Giants are latest NFL team to use drone at training camp

The New York Giants have become the latest NFL team to use a drone to videotape their teams during practice.

The Giants entered the world of high-tech surveillanceWednesday when they used a DJI Phantom 3 drone to videotape a part of the second day of a mandatory veterans minicamp.

Tiny white object above Giants practice is a drone, equipped with camera to take overhead shots of drills. pic.twitter.com/XCyucEGBYq

— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) June 17, 2015

The drone hovered at 50 to 60 feet over the grass field next to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center and gave coaches a chance to study plays from a straight overhead angle.

The Giants' football video department practiced using the drone above an unoccupied field for three weeks before doing it Wednesday.

Coach Tom Coughlin deferred comment until he has more detail regarding exactly what the drone will provide, and has had an opportunity to review the video shot from the drone.

Punter Steve Weatherford and placekicker Josh Brown saw the four-bladed drone hovering above and joked about about using it for target practice.

''Josh was saying: 'It's not that high up there,''' Weatherford said. ''And I said: 'Dude, look at the drone and look at the top of our indoor facility. It's higher (indoors).' Obviously I can hit the top of the indoor facility but you have to hit a pretty good ball to hit the drone. Like a really big ball.''

After a split second, Weatherford finished the thought.

''It's definitely doable,'' he said. ''They won't be putting that up there while I am punting.''

While the kickers plotted against the pesky little chopper, most players were oblivious to the white drone. Quarterbacks Eli Manning and Ryan Nassib admitted they didn't even notice it.

Giants' Josh Brown mule-kicks Rams' Cody Davis in the face (VIDEO)

A kicker's greatest weapon is his foot and St. Louis Rams' Cody Davis found that out the hard way when he he ventured too close to New York Giants kicker Josh Brown while in a pile-up on Sunday.

The result: Brown's mule-kick caught the special team's player right in the face.

Brown was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play.

Giants to boot Lawrence Tynes and sign kicker Josh Brown

It looks like Lawrence Tynes won't be kicking any more heart-clutching field goals for the New York Giants in the future.

The veteran kicker — who who will always be remembered by Big Blue fans for a couple of dramatic overtime kicks that took the Giants to two Super Bowls — is not going to be re-signed by the team, according to a report in NJ.com.

Jenny Vrentas wrote:

Another veteran kicker, Josh Brown, is signing with the Giants Wednesday morning, according to two people with knowledge of the move.  These people requested anonymity because the Giants have not yet announced the signing.

The 34-year-old Tynes just ended a 5-year, $7 million contract with the Giants and the team was waiting for feelers on what the kicker's going rate was as an unrestricted free agent.  The team didn't want to sign him to a big contract.  He made 33-of-39 field goals (84.6%) last season.

Brown was brought in for a visit and a physical last night after the Giants signed former Cowboys kicker David Buehler as insurance last month.

Brown, 33, was a replacement kicker for the Bengals and was named special teams player of the month when he filled in for the injured Mike Nugent last December.  He began his career with the Seattle Seahawks in 2004 and also played for the St. Louis Rams.  Brown tried out with the Jets last summer but was beaten out by Nick Folk.

Tynes — who started with the Giants in 2007 — will always have a place in Giants fans' hearts.  He is most famous for his two game-winning overtime field goals in the 2007 and 2011 NFC Championship Games.

The first 47-yarder came in the freezing cold of Lambeau Field against the Packers. The second clutch kick was a 31-yarder in the mud of Candlestick Park against the 49ers. They both led to Super Bowl titles.

For some reason, the release of Tynes is one more sign of the end of an Giants era.