Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV: 

The Giants didn't look good in their preseason opener, but they were missing so many players it was unfair to judge. Eli Manning, Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard didn't play and Brandon Marshall only took a handful of snaps. On defense, the starters only played sparingly, too.

Things should be different against the Browns on Monday night in Cleveland, though. Manning will get a "big chunk" of playing time, according to Giants coach Ben McAdoo, and it's a good bet most of the healthy starters will last into the second quarter.

The NFL has cleared Jets players Darron Lee and Leonard Williams of any violations of league rules after an investigation into an incident at a New York music festival in June turned up a lack of evidence.

The incident involved Williams dragging Lee away from what Jets coach Todd Bowles later described as "an argument with his girlfriend" during the Governors Ball on Randalls Island. The argument and the aftermath were caught on video and posted to social media.

The Twitter user who posted the video said the woman was "shaken and in tears" after the incident. The user also described Lee as "aggressive" and claimed the Jets linebacker "started to manhandle" the woman, "grabbed" her, and "started dragging her away."

Upon announcing that the league's investigation was closed, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email "Following a review, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that there was a violation of the personal conduct policy."

The Jets are undefeated, which at the moment is insignificant. But really, given all the predictions of doom and gloom, some people probably thought they wouldn't even end up with one preseason win.

They did, but it wasn't pretty (7-3 over the Tennessee Titans at home last Saturday), and they barely answered any of the many, many major question marks surrounding their season and long-term future. Maybe their game in Detroit against the Lions on Saturday night will provide a few more clues about the direction they're headed.

In the meantime, here are five things worth watching at Ford Field tonight:

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV:

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - In the wake of the ugly riots in Charlottesville, Va., there's a possibility that more NFL players will decline to stand for the national anthem during preseason games this weekend, joining a protest started by Colin Kaepernick last year. So far there's no indication any Jets players will join them.

But if they do, their coach will have their back.

"We don't have a rule book on what's right to protest and not protest," Bowles said at Jets training camp on Wednesday. "You don't know those things until the course of time, whether it's sitting for the anthem, whether it's raising your fist, wither it's speaking out, a walk to Washington -- who's to say whose protest is good or bad?"

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV:

John Morton seemed to like everything he saw with Jets quarterback Christian Hackenberg on Saturday night. He liked his poise, his decisiveness, the decisions he made. It was clearly a step in the right direction.

But was it a big step toward Hackenberg getting the starting job?

That's a question that Morton, the Jets new offensive coordinator, wasn't willing to answer on Tuesday. In fact, Morton made it sound like Hackenberg still has a long ways to go.

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Brandon Marshall made a spectacular, one-handed catch in practice on Tuesday with a defensive back pulling at his other arm. He's made a bunch of outstanding plays in training this summer, actually.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- More than a week after being ripped by ex-teammate Sheldon Richardson for being "drama-queenish" and quitting on the Jets last season, Brandon Marshall took the high road on Tuesday and pronounced his feud with Richardson "dead."

"I wasn't surprised," Marshall said when asked for the first time about Richardson's shots. "But there's so much good energy here and the environment is amazing, I don't really have time to go back to that. That's dead. It's dead."

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.tv

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Odell Beckham Jr. has put up crazy numbers in his first three NFL seasons, but he won't mind at all if those numbers suddenly go down. Because there's only one number -- and one thing -- that the New York Giants star receiver really cares about.

And he made that clear as he stood in the fieldhouse on Monday and stared at the five Super Bowl championship banners hanging on the walls, and told the Giants to clear room for No. 5.

"See that banner? That's all I care about," Beckham said as he looked around the building. "Honestly, there's one, two, three, four in here. I don't where they'd put the fifth one, but they're going to have to make room because we need it."

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.tv

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The spectacular, one-handed catch that put Odell Beckham Jr. on the map as a rookie is now commonplace -- and really, just as spectacular as ever. During training camp practices, he warms up by catching passes one-handed; he fields punts one-handed; and occasionally he makes ridiculous, incredible, one-handed catches in team drills, too.

