Giants Q&A: Where next? Team heads to Arizona to practice for Los Angeles game
Giants head coach Joe Judge looks on from the sideline in the second quarter of the game against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: Getty Images/Michael Reaves
Where do the Giants go from here?
Tucson, of course! Yes, instead of returning home after the 20-9 loss to the Dolphins in Miami the Giants flew to Tucson, Arizona, where they will spend the week preparing for their game against the Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday. Joe Judge planned this trip early in the season; he wanted to avoid having the team acclimate from cold to warm weather twice in a two-week span and not have the long cross-country flight to California so close to the Chargers game. They’ll practice at the University of Arizona this week.
Wouldn’t the players rather have just gone home to lick their wounds . . . literally and figuratively?
They actually seemed quite excited about the change in scenery.
"I don’t think it’s a bad idea to get away," Saquon Barkley said. "We can take advantage of this, use this as a trip to relax, breathe, come together collectively, figure out what we’ve got to do better."
Safety Logan Ryan said he thought it would be a good opportunity for the team to bond and get to know each other.
Get to know each other? In December? Haven’t they been together since July?
Yes, but as Ryan noted, the secondary he was on the field with Sunday was completely different than the one he was with the last time he played on Nov. 7 before missing two games due to COVID. The new group includes rookie Aaron Robinson, starting at outside cornerback in place of injured Adoree’ Jackson, and Jarren Williams off the practice squad, called up to play the nickel.
"We’ve had a lot of injuries and there are a lot of new guys," Ryan said. "There have been a lot of moving parts this year. We need team unity, we need team bonding."
They also might have a starting quarterback who some of the other players have yet to introduce themselves to if Jake Fromm has to play against the Chargers.
How long has it been since a Giants wide receiver or running back scored a touchdown?
Not since the Oct. 24 game in Week 7 against the Panthers when Dante Pettis caught a touchdown from Daniel Jones and Devontae Booker scored on a 19-yard run. The streak is now five games without those skill position players having reached the end zone. "I mean, yeah, it’s frustrating," said receiver Kenny Golladay who has not scored at all this season.
When was the last time the Giants lost to the Dolphins in Miami?
It’s never happened. In fact this was just the fourth time the Giants have ever played the Dolphins in South Florida and they were 3-0 up until Sunday. They had two other opportunities to play in Miami but their 1987 game was scratched due to the players’ strike and their 2007 game was played in London.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
