense, with the starters going head-to-head.
“We feel it was really best for the offensive and defensive coaches and units to get used to the communication they have along the sidelines,” Judge said. “We can still achieve anything we want.”
That includes building in two-minute and four-minute exercises and red-zone situations.
“We will simulate this game as much as we can, and we will let it be natural,” Judge said. “Start with a kickoff, kick return, wherever the ball lies, we’ll just play it from scratch.”
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