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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It's a good bet that Eli Manning and Odell Beckham will spend all of Thursday night standing on the sidelines. Victor Cruz and most of the starting offensive line figure to play, though only for a series or two. Same goes for much of the starting defense.

In other words, if you want to see anything that matters, don't blink.

Ralph Vacchiano, NFL Insider | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

Like Shane Vereen said, everybody "Relax", OK? Sure, the Giants have been awful this preseason, especially on offense. Yeah, the offensive line has major issues. OK, they're paper thin at pretty much every position. And yes, the regular season is now just 11 days away.

Wait. What was I saying? Oh, right. Relax and stop panicking. There's still another preseason game to go. Yeah, maybe the starters won't play much. And the Giants do have a bunch of nagging injuries already.

TE Larry Donnell, OL John Jerry, and rookie CB Matt Smalley all left practice early today with injuries.

Donnell, who was carted to the locker room after running wind sprints, was dehydrated, Ben McAdoo said after practice, while Jerry was forced to leave early due to an illness.

Smalley, an undrafted free agent from Lafayette, was helped off the field after trying to defend a pass to WR Darius Powe. McAdoo later told reporters Smalley was dealing with a shoulder issue. 

Ralph Vacchiano, NFL Insider | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

Everyone, from his coaches to his personal trainer to Giants executives to Victor Cruz himself, insisted his recovery was going better than expected. He looked great. He had no restrictions. He was even ahead of schedule. A return for Opening Day sounded guaranteed.

Then, almost exactly a year ago, Cruz suffered what he insisted was a very "minor" calf injury.

New York Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris said quarterback Eli Manning and the offense are working on throwing the deep ball more often.

Harris told the Giants team site that the team will be utilizing its receiving corps of him, Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz to throw the ball downfield more often.

"I think we're getting better just throwing the ball down the field more," Harris said. "We're definitely trying to work on throwing the ball down the field, throwing more deep passes. And [we need to get] the run game going. That's one of the key elements in our offense. We got it going later on in the season. We've just got to continue that momentum and keep carrying it in the beginning of this season."

The New York Giants will conduct their three-day mandatory minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center beginning today through Thursday.

Teams are allowed two practices totaling 3 1/2 hours on the field per day with the second practice limited to walk through activities only. The Giants had a very high attendance percentage during their organized team activities, so this week will not reveal much as no live contact is permitted. Only 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

After they break camp on Thursday, the Giants will not reconvene as a team until training camp opens on July 28.

The New York Giants will close out the organized team activities portion of their offseason workout program this week with four sessions beginning Monday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

The club will then move on to its three-day mandatory minicamp next Tuesday. After that, the team will not convene again until training camp begins in the final week of July.

Some players that have impressed in the first six sessions include the team's two top draft picks, cornerback Eli Apple and wide receiver Sterling Shepard, as well as wide receiver Geremy Davis and backup quarterback Ryan Nassib.

Organized team activities prohibit full contact. No one is hit the ground. They are mundane exercises for linemen and those who are paid to hit people.

So who does the focus shift to? The quarterbacks and the wide receivers. The Giants are endowed with both, so OTAs these days can end up being fun.

Odell Beckham Jr. is a walking highlight reel. Just watching him run routes is exciting. He has challenged the Giants' new cornerbacks, free agent Janoris Jenkins and first-round draft pick Eli Apple, who have both gotten a dose of the record-setting Pro Bowler. On a side note, Jenkins and Apple have performed as advertised thus far.

The Giants had a historic offseason, signing big-ticket free agents and drafting six versatile and explosive players, three of whom may help their already powerful offense become more dynamic.

GM Jerry Reese came into the offseason with a long "to-do" list to try to rebuild the Giants' league-worst defense, and they added as many as six new starters through free agency and the draft.

But what about the offense? Here's a look at what's new and different this summer.

After rookie minicamp is in the books, the Giants are preparing to move into phase three of their offseason program and will begin organized team activities on May 27.

It will be the first time the rookies and the veterans will take the field as a team. The 10 OTA offseason workouts will be held on May 27-29, June 1-2, June 4, June 8-9 and June 11-12. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

Mandatory Minicamp will be held from June 16-18. Training camp begins the last week of July.

The Giants' 2015 sixth-round draft pick, WR Geremy Davis, is one of the subjects of a cable documentary revolving around the NFL Draft and the subsequent business of the recruitment and signing of players. It airs beginning tonight at 10 p.m. on Esquire Network.