Add The New York Post on Google WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — The patriotic row of flags lined up above the front entrance to The Greenbrier Resort was outnumbered Monday by the penalty flags littering the nearby football field.
Access the Giants like never before Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.
The Giants were called for at least 13 penalties — nine on offense and four on defense — during a sloppy, rain-soaked first practice in pads.
Flags flew on five straight plays (four offensive) at one point from the crew of local high school officials.
The range of penalties included everything from false starts to defensive holding on fourth-and-long to delay of game.
“I think that guys are just real jittery on Day 1 of full pads,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “We’ve been working so hard since April … and when you put pads on you start feeling like a little kid again. And I think that tomorrow or the next day or the next day after that, you’ll see that go down tremendously because guys will just really lock in. Now we’re in this thing, and I think guys are going to lock in to the pre-snap alignments and pre-snap cadences and all that stuff.”
Head coach John Harbaugh calmly pointed to the first day in pads and the weather as reasons for the penalties, but the Giants know to expect an earful when watching film.
New York Giants offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor looks on during training camp at the Greenbrier on Monday, August 3, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST The offense generally subs out penalty committers, while the defense is given 10 post-practice pushups for each penalty.
“He’s going to call everyone out in front of the team, but also you just have to know that you have to be better,” said Eluemunor, who was flagged twice. “Me, obviously, I think some of them were B.S., but it’s whatever. Had a couple penalties last year. So, I think penalties are worse than sacks because they can affect the team. They can affect the drive. They can affect the momentum. And everyone on the team understands that.”
New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks to the media during training camp at the Greenbrier on Monday, August 3, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST Go behind the scenes with Big Blue Sign up for Inside the Giants by Paul Schwartz, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.
Harbaugh said he was reminded of his former coach at Miami-Ohio saying “every single day — rain, sleet, snow, hot — is a great day for football.
“And that was kind of a little bit of the theme out here. I mean, it’s raining pretty good. And the guys are out there dealing with the elements — obviously impactful. But we’ll have to play in that at some point.”
The Giants will practice each of the next five days — mostly in pads.
“The second week is the big week of camp,” Harbaugh said. “The second week should be where you cover the most miles, gain the most ground. We want to put the most miles behind us as far as developing the foundation of our team this week. This is just a go-to-work week. Just get better. That’s really what we’re focusing on this week. Not too much evaluating.”