He did it again on Monday, making a leaping, one-handed, backhanded grab over Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins -- very similar to one he made on Sunday, too. The crowd roared as it does with just about everything Beckham does.

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.tv

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Sterling Shepard ankle scare is officially over.

Just 11 days after he was carted off the practice field with an ankle injury fearing the worst, Shepard practiced fully with his teammates on Sunday. There appeared to be very few restrictions on the second-year receiver, who also didn't seem to be favoring his injured ankle at all.

"They cut me loose today, so I am back to doing what I do," Shepard said in a statement released through the team. "I have been doing stuff leading up to this, so I felt like I was ready for a full practice."

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.tv

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Even by Odell Beckham Jr.'s standards, this was a spectacular play: a leaping, one-handed, almost-backhanded catch at the 5-yard line, followed by enough body control to hang on, switch hands and scamper untouched into the end zone. There was a gasp from the crowd, followed by the loudest cheers of the day.

There was only one problem: about 35 yards behind him, the play had already blown up.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The last time anybody saw Christian Hackenberg in a game was the preseason finale almost a year ago. It was a disaster. He completed just 11 of 31 passes for 54 yards and threw an interception, too.

It was a much, much different and better Hackenberg that the Jets got to see on Saturday night.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The good news is the Jets really have no choice but to play most of their starters in their preseason opener. Or maybe that's the bad news given the low expectations for this team.

But Jets GM Mike Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles have promised competition all summer long for almost every job on the roster, and the competition begins for real against the Tennessee Titans at the Meadowlands on Saturday night. Not all jobs are up for grabs, of course, but quite a few are.

Here's an inside look at some of the battles and 10 intriguing players to watch:

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The news that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has been suspended for the first six games of the NFL season has the potential to cause a seismic shift in the NFC East. But it didn't cause many waves in the Giants locker room.

As far as the Giants are concerned, the Cowboys will be tough to beat in the regular season opener with or without the NFL's best young running back. So the news didn't change their outlook on the season one bit.

I don't care," said Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas. "We get them how we get them. But they're still Dallas now. They still have a very good young quarterback who had a good, strong rookie year. They've got a strong receiver on the outside, one of the better slot receivers in the game, one of the greatest tight ends I ever played against. Those guys are still there. Their O-line is still intact."

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It's too early to make sweeping judgements, but the first impressions of the Giants offensive line on Saturday night were that they looked a lot like last year's offensive line.

And obviously that's not good.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Head coach Ben McAdoo said he plans to treat the Giants' preseason opener the same way he treated last year's. That means there'll likely be no Eli Manning, no Odell Beckham Jr., no Jason Pierre-Paul, no Landon Collins or many other starters.

And the starters that do actually play probably won't play much at all.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Giants open the preseason on Friday night, just two weeks after they opened camp. And with a veteran team with few training camp battles, very little has changed.

In those few battles, though, some very clear lines have been drawn. The action in the preseason games will determine everything of course, but as the games begin, here's a look at where the action stands in the five big battles I identified (hand handicapped) before camp began:

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The last time the world saw Geno Smith on a football field he was the embattled, former starting quarterback of the Jets, briefly given his job back by default. Then, he was carted away with a torn ACL and his time with the Jets - and maybe as an NFL starter - were over.

But here he is again, getting ready for another game at a familiar stadium, this time in a battle for the job of backup quarterback with the Giants. He feels better, stronger, smarter and healthier, and he certainly seems a lot happier than he was.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Giants have remained steadfastly committed to Ereck Flowers as their starting left tackle all spring and summer long. But on Wednesday afternoon, the door opened just a crack for a possible change.

