Giants' Nabers Reacts to Joint Practice vs. Jets

Ahead of their preseason finale at MetLife Stadium, the New York Giants and New York Jets held a joint practice, giving coaching staffs and fans alike a look at matchups that may not pop up on Saturday.

Among the anticipated matchups was Giants rookie phenom Malik Nabers and Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. That pairing underwhelmed by virtue of opportunity – the two played far fewer snaps lined up against each other than the football world would have preferred.

But against New York’s elite secondary – including the best cornerback trio in football – Nabers’ work was cut out for him.

Neither he nor the rest of the offense had a strong day. While reviews were mixed, the main takeaway from Wednesday’s camp was that the Jets outclassed their cross-stadium counterparts.

“I had too many drops,” Nabers told reporters after practic e. “I had a lot of catches that could have been made on the field. You know, so that was about me. But it was a great competition day, a great workday.”

Gardner forced an incompletion, Nabers dropped a pass, and the rookie caught one for a sizable gain, but it was largely unspectacular. He didn’t leave much of a mark against D.J. Reed either, and remained frustrated with himself for individual mistakes.

“Yeah, it bothered me pretty bad,” he said. “If I had to do it again, I would work on something different on catching the ball. I'll just go look at it, see what I can do better, and just practice that. Practice getting my eyes around faster and finding the ball in the air.”

Gardner had received plenty of praise throughout the week from Big Blue, but Nabers was complimentary of Reed – one of the league’s more underrated corners – as well.

“He's great,” Nabers said. “Great competitor. Smooth feet. Plays the ball pretty well when the ball is in the air. (He) Knows formations and concepts, so going against him I kind of had to switch my game up a little bit so he wasn't jumping a lot of the routes. He's a great competitor.”

Putting the cherry on top of the Jets’ big day was Gardner’s way of ending practice – walking away waving goodbye and blowing kisses toward the Giants. He clarified after practice that it was all in good fun and that he knows many of them personally, rather than being outright disrespectful in the wake of his dominance.

Nabers didn’t take issue with the theatrics.

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“I mean, they can do that,” Nabers said. “They won on the day. Their defense came out here and executed well. We beat ourselves today. So, it's about really going back into our playbook, going back into trying to be us, trying to find this team that we (are) trying to look for. It's going back to the preparation.”

If New York plays its starters, Nabers will have another chance to excite Giants fans and gain bragging rights in the rivalry on Saturday.