New York Giants Notebook | Logan Ryan Feels the Love, What Judge Learned About the Team, and More
Giants defensive back Logan Ryan might not have been smiling after the Giants' 27-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Still, for the long-term, Ryan can take solace in knowing that he has an NFL home at a place where he's wanted and appreciated for at least the next three seasons.
Ryan, who on Christmas Day signed a three-year contract extension, will get to stay in his home state of New Jersey and believes that he and the Giants are a match made in Heaven.
"I think it was a good deal for both sides. I’ve had a lot of things in my career ... but I haven’t always felt appreciated by the organization for whatever I did that year," he said.
"I think the Giants really appreciate me for not even just being the player I am on the field, but I think they understand what I bring off the field, I think they appreciate what I do in the community, I think they understand my wife and I, our family, our struggles, our successes and I think they understand the leadership I bring to the team.
"That feeling of appreciation is what we all look for in life regardless of money, and that’s something I felt was special here and something I wanted to continue to feel, and I wanted to pay that back to the organization by committing here as long as I did."
What Judge Learned About the Giants
After a four-game winning streak that came mostly against competition that was on par with the Giants, it was thought that head coach Joe Judge was going to learn a lot about just how far his team had come from its early days once it started facing an upgrade in competition.
But what Judge learned came from the lean days earlier in the season when the Giants couldn't get out of their own way on game day.
“We were 0-5, 1-7 and you find out right then that you have a team that comes to work every day, that is committed to everybody and starts getting better collectively," Judge said.
"I learned how mentally tough they were through that stretch. I learned how focused they were and committed to getting this thing going in the right direction. I am not trying to take shortcuts, but we are trying to do it the right way.
"Ultimately in terms of the character of the team, the work ethic of the team, the toughness of the team--we have the right start to who we are working with and the direction we are going right now," he added. "We just need to make sure we do more on the field to get the tangible results.”
Keeping Their Chins Up
Throughout Giants franchise history, there have been stories of players who have gone into total meltdowns following brutal losses, such as what the Giants took on the chin against the Ravens.
While some might view that display of emotion--be it throwing a garbage can or kicking a chair--as a sign of caring, this Giants team has shown a newfound level of maturity in which they withhold any signs of being upset and instead put that energy into working to improve.
Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence acknowledged that while the Giants started on the wrong foot, that they managed to hold the Ravens to seven points in the second half made up for it.
"It happens in the game," he said of falling behind. "We just have to come back off of that. I think we responded really well as a defense. We held them to only a few more points after that. They came out strong, but it's all about the finish and I think we finished pretty well."
Receiver Sterling Shepard, who, along with the Giants offense, only saw the ball for 7:22 in the first half, agreed.
"I really wasn't frustrated, and neither were the guys on the offense," he said. "We got a group of guys that will keep pounding no matter what’s going on. That’s what I love about this team and this offensive unit. Guys are going to keep on working as you saw at the end of the game, we were trying to keep pounding and put up a point on the board. I’m proud of the guys and the way they finished the game."
Shepard also disagreed--without saying as much--that these last three games have shown how far away the Giants are as a defender.
"Games are always going to show you what you need to correct," he said. "That’s what we do. We get into the lab on Monday and we try to correct those things that we didn’t do so hot on in the previous week. You’re going to learn week to week what you need to do."
