Add this to the long list of adjustments Eli Manning has to make this summer: Understanding what the heck Ben McAdoo is saying.
The new offensive coordinator is from Homer City, Pa., about 50 miles outside of Pittsburgh, and he sounds like it. Mix that accent into the New Orleans drawl Eli Manning grew up hearing and it’s a match made somewhere other than linguistic heaven.
“We’re getting better,’’ Manning said Monday. “We’re on the same page. We had a few mishaps in OTAs, couple of words, the southern accent and the Pennsylvania accent, you don’t always say the same word the exact same way. We’ve dealt with that.’’
To mimic what will happen in games, McAdoo is not merely standing next to Manning calling the plays, but he’s using a walkie-talkie to bark them into the speakers in Manning’s helmet. That has led to some confusion. Some play calls contain the word “wool,” but the way McAdoo says it, it sounds more like “roll’’ to Manning.
“I had to try to figure out what he was saying,’’ Manning said. “He says it his way, I adjust to him. He’s going to say it that way, I just got to know what he’s talking about. Now I know. ‘Roll’ means ‘wool.’ ’’
Tom Coughlin confirmed McAdoo will call the plays from the sideline and not the press box. McAdoo has never before been a play-caller in the NFL so this is new for him.
Rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was nowhere to be seen. Instead of watching practice, Beckham was sent to Manhattan to have his nagging strained hamstring checked out to see if anything can be done to hasten the healing process. Rookie TE Xavier Grimble also went into the city to have his injured hamstring checked.
The first minor scuffle of camp featured fullback Henry Hynoski and linebacker Jacquian Williams, with a few wild punches thrown and Hynoski getting his helmet ripped off.
The offense enjoyed its best showing of the summer during Sunday’s practice, with CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie saying, “They tore us up. … They’re coming along fast.’’ The offense was not as crisp on Monday, with the defensive unit clearly not wanting to get outplayed for a second consecutive day.
The afternoon got off to a rousing start for the defense, with CB Zack Bowman running stride-for-stride with WR Rueben Randle and turning Manning’s deep pass into a leaping interception.
Former Giants CB Terrell Thomas signed with the Seahawks, who lost their nickel back, Walter Thurmond, to the Giants. Thomas, coming off three ACL surgeries, played well last season in a limited role.
The Giants waived OL DeMarcus Love and were awarded OL Mark Asper off waivers from the Bills.