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Another milestone in the NFL offseason program arrived this week with the beginning of Phase 3, during which the Giants (and 19 other teams) are ramping up with organized team activity days — OTAs for short.

It also means we are getting closer to real football.

An OTA essentially is a practice without live contact permitted, meaning there are no pads and no hitting. It kind of, sort of, looks like the real thing, though, when the 11-on-11 drills take place on the field with a complete offense going up against a complete defense, albeit with none of the ferocity up front that punctuates a fully padded training-camp session. There are also 7-on-7 and 9-on-7 drills, but they serve mostly to highlight the pitch-and-catch capabilities of the quarterback and his targets. There is no pass rush, and defensive backs are at a severe and recognized disadvantage with wide receivers running free without worry of getting crushed over the middle.

Lest we forget, OTAs are voluntary, meaning a player cannot be fined if he does not attend. Most players will participate in all of 10 of the OTA sessions, but there will be absences for personal reasons, which are not considered a big deal.

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