Football is officially back in our lives and it's a great feeling. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Detroit Lions hosted the NY Giants for joint practices, with plenty of plays going viral on social media in head-turning fashion.
For Big Blue, a lot of the talk right now is surrounding Daniel Jones, Darren Waller, Bobby Okereke and others. Leading up to Friday, there's plenty for the G-Men to clean up too. With that said, here's our main takeaways from the past two days:
3. Daniel Jones bounced back on Wednesday with a strong showing
Oh, what a difference a day can make. On Tuesday, there was a lot of negativity surrounding the play of Jones and the NY offense. Straight up, the unit put together one of their worst days of the summer. With it being the first session against an opposing defense too, it was rather disappointing to see. Because of this, countless people were bashing Danny Dimes.
That's not the case after Wednesday's practice. Jones had himself the textbook definition of a bounce-back performance, playing well from start to finish. This includes multiple touchdowns during 11-on-11 work and taking care of the ball. Jones was reportedly on the money throwing the ball, which obviously is fantastic news.
Daniel Jones bounced back from a tough first day in joint practices with the Lions to put forth an excellent effort today on day two.@Connor_J_Hughes from Detroit: https://t.co/sFghJFBNbu pic.twitter.com/g2PiRAc9uQ
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) August 9, 2023
Per insider Connor Hughes, Jones was 12-of-17 throwing the pigskin, with five touchdowns - three of those came within the 10-yard line. This is only going to help Jones' confidence with Week 1 just about a month away. Because he's the quarterback of the New York Giants, the pressure is always going to be high for him. We'll find out soon enough if Jones can show the world what he's made of.
2. Darren Waller is already stepping up as a leader
Waller has made a tremendous amount of noise throughout the summer and he hauled in a TD from Jones on Wednesday. Waller, acquired for only a third-round pick this offseason from the Las Vegas Raiders, has the opportunity to be one of the biggest pieces for this offense moving forward. Could he return to his Pro Bowl form?
Not only that, but the veteran tight end is ready to mentor some of the younger guys on the team. According to Isaiah Hodgins, who is also hoping to have a big 2023, Waller rallied the troops after Tuesday's disappointing showing and had words of encouragement for the offense as a whole. You've got to love that. Waller has been through a lot during his career and he'll be set to motivate guys whenever it's needed.
When healthy, Waller is one of the best tight ends in the game. There's plenty of concern about him being able to stay on the field in '23, but the potential for him to be an impact player is 100 percent there. Waller knows what it takes to win and he's going to be a key voice for younger members of this team this fall and winter too.
1. There's still a lot to work on for the Giants before Week 1
This is why we practice. Over the past two weeks of training camp, Giants fans were riding high after seeing all the positive action for NY on both sides of the ball. However, there were definitely some mistakes recorded against the Lions over the past two days. Jones had his struggles on Tuesday and the defense gave up some big plays against the Detroit offense.
Don't forget that the Lions are a team that plenty of people are high on. Jared Goff is ready to silence his haters, while plenty of people in Detroit can't wait to see what rookie first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs will be able to accomplish in '23. Gibbs already turned heads by blowing past linebacker Bobby Okereke during drills:
Jahmyr Gibbs’ speed is absolutely UNREAL 😳
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 8, 2023
Gibbs reportedly “stood out” in the Lions first practice with the Giants today.
Gibbs’ versatility was reportedly giving the Giants defense “trouble” in both the passing and running game.
Gibbs reportedly had “multiple TD’s” today… pic.twitter.com/tU95ybTJAF
While a lot of Detroit supporters are calling Okereke out for this, he was able to record multiple pass deflections on Wednesday. Expectations are high for the inside 'backer, as he's going to be a major contributor for Wink Martindale's defense, no doubt about that.
All in all, there were some negatives this week in the joint practices, but also plenty of positives. Head man Brian Daboll, Martindale and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will watch plenty of film the rest of the week and look for things to correct.
Come Friday night too, the preseason showdown will be something to keep a close eye on. The Giants will be ready to keep taking steps forward before the new season gets underway.
READ MORE: NY Giants 53-man roster predictions with the preseason here