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Addition of CB Leon Hall gives New York Giants options

By The Sports Xchange
Former Cincinnati Bengals CB Leon Hall (29) runs back a interception for the touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the second half of play at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 29, 2015. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
Former Cincinnati Bengals CB Leon Hall (29) runs back a interception for the touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the second half of play at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 29, 2015. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo

The New York Giants added another key member to their defense in slot cornerback Leon Hall.

The 5-11, 195-pound Hall is a nine-year veteran and comes to the Giants from the Bengals, who selected him in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Michigan.

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"We're fortunate to add Leon to the roster," head coach Ben McAdoo said. "He's a pro's pro, has played a lot of football, and has a nice skill set for us.

"We see him playing a lot of inside football for us, serving as a nickel. But never say never when a guy has a chance to move around."

"I'm comfortable there," Hall said of playing in the slot. "We've talked and I'm comfortable in multiple spots, which I think is a good thing, especially for this team, just to be able to be flexible. I pride myself on being able to play in the slot, and if they need me on the outside and elsewhere, I pride myself on being ready for that, too."

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Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who described Hall as a "smart player," could barely hide his delight over the latest acquisition to his revamped defense.

"We think he can bring some things to the package that we can do some multiple things that maybe we couldn't do before this point, so I'm excited about it," Spagnuolo said.

Before signing Hall, the Giants had been mostly rotating Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the slot with Trevin Wade, last year's incumbent. Rookie first-round pick Eli Apple has mostly remained outside at right cornerback, the position where he excelled in college.

With Hall joining projected starters Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins, Spagnuolo was asked if there was a place for Apple.

"We'll get him in there. There's a lot of downs in this league now with three, four wide receivers, so I don't anticipate that being a problem," Spagnuolo said.

Despite being a seasoned veteran, Hall will have a little bit of a learning curve to pick up the team's concepts and language, but he is looking forward to that challenge.

"I'm a little nervous, naturally, but definitely anxious and excited," Hall said shortly after signing his one-year contract worth a reported $2 million. "I've been working out, but it's different when you're not with a team and training camp. Everybody started last week, so I've been watching on TV. Sitting around watching is not fun, so I'm excited to actually put some cleats on again."

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Hall has 109 starts in 125 games, including postseason. Over that time, he has amassed 470 tackles, 26 interceptions (including three returned for a touchdown), 112 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

His 112 passes defensed are fifth in the NFL since 2007, ranking just one spot behind new teammate Rodgers-Cromartie, drafted in 2008, who is fourth with 122.

Hall, who won the Bengals' Ed Block Courage Award in 2012 after coming back from what would be the first of two torn Achilles tendons, recently had offseason back surgery, and said that he likes where he is right now regarding his physical status.

Hall will make his practice debut with the Giants during a walkthrough scheduled for Friday.

--Maybe it was force of habit or maybe just a coincidence.

Whatever the case, defensive tackle Damon Harrison, who joined the Giants this offseason after four years with the Jets, took quite a bit of ribbing from his teammates for his color choice of ice pops - green -- after his first practice back since being activated from the Active/PUP list.

"They were like, 'Why do you want the green one?' and I was like, 'It's green, it looks sour, I want it,'" Harrison recalled with a chuckle.

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Despite his preference for ice pop colors, make no mistake about it: Harrison is a true blue-collar defensive tackle who said it was driving him crazy to be inactive for the team's first three practices last week while he spent his days in the trainer's room, his twice surgically repaired left knee being monitored.

"I hate the training room. I hate being in there. I'd rather go home and do my own thing because nobody likes coming to work two hours early and leave two hours later."

Unfortunately, it might just be a way of life for the 27-year-old Harrison, at least over the next several days.

The Giants invested a four-year, $46.25 million contract in Harrison this offseason to help give the last year's ninth-worst run defense (121.4 average yards per game) a much needed shot in the arm.

"I knew the plan that they had for me," Harrison said. "But I love the game, so it was hard to just sit around and watch. When I was on PUP I couldn't really go outside. I wanted to go out there and be with my teammates. But Hank (Johnathan Hankins) and JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul), they give me a little crap every day about not being there. So it was good to be back (Tuesday)."

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Head coach Ben McAdoo agreed, chuckling over his projected starter's enthusiasm once he returned to the practice field.

"We had to yank him out of some drills because he was champing at the bit to get going," McAdoo said. "He jumped right back in there and seems to be in pretty good shape."

As expected, Harrison was rusty in his first snaps back with the team. He was often times handled by center Weston Richburg, who at times had a little help from left guard Justin Pugh and right guard John Jerry.

That rustiness left him disappointed with his first snaps of the summer.

"I pride myself on being a technician no matter what," he said. "I'm not the most athletic guy in the world, but I think I have really good technique and I wasn't able to really show that today. I told Coach (McAdoo) I was nervous for some reason, I don't know why -- maybe it was you all out there with the cameras."

Harrison, who said he last had surgeries on his left knee in 2010, believes the swelling that landed him on the PUP list -- something he said has been going on for a while -- was a result of wear and tear, particularly going back and forth between the artificial turf and grass.

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To make sure that he is able to keep his streak of not missing any games alive, Harrison said it's important to listen to his body.

"From talking to veterans everywhere across the league, just listen to your body. It won't lie to you. If you need to pull back, pull back. As eager as you want to be to get back out there, which I was, I probably would have paid more for it after practice for going out there. I even tried to run extra after practice with the guys and the trainers saw me and said 'No,' so I just want to come in to tomorrow feeling the same way I did today."

If he can continue to do that, Harrison is hopeful that the communication with his new defensive line teammates, which they laid down in the spring, continues to strengthen.

"To me, that's the toughest part," he said of that gelling process. "It's not learning the playbook, it's not getting used to a new team and new area, it's fitting in with the guys that you have to play with because everybody has different personalities and you have to learn each guy individually. You can't treat the group the same. I got to give those guys credit...they welcomed me with open arms and made it easy."

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Now Harrison wants to make it easier for them.

"It's just communication," he said regarding the key. "Football is football. I got to talk to JPP, 'Tell me what you like to do' first and foremost before I tell you what I like to do so that I can work with you and play with you because he's had success in the league as well as Vernon, so communication."

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