The New York Giants’ training camp saw its most significant collision on Friday when outside linebacker Brian Burns and wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson collided while chasing tight end Greg Dulcich after a long catch-and-run. The incident left both players limited in practice on Sunday, with Burns returning to the field Monday as the team put on pads for the first time, while Robinson was held back as a precaution.
“It hurt,” said Burns about the play. “No, man. I was just trying to set the standard, trying to run to the ball, whip myself in shape for the season. I was rolling, too. Yeah, I don’t think y’all seen the whole clip. I’m just glad that it wasn’t too serious [for] me or Wan’Dale. We’re both good.”
Burns acknowledged that while he can now laugh about it, at the time it was “a bit of a scare” and “a bit of a shock,” noting that defensive linemen are rarely found so far downfield during such plays.
“When you hit somebody that fast and you don’t see it coming, it’s like you just want to make sure everything’s working,” he said. “That’s why you lay on the ground for a minute, take a breath, try to see what’s really hurting. Other than that, once we got up and walked in, I was in a lot of pain, but after we got the scans and everything, it was all good. Everything was all good.”
The event highlighted the depth at edge rusher for New York this season.
“Man, everybody feels encouraged and excited and hyped up at the beginning of the season,” Burns said regarding preseason expectations around the defense. “You understand? At the same time, we look great on paper, but we didn’t do [anything] yet.”
“It’s all on us,” he continued. “We can take this as far as we want to go. Everything looks good with the names that we have and the potential and this and that, but until we put that [stuff] to stamp, really nothing to talk about.”
His comments echoed those made by teammate Dexter Lawrence at camp’s start. Lawrence emphasized preparation is key if they hope to reach their ultimate goal.
“[I let] them know if we want to get where we want to go, and that’s the Super Bowl, that’s the ultimate goal—we’ve got to prepare for that every day,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got to train like that every day. We’ve got to recover like that every day. You’ve got to meet like that every day…So it’s a process…And if you get bored…challenge yourself like what can I work on today? What can I improve today?…that’s where you see greatness…”
Lawrence added: “They want to talk about our D-line and all this, but we haven’t done anything yet and we have to come out here every day and improve and get better and challenge each other and just work and be critical and be coachable.”
Burns also stressed accountability among teammates.
“If I’m going to run the ball, you better run to the ball,” he said. “…It’s holding each other accountable…all the leaders of defense got to set the standard…So I can’t say nothing unless I’m doing it.”
Asked whether he’d risk another similar collision: “Hell no…I’ll be sure to throttle down before I get anywhere close…That was scary…”
On game days though Burns expects intensity will return—something he noticed from Kayvon Thibodeaux last year.
“I don’t know if y’all peeped it but he flipped switch last year…He’s getting his edge…KT has impressed me about how he handles himself in building…” He credits outside linebacker coach Charlie Bullen’s influence in helping develop players like Thibodeaux as well as rookie Abdul Carter.
Carter recently impressed coaches with his patience setting up moves against veteran tackle Jermaine Eluemunor—a sign of development beyond raw athleticism.
“The move was nice…what I’m more impressed with is battle between him & Lu…it wasn’t just one move…he set up move…I like fact patient enough set up…and execute…” Burns explained.
He concluded: “All it comes down is making sure he’s clean with calls & adjustments because it’s moving faster…more detailed than college…but as far as raw athleticism…traits…he got it…I really don’t gotta talk too much on him…Y’all have seen it.”
