New York Giants show fight, literally, in training camp
The New York Giants have been a doormat for a decade, but perhaps that’s changing this summer during training  camp.
There’s nothing wrong with showing fight in the NFL. Ask the New York Giants.
On Tuesday, the team had its first padded practice — it was the first such practice for all 32 clubs — and things got out of hand quickly for Big Blue. After one play, pushing and shoving led to a full-scale brawl, prompting head coach Joe Judge to verbally unload on his charges before making them run like a high school team showing up late to a scrimmage.
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After the action concluded, quarterback Daniel Jones talked to reporters, via NFL.com:
“There’s consequences for that kind of stuff and that’s the way it is in the game. If you lose your cool, there’s consequences and that hurts the team, so that was the message and everyone understands that.”
While some may chide Judge for being old-school and making his players run gassers at the end of practice, it’s sending a message as Jones points out. New York is a young team that hasn’t won a playoff game since taking down Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. If the franchise is going to turn things around, it starts with acquiring talent — something general manager Dave Gettleman did this offseason — and then making the talent work correctly.
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Riding his players isn’t always going to work, but after a fight which stopped practice, Judge needed to take action. He showed his displeasure and did so in a fashion which the team won’t forget. Come the regular season, perhaps someone pulls back in their anger on the field and doesn’t take a costly personal foul after Tuesday’s experience. If that occurs once, Judge’s tirade and subsequent punishment will have been worth the time.
Of course, none of this might matter. Jones needs to limit his turnovers and star running back Saquon Barkley needs to be all the way back from a torn ACL which cost him the final 14 games of last season. The defense needs to keep improving and the offensive line can’t resemble a sieve. If those things don’t break the right way for New York, Judge can scream and lay down discipline, but it’ll go for naught.
But if those things go right, and the Giants find some structure from Judge’s antics, it’s worth the fight in August.
