It’s not just rookies and veteran players who are considered low-hanging fruit at the bottom of the roster, who are being heavily coached by Joe Judge and his staff. Star running back Saquon Barkley said earlier this week that he wanted to become a coach.
‘I feel the only way you can improve is through coaching. Of course, I’m not naive about the fact that I’m sitting with an enormous talent, ”said Barkley. “The way you improve is by focusing on small things, focusing on the details and listening to your coaches.”
At Tuesday’s practice, a completely refurbished, two-hour physical affair with driving and shoving between rookie-offensive lineman Shane Lemieux and defensive tackle RJ McIntosh, Barkley got his wish. Pat Leonard tweeted that “the head coach set a tone that he will go to the highest profile player of the team. ”
“We coach everyone the same,” coach Joe Judge said during his video conference after the practice. “We try to demand the best from everyone and improve them every day. We do not let details slip. ”
Judge said his team has so far responded well to how hard it is being coached.
‘The thing I am most impressed with is how coachable this team is. They come in here every day looking for details, they are looking for coaching points. They want to improve. They want to do better. They understand that it is about the message, and not how the message is always delivered. We coach hard, we are very demanding. This is a difficult job, “said the judge.
‘We’re in New York City. This is a difficult place to play and coach. We need to have guys with thick skin and understand that we need to operate in high pressure situations. We can not go out on the practice field and just sing Kumbaya together if we want to move forward. ”
Ralph Vacchiano tweeted that the two-hour practice was “very intense, difficult … Very old school. ”
Skea bang
Already often thin at cornerbacks, the Giants seem to avoid a ball with Corey Ballentine. That’s good, because Ballentine could finally start next to James Bradberry.
Giants got a shock when CB Corey Ballantine went down after being hit by WR Austin Mack in a 1 on 1 tackle drill.
The choice came out for Ballentine, who revealed he was shrugging his shoulders. Ballentine never left the field and was able to complete the practice.– Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) August 18, 2020
Judge said after the practice that Ballentine “was good to go.” He had no information about wide receiver Cody Core, who also left the practice with an apparent injury.
The Giants did a rare full tackle drill when Ballentine got hurt.
Joe Judge declared drill w / Ballentine injured scared. Basically offensive man w / ball line up 5 yards of defensive player on goal line. Ball carrier tries to run full speed through defender, who tackles to the ground. Judge said he has been drilling for 10 years, even in season
– Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 19, 2020
“We can not get the boys ready to drive on I-95 by driving on back roads,” Judge said. “When we think the Pittsburgh Steelers come in here to hug us, we are all sadly wrong. We need to train these guys in a physical way to make it safe to play the game on the eway where the game is being played. ‘
Judge said the approached drill is a “safe drill” in a “controlled space.” The coach acknowledged that there could be a “shock factor” the first time fans or media saw the drill.
The runs continue
Rookie Cam Brown apparently learned a hard lesson Tuesday.
Rookie Cam Brown was fired by LB coach Bret Bielema late in training due to lack of hustle and had to run TWO laps while the rest of the team practiced.
Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) August 18, 2020
Back and forth, Wayne Gallman ran a round for the second straight day.
Judge was asked about the criticism of Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and others about making players spin these rounds.
“Everything we do has a purpose, and we are very intent on explaining to our team why we do things we do,” Judge said. ‘I am a big believer in training our team in the reason we do things, that we are not just blind and trying and going forward and forcing punishment.
‘If you make mistakes on the field, there are consequences. In a game it is the penalty yard. In practice, we need to understand that there are consequences for mistakes. This is not a punishment. ”
Practice highlights
A few clips and tweets from those who were present because you really were not in East Rutherford for this training.
Some takeaways:
Rookie OT Andrew Thomas had ups and downs in 1 on 1 drills. Crushed w / bull rush by Zo Carter. Approach life as a rookie
Best OT on field? Cam Fleming. Looks nice on RT
Sterling Shepard looks really good so far. Catch TD vs Bradberry in live drills
– Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 19, 2020
Rookie on the left tackle Andrew Thomas was practiced well worked into one-on-one drills by Lorenzo Carter, Markus Golden, Kyler Fackrell and Leonard Williams. They seemed to enjoy taking the first round after school.
– Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) August 18, 2020
Dexter Lawrence focused on fitness
“I didn’t really like my build last year, so this year I tried to focus on losing a little bit of weight so I can be better on the field,” Lawrence said. “I walk out and I feel much better than I did last year.
“Every year is just a goal for me. To feel better and get better. ”
‘The biggest thing I would say is, of course, he’s naturally gifted right off the bat,” he said. “But the way he approaches it every day. He gets better every day, he works hard, he takes coach advice. Day by day, or no helmets, helmets or pads, he has gotten better. ”
The rest of the week
Practice schedule and availability of media.
Wednesday, August 19th
12:10 pm – Player interviews
13:30 hrs – 14:30 hrs – Practice
About. 3pm – Chief Coach Joe to get judge
Thursday, August 20th
9.45am – 11:45am – Practice
Afternoon – head coach Joe to get judge
12:10 pm – Player interviews
Friday, August 21st
10:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Practice
13:15 hrs – Get Head Coach Joe Judge
1:25 pm – Player interviews
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Player day off
Not available
