Long practice, high heat don't lessen Joe Judge's intensity at Giants training camp
Giants head coach Joe Judge talks to the quarterbacks during training camp on Aug 18, 2020. Credit: Brad Penner
About two hours into a grueling sun-baked practice on Monday, with several players already sidelined by cramps and other heat-related issues, Joe Judge called his team into the middle of the field.
A post-workout address and a pat on the back after a hard day’s work? Nah. Judge was just getting warmed up.
The clearly unhappy rookie coach read an R-rated riot act to the players that pushed them through another 30 minutes or so of nearly live competitive football to end the longest practice of training camp.
“We have to get it where we come off a day off and we start sharp,” Judge said of the practice. “That's definitely something we have to work at as a team and improve there."
The players were off on Saturday then had a light workout on Sunday.
Despite the clear displeasure he showed Monday, Judge passed his pep talk off as a simple information session.
“We wanted to make sure we established what the emphasis for the rest of practice was,” he said. “Just wanted to make sure the players were aware of what we were trying to do.”
Apparently they were. They had a spirited end of the day with two field-long drives and a pair of two-minute drills.
“The guys came out and definitely ended with a good intensity at practice, competing at the end,” Judge said. “I thought they finished the practice with a lot of intensity."
Judge had a few more words for the players after the practice, and then linebacker Blake Martinez addressed the team on the field before they wrapped things up for the day.
NOTES & QUOTES: Defensive line coach Sean Spencer likes the size and strength of recently-added tackle Daylon Mack (6-1, 340). “I can tell you one thing, he can’t fit in a whole bunch of pants,” Spencer said. “He has the biggest thighs I have ever seen in my life. He’s a load… I know that he’s got great leverage, being so compact and strong” … WR Corey Coleman caught a deep pass from Daniel Jones in the two-minute drill portion of practice, showcasing his speed while stepping in for injured Darius Slayton … One of the knocks on Blake Martinez when he signed with the Giants was his coverage ability. Inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer said on Monday: “You kind of think of him as being more of a downhill mike linebacker, but he has a lot of awareness and ability in the coverage game.” As if to prove the point later in practice, Martinez went stride-for-stride with Saquon Barkley on a deep pass and batted it away in drills.
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.