Late in practice, Chad Wheeler, an undrafted rookie from USC, replaced Flowers with the first team offensive line and took the final three reps of full-team drills. The 23-year-old Flowers wasn't hurt, and there had been no previous signs of a regular rotation at tackle during the summer.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Losing can bring out the worst in people. It can make others see the worst in people, too. And that might explain why the Giants see Brandon Marshall as a leader who can bring their locker room together, while Sheldon Richardson sees him as a "drama queen" who ripped the Jets apart.

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Quincy Enunwa is nice receiver with decent size (6-2, 225) who can make tough catches. And his production last season as the Jets' No. 2 receiver after Eric Decker got hurt was unexpectedly good.

But he's never been thought of as one of the players the Jets could least afford to lose. He's never been considered irreplaceable.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The first play of the Jets' intrasquad scrimmage was a false start on the offense, which then went three-and-out on three of its first four drives.

It was a terrible, though hardly unexpected start. But there was a bright side.

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The Jets entered camp with a dangerously thin receiving corps. On Saturday night, it may have gotten a little thinner.

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On Thursday, Sterling Shepard wasn't sure if he'd be able to play at all this preseason on his injured ankle. Then on Friday he was back running on a practice field.

That's remarkable progress considering the 24-year-old is just three days removed from being carted off the practice field after rolling his ankle during a drill at Giants camp. He was admittedly screaming in pain and said "I was pretty worried."

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - B.J. Goodson has hit as hard as anyone out on the field at Giants training camp this summer. He clearly has no problem delivering some punishment to his teammates on offense.

But has anyone told him that maybe he should dial it down a bit against his own teammates with another five weeks to go until the games start for real?

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- After three days of full-padded, often-feisty practices, Giants coach Ben McAdoo gave his players a break on Friday. He even gave some of his older players a day (mostly) off.

For Eli Manning, that meant a chance to play offensive coordinator for a few plays, at least.

That's what Manning did during the Giants' light, hour-long walk-through practice at the Meadowlands on Friday. He took the walkie-talkie over and called plays right into the other quarterbacks' ears...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Sterling Shepard swears he wasn't crying when he was carted off the field on Wednesday afternoon. That, he said, "was a little bit of an over-exaggeration." But he was screaming. And he was pretty sure that his ankle injury was pretty bad.

"At first I was pretty worried," the Giants receiver said on Friday afternoon. "I had never really rolled my ankle like that before and I felt it pop. That was the main thing that pretty much scared me. The initial pain wasn't too good. … I was just kind of screaming. That's because I had never felt that pain before."

Thankfully for the second-year receiver, the pain died down, and despite his agony and the fact that his ankle "rolled" at a 90-degree angle, the prognosis isn't terrible. He said tests revealed "a little ankle sprain (and) a little bone bruise … but nothing too serious."

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Roger Goodell had just finished telling everyone how much safer the NFL has become, and how aware his players are of the dangers of concussions. Then Jets rookie safety Jamal Adams reminded him and everyone else how far the NFL still has to go.

"I can speak for a lot of guys that play the game, we live and breathe (football) and this is what we're so passionate about," Adams said. "If I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Aldrick Rosas never allowed himself to get too comfortable, even after Giants training camp opened with no other kickers on the roster. He knew there were many other kickers out there waiting for an opportunity.

And he knew his one-man competition wouldn't last.

"When I got signed, they said we were going to have two kickers," Rosas said after Giants training camp practice on Tuesday. " I always knew in the back of my mind, just keep doing you and working on what you need to work on."

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- There were many ups and downs in Darrelle Revis' two tenures with the Jets, and last season's ending wasn't very pretty. But it sounds like the Jets are able to get past all the bad and will eventually honor him for all the good.

The first indication of that came on Monday when new Jets cornerback Morris Claiborne indicated he got some resistance from the Jets when he first signed and asked to wear No. 24 this season. That's the number he wore in Dallas, but it's also what Revis wore with the Jets. He said the Jets "weren't sure" what they wanted to do with the number and it sounded like they resisted -- if not outright refused -- Claiborne's request.

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has said over and over again this offseason how he's trying to build a "long-term future" for the Jets, not just a team that can be competitive for one year. He's doing it the right way, too, getting rid of high-priced veterans who stand in the way of talented, younger players.

Then why are the Jets almost certain to open the season with a 38-year-old starting quarterback in Josh McCown?

It's a fair question in light of the Jets' rebuilding effort. In a locker room filled with young players, McCown doesn't exactly fit in with the plan. But he's still the one getting most of the first-team reps at training camp. And Maccagnan wouldn't even hint at when the transition to the 22-year-old Christian Hackenberg will likely begin.

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Roger Goodell put a stop to all the talk about the Jets tanking the 2017 season to land the top pick in next year's draft. Because as far as the NFL commissioner is concerned, NFL teams would never tank.

"I don't think any team tanks. I really don't," he said on Monday at a fan forum inside the Jets' practice facility. "I think the teams, depending on where you are, go through transitions. They are looking to say, 'We need to build more talent here. We'll do this through the draft and let some of our veteran players go and develop some of our younger players.' That's always been part of football. That's always been part of sports."

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The star of training camp on Saturday was clearly Odell Beckham, Jr., who caught almost everything thrown his direction and even turned on the jets for a long touchdown, too. Everything he did thrilled the small crowd gathered on the chilly afternoon at the Meadowlands.

And none of it surprised his new teammate, Brandon Marshall, who called him "obviously the best player in the NFL."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Brandon Marshall still felt like the new kid in town a few months ago as he was learning a new offense and his new teammates' names. He was enjoying a chance at a late-career renaissance, a chance to maybe even feel young again.

And then a teammate reminded him he was old.

"It was pretty interesting," Marshall said. "A couple of months ago, walking in the showers and there's this guy who was like 'Man Brandon, I remember watching you when I was in middle school.' Like, 'What?' That tells how old I'm getting, right? I've got a teammate who was literally watching me in the NFL when he was in middle school. That kind of shocked me a little bit."

That's just the reality, though, for a 33-year-old receiver now in his 12^th season and with his fifth NFL team. Marshall is old compared to most of his teammates. He's also wiser. And he hopes he's better, too...

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - When Odell Beckham, Jr. stated his desire to be the highest-paid player in the NFL it was not the first shot fired in a contract war with the Giants.

In fact, Beckham insisted, there's not going to be any contract war at all.

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The word that defined the Jets during the offseason was "rebuilding" - unless, of course, you were Jets GM Mike Maccagnan. To him, it was all about "competition". And with a roster in flux, he certainly has created a lot of that.

Whether that's a good thing remains to be seen, and depends on the talent he has assembled. He will have plenty of training camp position battles to watch, though.

Here's a quick look at the Top 5..

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - John Mara had absolutely no problem with Odell Beckham, Jr. saying he wants to be the NFL's highest-paid player. That just doesn't mean it will ever actually happen.

But in the end, it sounds like even Mara knows Beckham might come close.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - If you believe Odell Beckham, Jr., his desire to be the NFL's highest-paid player isn't just about him and his bank account. It's a noble fight for NFL players everywhere, to lift them from the ranks of the tragically underpaid.

It's a familiar fight, too, because the charge is sounded every NBA offseason as the salaries of those players go up and up and up -- and to an extent when some of the craziest baseball numbers come in too. By comparison, NFL players are underpaid, especially when considering the amount of guaranteed money.

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There isn't a lot of uncertainty in the Giants' lineup, but there are still some lingering questions as they head into a pivotal year. They are coming off an 11-5 season and are expected to be a Super Bowl contender. But they are far from a powerhouse team without any flaws.

