When Jon Halapio joined the New York Giants' practice squad in 2016
Michael Del Zotto Jersey , Brett Jones was one of the first guys to welcome him.
Jones had joined the Giants the previous year as a center in trying to make the jump from the CFL to the NFL, and he appreciated when some new teammates
made him feel welcome.
Why not do the same for Halapio? The two 27-year-old offensive linemen became real good friends and helped each other become better players.
Halapio, a guard at Florida, taught Jones some trade secrets at the spot and Jones taught his buddy how to snap and play center.
A little less than two years later, Jones is fighting to keep the starting center job he manned the final 12 games of last season. And it's Halapio, who is
the main competition.
Not only is he the competition, Halapio has been getting most of the first-team snaps in the lineup being put on the field by new coach Pat
Shurmur.
Jones isn't worried. It's early in training camp and nothing is set. He also has no regrets about teaching the guy who might take his job.
"It's always been like that in my life," Jones said Monday. "If anybody ever gave me an opportunity I wanted to repay it to them. So that was my thing. Jon
was on the practice squad and I was the backup center and if Jon was going to
play I wanted to help him out and do what I could. That's what a good teammate
does."
Learning to snap was part of the mentoring.
"He had asked me and I sort of gave him the basic training for it," said Jones, who was the CFL's most outstanding lineman in 2014 and missed his first
season in the NFL the following year because of a training camp injury. "After
practice we would stay and practice snapping. It sort of went from there."
Halapio took the long road to the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round by New England in 2014. He was on the Broncos' practice squad that season and went
to the Cardinals and Patriots training camps in 2015 and '16
Authentic Alexander Radulov Jersey , respectively, getting cut each time.
The Giants signed him to the practice squad for most of 2016. He was cut in training camp the following season and re-signed to the practice squad. Injuries
got him on the active roster in October and he played in 10 games with six
starts at guard.
The move to center came this year.
"Everything was new so I had to learn a lot, not only the schemes, but the different techniques and calls," Halapio said. "I had to learn a lot."
The biggest differences are blocking from a balanced stance, having to make line calls and read coverages and sometimes making the shotgun snaps.
"The more you do it, the better you get," Halapio said. "In the offseason I snapped a bunch, and even now I keep snapping after practice so it's second
nature."
Halapio admits fighting Jones for a job felt odd at first.
"It's just pure competition now," Halapio said. "Like coach says all the time
http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-mikhail-sergachev-jersey , don't read into who's taking the first-team reps. Everyone is being evaluated.
As far as me and Brett goes, we're friends. We help each other out in the film
room, on the field, outside of football. Nothing is awkward between us. Yeah,
it's just pure competition between us and everybody in the room."
The Giants have revamped their offensive line after last year's disastrous 3-13 season. Guard Justin Pugh and center Weston Richburg signed elsewhere as
free agents. Guard John Jerry is now a backup fighting for a roster spot.
Patriots free agent Nate Solder was signed to take over at left tackle and 2015 first-rounder Ereck Flowers was moved to right tackle. Second-round draft
pick Will Hernandez is the left guard and free agent Patrick Omameh is the right
guard.
The center spot is uncertain.
A former center, Shurmur says he is watching the position closely. He wants his centers to be good communicators.
Halapio might be a little stronger than Jones, who probably understands the job better and had 30 NFL games under his belt at guard and center.
It should be an interesting decision for Shurmur.
The Atlanta Braves, tied for the best record in the National League, return home from their brief two-game road trip to host the Baltimore Orioles, the team
with the worst record in baseball.
The three-game interleague series begins on Friday at SunTrust Park.
Baltimore will start right-hander Alex Cobb (2-9
Youth Colin Miller Jersey , 7.14) against Atlanta left-hander Sean Newcomb (8-2, 2.70) in the series opener.
The Braves (43-30) split two games at Toronto and return home having won seven of their last 10 games. Atlanta has a three-game lead over Washington in
the National League East.
The Orioles (21-52) have lost eight of their last 10 games. They dropped two of three games at Washington, although all of the games were within three
runs.
Newcomb has made enjoyed a breakthrough season in his second year in the majors. Newcomb has posted two scoreless starts over his last three appearances,
most recently on June 16 against San Diego. He struck out seven and allowed two
hits in that six-inning start, which he won. That was a bounce-back for the
southpaw, who had allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings against Los Angeles in his
previous start.
“After you have a good one, you’ve got to be able to clear it and look forward to the next one,” Newcomb said. “You’ve got to treat each start as kind
of a new thing, whether you had a good one or a bad one. That allows you to go
out fresh every time.”
Newcomb leads the team in wins and has allowed two or fewer runs in ten of his 14 starts. He has never faced the Orioles.
“It’s good to see that maturity and confidence in him now,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “There’s no panic. I love how he stays pitch-to-pitch during
a game. It’s just a young pitcher who is confident in what he’s doing and has
faith in himself.”
Cobb has made five quality starts in 12 previous outings but has not pitched well in his last two starts
Alex Killorn Jersey Kids , both losses. He allowed five runs in seven innings against Miami on June 16 and was rocked for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings
against Toronto in June 10.
“Being out there and feeling comfortable is such a thing you take for granted,” Cobb said. “I’m just really comfortable where I’m at. I’m able to
execute a high amount of pitches. That’s going to lead to some success.”
He has one career start against the Braves in 2012. He allowed two runs in seven innings and struck out six in earning the victory.
With the series in Atlanta, Baltimore will not be able to use a designated hitter. That may be OK with Mark Trumbo, who is hitting .349 (15-for-43) in 13
games playing in the field, compared to hitting .233 in 27 games as the DH.
Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman has been among the league leaders all season. He leads the National League total bases (162) and is second in on-base
percentage (.420) and slugging percentage (.579). His 93 hits are tied with
teammate Nick Markakis for the league lead. His .332 batting average is second
only to Scooter Gennett’s .336 mark.
The Orioles are expected to get slugger Chris Davis back in the lineup on Friday. He has missed eight games while making offensive adjustments after
hitting .150 with 86 strikeouts in 57 games.
“I’m really looking forward to getting him back on the field,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “I’m really looking forward to getting the
impactful player he’s capable of being.”
Cheap New Orleans Saints Jerseys
