#Daniel Jones sharing blame for early troubles with Giants’ new center

No, my fault.

This is the dynamic playing out this summer as the Giants break in a new center, Nick Gates. This is a position change for Gates, 24, who was mostly a left tackle at Nebraska and played tackle and guard a bit last season for the Giants.

Center? That’s brand new for Gates and he has a real shot at winning the starting job. Head coach Joe Judge said the competition between Gates and veteran Spencer Pulley is “scratch even.’’

Gates has mostly done a solid job snapping to quarterback Daniel Jones, but every so often the ball hits the ground.

“A lot of times we both just try to take the blame on it,’’ Gates said Monday. “We both don’t want to throw each other under the bus. We kind of say, ‘Oh, that was me’, ‘That was me.’ ’’

However gallant this is, it does not much matter when it comes to who Judge chooses to blame. Both players are sent off on a lap around the field whenever there is a botched exchange.

A fight nearly broke out after LB Devante Downs slammed RB Sandro Platzgummer to the ground too roughly for the liking of the offensive players. Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard and Gates confronted Downs before cooler heads prevailed. Downs has a real shot to be a starter alongside Blake Martinez. … A hit by DT Leonard Williams knocked Barkley to the grass and got Williams sent off for a play.

The Giants on Tuesday will take a look at players in a workout and one of them on the schedule is Jon Halapio, their former center. Halapio is coming off surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, an injury suffered in Week 17 last season. Others taking part in the workout are QB Jalan McClendon, WR Jaron Brown and WR Tommy Holton.