By Ryan Dunleavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

EAST RUTHERFORD — It's spring time and Pat Shurmur is picking out the weeds.

After trying to change a culture and tinkering with various ideas that he used and didn't use in his first head coaching stop, Shurmur's plan for the Giants is beginning to crystallize.

"We try to put together an offense and a defense, and you come out here and practice different things and each day you emphasize different things to try and get a feel for what the players can do," Shurmur said.

"And then we hone in on what they can do and what works best against, ultimately, Jacksonville in the first game. Then we'll focus on those things."

Here are 11 thoughts as the Giants move from the offseason to the preseason:

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media f

Olivier Vernon is the most important player on defense

Vernon has 15 sacks in two years since signing with the Giants as a free agent to play defensive end. He is moving back to outside linebacker, where he once played with the Dolphins.

The other six starters in the projected starting front seven — Dalvin Tomlinson, Damon Harrison, B.J. Hill, Alec Ogletree, B.J. Goodson and Kareem Martin — combine for 16.5 career sacks. Vernon's career total is 44.

The Giants are hoping rookie third-round pick Lorenzo Carter quickly develops into an edge pass-rusher.

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Defensive coordinator James Bettcher praised Vernon's versatility, but where is the rest of the pass rush coming from? Maybe that will be easy to determine in training camp, when the pads come on and hitting is live.

Until then...

"Some of the other guys that I think can give us some impact would be guys that have a chance to win 1-on-1 matchups, or our guys that we can bring from different angles," Bettcher said. "And, at times, if we have to, change who the fourth rusher is. At times maybe bring five or six. Whatever we would need to do."

Vernon is the highest-paid defensive player on the Giants, with an average salary of $17 million per year.

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Time to move forward with 3 QBs

Teams often have four or five quarterbacks in minicamp and four in training camp, but the Giants should go with three in training camp and open a spot on the 90-man roster for another position. It's nothing Alex Tanney did wrong, but the depth chart already is determined: 1) Eli Manning 2) Davis Webb 3) Kyle Lauletta.

Unless the Giants are going to carry four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, it has to be that way — or another team will steal Webb or Lauletta from the practice squad. If the Giants really want to keep Tanney, 30, around on the practice squad, he probably will be available in September.

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Webb talked about how as a rookie third-stringer his reps really started to disappear in training camp and then dwindled further early in the regular season. That is going to happen to Lauletta, who should get all the third-team reps (limited as they are) moving forward to help his growth.

Shurmur is bringing in rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans two days early for training camp in order to get Lauletta extra work. He seems very conscious of young players getting proper development time.

There is something to be said for having a "camp arm" to avoid shoulder fatigue, but the Giants have two youngsters who should have plenty of throws stored up.

"I think they’ve both made great progress," Shurmur said, "and I’m looking forward to them continuing that when we get here in training camp."

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Danielle Parhizkaran | USA TODAY Sports

Will Hernandez is going to be a fan favorite

Hog Molly Hernandez. You already can see the nickname catching on.

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman got himself a beloved "hog molly" when he drafted Hernandez in the second round with the No. 34 overall pick. Hernandez is taking seriously his role as a protector of Eli Manning and Saquon Barkley.

Hernandez said he wouldn't back down from anyone ... and threw a punch at Damon Harrison when the All-Pro swung a helmet at the unprotected rookie. Giants fans love brute toughness ... and Hernandez has tons of it.

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The battles on the outside will be fun to watch

The Giants have two starting wide receivers — Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard — and two starting cornerbacks — Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins. The rest of the depth chart at both positions is wide open.

There are 12 receivers and nine cornerbacks on the 90-man roster.

"We’re going to put the players in there and use them to the best of their ability and try to get them the ball," Shurmur said.

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The head coach was a little more revealing on cornerback.

"It’s going to be competitive to see whose going to be, in my mind, our third, fourth and fifth corner," Shurmur said. "We’ve got some candidates who are doing some really good things. And then they’re going to have to have a role."

Shurmur expects to play nickel defense more than 50 percent of the time. William Gay, Michael Thomas and B.W. Webb all have seen practice time in the slot.

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The Giants could invent the 5-TE formation

You've heard of teams going into a five-wide formation. Well, what if the Giants go five tight ends?

Yes, we are being facetious, but only partly.

The Giants signed Middletown South High School product Scott Simonson during minicamp. He is the seventh tight end on the 90-man roster, joining Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison, Jerell Adams, Kyle Carter, Ryan O'Malley and Garrett Dickerson.

Considering the Giants are set with Engram as the starter and Ellison as his backup, it's strange to see so many tight ends, even if they are special teams contributors.

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Legal sports betting off to fast start, but will it stick?

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

No way to hide OBJ

If Odell Beckham isn't on the practice field when training camp begins, it's a holdout. Even if he reports.

