New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has yet to indicate whether or not starters will play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills. Veteran players asked about that this week have indicated a willingnesss, if not a desire to play.
“I think it’s valuable for anybody no matter how long you’ve played,” said seventh-year wide receiver Darius Slayton. “No matter how you look at it, it’s been a long time since you’ve been live tackled.It’s been a long time since, you know, you’ve seen somebody that wears a different color than you. Preseason reps are really valuable regardless of how long you’ve played.”
Slayton said he felt it would be good for 13-year veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to get some live snaps with his team.
“It’s his 13th [actually 14th] year, but his first year as a Giant, so he’s never played as a New York Giant,” Slayton said. “He’s never played with us in a real game. He’s never played behind our line, play with our backs play with our receivers.
“I don’t think that you can minimize what those reps mean. With all the new people it is, he’s been playing football for a long time. But, you know, things change when you go different places, and you have different pieces.”
Wilson said he is ready to go if Daboll decides he wants starters to get some action.
“I always want to be out there with my teammates, man,” Wilson said. “I’m excited to get going, if Coach lets us play or whatever it is, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to play.”
Wilson said preseason is “a great opportunity to prepare.”
“Everything is about preparation, right?,” Wilson said. “Everything’s about mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, how you get ready, what do you eat before the game? All the way to what you’re listening to, to putting your cleats on for the first time again and the fans being there and putting your shoulder pads on – that part of it, the joy of that. You never lose that joy and I think that that’s the part that you embrace. I think also the camaraderie of being in the huddle, it’s third-and-seven, ‘We got to get this one.’”
Thirty-five-year-old guard Greg Van Roten played in his first NFL game in 2012. He knows the value of live action.
“It’s always important to get reps,” Van Roten said. “I don’t think anybody is good enough at this game at this level to not play and expect to perform at a high level coming out of the gate.
“Especially with a new group of guys, you want to get some live action together. You don’t want Week 1 to be the first time that you’re all out there together. You’d like to have a dress rehearsal where there’s no cost to something bad happening.”
Daboll historically has had starters play limited preseason snaps, if they played at all. We will see if this year, after losing back-to-back season openers by a combined score of 68-6, he heeds the advice of his veteran players and gets his key guys more reps before the games count.
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