Joe Judge is talking crazy about Daniel Jones, Giants
If Daniel Jones gets hurt in a New York Giants practice, Joe Judge should start polishing up his resume.
On Tuesday, the first-year head coach talked about potentially taking off Jones’ red jersey — the universal football signal for no contact — to allow for some live hitting. It’s unthinkable in today’s league, and yet Judge seems certain to have some hitting on Jones in the near future. Per NFL.com:
“I’m not in a hurry to go ahead and just beat the hell out of him,” Judge said. “But at some point, we’ll prepare his body for what he may take in the first game.”
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If Jones were to take a hit in training camp and miss any time, Judge would be skewered on the back page of every New York paper. It would come rightfully, considering Jones will be taking enough hits come the regular season. The notion Jones needs to be made ready for contact is absurd, considering many quarterbacks are barely or never hit during the preseason and then survive the regular season just fine.
Judge has had a very headline-grabbing camp to this point in his first go-round. The former New England Patriots special teams coach has denied allowing players to have their names on jerseys, and has been making both players and coaches run laps for mistakes.
If Judge isn’t to lose the entire team by Halloween, he needs a damn good start to the season.
Read: Yankees Activate Aaron Judge From 10 Day Injured List
For openers, New York hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers and the returning Ben Roethlisberger on Monday Night Football in Week 1. After that, it’s the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field before returning home for the San Francisco 49ers. It’s fair to believe New York won’t be favored until Week 6 when it hosts the Washington Football Team.
Judge has been vastly different than most new coaches, who are trying to proverbially get their feet under them. Instead, he’s completely reversed or upended most norms, and in the process taken on the pressure of needing to validate his methods. It’s a dangerous game for a man without a single game of experience as a head coach at any level.
Of course, running laps and ripping off nameplates is one thing. Exposing the franchise quarterback to hits in training camp practices is another, and a move which could have dire, long-lasting consequences.