The Giants and Beckham smartly slow-walked his recovery from ankle surgery. Even this week, when he was medically cleared to return, it didn't seem red flag-worthy that he sat out team drills.

Especially because Beckham seemed willing to stay after practice and get extra routes with Eli Manning. In fact, Manning's only real action Thursday was throwing to Beckham.

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There are only a few ways this plays out: 1) He gets a contract extension before camp opens. 2) He refuses to participate and risk injury. 3) He practices and loses all leverage in negotiations.

Shurmur has "no reason to believe" Beckham won't be a full participant in training camp." He hasn't asked Beckham about his attendance for training camp but he "expect(s) to see everybody here."

Beckham is subject to a fine of about $40,000 per day if he holds out in training camp.

"When I see him in the meetings, when I see him on the field," Shurmur said, "regardless of what he’s doing, when I see him on the field he’s really engaged."

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Saquon Barkley still hasn't signed his rookie contract

It's easy to forget because he has practiced 16 times over the last five weeks, from rookie minicamp to organized team activities to mandatory minicamp.

There isn't much room for negotiation in a rookie contract because of the draft pay scale — and Barkley is supposed to receive second-highest richest running back contract ever — but what isn't done isn't done.

Barkley told Newsday he will be at training camp regardless of if his contract is signed or not. Unsigned draft picks practice under a rookie participation agreement that assures an approximately equal contract if injured on the field. Only slightly more than half of the first-round picks have signed thus far.

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"The history, legacy and all the great players," Barkley said of his first impression of the Giants. "Being able to go to the (charity) softball game and seeing all the running backs. The Tiki’s (Barber) and the (Rodney) Hampton’s of the world and to be able to meet them.

"You heard about the Giants growing up. I was a Jets fan growing up, but you heard that and I knew of the Giants. You knew and learned how special this place is when you walk in the building. It hits you when you walk in this place, play on this team and put on this jersey."

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4 young players catching Snacks Harrison's eye

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Which undrafted free agents will make the team?

Safety Sean Chandler didn't flash nearly as much during the final three weeks of the offseason program as he did in the early going, but he and cornerback Grant Haley still are at the top of the list because of the opportunity in the wide-open secondary.

The Giants likely will carry four running backs, so Robert Martin needs to beat out Jalen Simmons.

As the Giants look to fill out the offensive line backups, center Evan Brown and guard Nick Gates will be in the mix. But the positional versatility of players like Brett Jones, Jon Halapio and John Grecco makes it more difficult for the Giants to go young on the offensive line.

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Bettcher is hard on his linebackers

No more ignoring linebackers within the Giants.

Bettcher came through the ranks as a linebackers coach and he is putting a lot of responsibility on his group, especially inside linebacker Alec Ogletree. Bettcher sees Ogletree as a Pro Bowl-caliber player.

"He’s definitely a linebackers coach, for sure," Ogletree said. "So, for us, he definitely puts it on us to lead the group, and we put it on ourselves as well to be that leader and be that dominant voice out there and get everybody ready and set to run the plays. We definitely take that responsibility."

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The deep ball is back

Three years ago, Manning was the best deep-ball passer in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. The same site had him ranked No. 34 (of 34) qualifying quarterbacks in 2017, with the biggest single-season drop-off from his career numbers of any quarterback in the NFL.

Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Shepard missed a total of 28 games, and former coach Ben McAdoo's offense called for lots of short routes to take pressure off of the woeful offensive line.

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But the deep ball seems to be back in the offense created by Shurmur and offensive coordinator Mike Shula.

Manning has connected with Engram, Roger Lewis, Cody Latimer and others down the field. The play-action-based offensive scheme is familiar to what he did earlier in his career.

"We're trying to push the ball down the field when we can," Manning said. "Every quarterback wants to throw it down the field some. I think it's something I've been good at in the past. They can be game-changing plays. It's been fun to get back into that."

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When does Giants training camp begin? Here are the details

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Matt Lombardo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Scary time of year for coaches

College football coaches dread the time of year between the end of spring football and the beginning of training camp. More precisely, the time between graduation and when players report back to campus.

The reason? More free time means more opportunity to get in trouble. The idea of blowing off steam before getting back to the grind sounds enticing.

Apparently, NFL coaches think similarly.

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"With five weeks to go, it’s not time off, it’s time away," Shurmur said, "so continue with their preparation.

"We’re always talking to them about being a good citizen, and we say New York Giants pride for a reason: So, be very smart. Be good husbands, good fathers and be good citizens. We talk about that constantly. I think it’s just part of something we do, and we encourage them to do the right thing in every area of their life."

Shurmur also worries about injuries in practice, but the Giants came out of 16 practices relatively unscathed.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

WATCH: Saquon Barkley highlights from minicamp

Ryan Dunleavy can be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy.