There were 39 players on the field yesterday when the Giants gathered at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, N.J., and the most surprising one of all was Mathias Kiwanuka.
The athletic and versatile defensive end was limited to three games last season because of a herniated cervical disk, and he does not have a contract for 2011. Most free agents want no part of these unsupervised practices, fearing injury and citing the lack of insurance as a reason to stay away.
Kiwanuka did not stay away, but he also did not take any risks in what must be considered a very light workout for all concerned. Kiwanuka engaged in some light technique work on the side with rookie Marvin Austin, the only other defensive lineman at the workout.
The most aggressive moves of the day might have been players driving out of the parking lot after the 90-minute session, hell-bent on ignoring the small media contingent watching from behind a fence. Eli Manning wanted to keep the location of these workouts secret. Once word leaked out, he and other team leaders most likely didn’t want anyone saying anything about the lockout workouts.
As the gate opened and players were led out by a police officer, most did not bother to roll down their tinted car windows.
“Eli will talk to you,” kicker Lawrence Tynes cracked, knowing full well Manning wasn’t talking to anyone as he drove out.
Center Shaun O’Hara promised, “I’ll get you guys later,” but later never came.
Other than Austin, four other draft picks were on the scene: CB Prince Amukamara, WR Jerrel Jernigan, LB Greg Jones and RB Da’Rel Scott.
The offensive linemen get the gold star for having the largest contingent on hand — 10 of them showed up: O’Hara, Chris Snee, Rich Seubert, David Diehl, Kevin Boothe, Will Beatty, Jim Cordle, Adam Koets, Jamon Meredith and Mitch Petrus. Wide receivers also were well represented, with Hakeem Nicks, Domenik Hixon, Victor Cruz, Michael Clayton, Samuel Giguere, Devin Thomas, Ramses Barden, Duke Calhoun and Jernigan.
Manning and Sage Rosenfels took turns throwing passes. Tight ends Bear Pascoe and Jake Ballard and running backs D.J. Ware and Scott also were there. Defensive backs Brian Jackson, Bruce Johnson and Amukamara joined linebackers Michael Boley, Adrian Tracy, Clint Sintim, Chase Blackburn, Jonathan Goff and Jones. Punter Matt Dodge, kicker Lawrence Tynes, returner Darius Reynaud and long snapper Zak DeOssie also participated.
A welcome sight for anyone watching was that O’Hara and Koets — both coming off surgery — were able to get down a take a few snaps. Hixon missed the entire 2010 season following reconstructive knee surgery, but he appeared to be running freely. Someone remembered to bring red pinnies and a trainer held up cards to show the “defense” what was being run. Seubert and Barden, also recovering from surgery, didn’t do much of anything.
The Giants were expected to gather again today at Bergen Catholic, and that’s probably it for the remainder of the week.