The New York Giants and New York Jets held a pair of home-and-home joint practices this week ahead of their preseason meeting at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night.
For the Giants, it was their first taste of Jets quarterback Justin Fields, who takes over for the departed Aaron Rodgers following a season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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So, what did the Giants think? Don’t ask linebacker Kayvon Thibdeaux, who feels Fields was impossible to evaluate as he was consistently being chased by Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Chauncey Golston, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and Dexter Lawrence.
“Man, it’s tough for quarterbacks right now, especially in practice, especially for us,” he told reporters on Thursday. “We got guys like me, Burns, Dex, Chauncey, Nacho — he was under a little bit of pressure, so I can’t really give you a full analysis on what I think of him as a quarterback because he did have to run and scramble and do a lot of things.
“You guys have to probably take a look at that on your own.”
Fields did have a few highlight plays this week, but they came after would-be sacks. He also had some long runs after being flushed from the pocket, so Thibodeaux’s assessment, although blunt, is fair.
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But that’s what the Giants expect this season. As Thibs explains, it will be a race to the quarterback.
“I think it’ll give us all (an) opportunity,” he said. “This is one of those things where we’ll have to see how the cards play out on which way they slide, which way they chip, or things like that, but I definitely think it’s going to be a great opportunity for all of us. It’s going to be a race to the quarterback.
“I was laughing with Dex about it, like he’s already the fastest guy because he’s the closest, but now you got an even faster guy with Abdul in there, and you still got Burns on the other side, so we’re definitely going to be nail-biting to see who gets that sack.”
The Giants appear to have a dominant front seven and showed it against Fields and the Jets. So long as the entire group can remain healthy, the sky is the limit.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Kayvon Thibodeaux offers blunt assessment of Jets QB Justin Fields