So you've undoubtedly got plenty of questions. I'll take my best chance at giving you some answers here in my pre-training camp reader mailbag, Part III:

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At this point, the entire Jets roster, season and future can be summed up with one big question mark. No one seems to know - or at least fully understand -- exactly what they're doing and whether whatever plans they have can actually work.

So I know you've got plenty of questions. I'll take my best chance at giving you some answers here in my pre-training camp reader mailbag, Part II...

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Justin Pugh still remembers sitting on the bench at the end of the Giants' 38-13 playoff loss in Green Bay, looking up at the scoreboard and thinking "That's not us."

"That's not this team," he recalled thinking as the Giants reported for training camp on Thursday. "The score didn't reflect how that game went. So I'm excited to get back to that point. I'm excited to go and play those teams, play in the big games, get back to the playoffs, and get back to where we need to be as an organization -- which is playing for a fifth championship."

Eli Manning has been the NFL's most durable quarterback, but even he is going to have to make some concessions to age.

That might be the biggest challenge facing the 36-year-old quarterback, according to Giants GM Jerry Reese. He has made 199 consecutive starts dating back to 2004 - 211 including the playoffs. To keep that streak going this season, there are a few adjustments he's going to have to make.

"Eli has to take care of himself and get himself ready to play mentally and physically," Reese said. "When guys get up in age, you have to take care of them when they get up in age. There are a few guys on the squad that coach McAdoo and our staff, we've talked about 'OK, let's make sure these guys get to the game, get to the season.' You've got to protect them in some ways."

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV: 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - As the Giants reported to training camp early Thursday morning they all seemed to have their eyes sharply focused on the trophy case in the lobby. They are intent on adding a fifth Super Bowl trophy to the case. And they have many good reasons to believe they can.

But there's still one big reason to be skeptical about their chances, and it's really the issue on which this entire season can turn. If the Giants are really going to be Super Bowl contenders there's only one way that can happen:

They're going to need dramatic improvement from their beleaguered offensive line.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

At this point, the entire Jets roster, season and future can be summed up with one big question mark. No one seems to know - or at least fully understand -- exactly what they're doing and whether whatever plans they have can actually work.

So I know you've got plenty of questions. I'll take my best chance at giving you some answers here in my pre-training camp reader mailbag, Part II...

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

There isn't a lot of uncertainty in the Giants' lineup, but there are still some lingering questions as they head into a pivotal year. They are coming off an 11-5 season and are expected to be a Super Bowl contender. But they are far from a powerhouse team without any flaws.

So you've undoubtedly got plenty of questions. I'll take my best chance at giving you some answers here in my pre-training camp reader mailbag, Part I:

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

There isn't a lot of uncertainty in the Giants' lineup, but there are still some lingering questions as they head into a pivotal year. They are coming off an 11-5 season and are expected to be a Super Bowl contender. But they are far from a powerhouse team without any flaws.

So you've undoubtedly got plenty of questions. I'll take my best chance at giving you some answers here in my pre-training camp reader mailbag, Part I:

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

At this point, the entire Jets roster, season and future can be summed up with one big question mark. No one seems to know - or at least fully understand -- exactly what they're doing and whether whatever plans they have can actually work.

So I know you've got plenty of questions. I'll take my best chance at giving you some answers here in my pre-training camp reader mailbag, Part I...

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants' confidence heading into this season comes largely from the fact that they return almost every key player from an 11-5 season. That means, as players report to camp on Thursday, very few positions in the lineup are up for grabs.

There are some, though, and the battles for those spots could be fierce, even if they're not very high-profile. Here's a quick look at the five biggest battles that will take place during camp...

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV:

The Giants' Super Bowl aspirations hinge on the belief that they will build off last season when they went 11-5 and made the playoffs for the first time in five years. They also hinge on the belief that the players who played so well last season won't go backward, and those that overachieved will step back up.

So here's a look at some of the key players whose performances could be key to the Giants' 2017 fortunes. Some underachieved last season, some overachieved, and some are newcomers with big shoes to fill.