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This time of year, the New York Giants would be spending part of the day getting to know one another in between sets in the team's weight room, group film sessions, and of course, the on-field work on the grass fields.

Thanks to the restrictions put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Giants off-season program has been reduced to a virtual experience where the only interaction the players and coaches have had is through video conferences used to simulate classroom installation sessions.

While the new normal has posed some challenges for team bonding, Giants head coach Joe Judge, in an interview with Mike Tirico on NBCSN's Lunch Talk Live, spoke about how the players are trying to overcome those challenges and build that all-important camaraderie.

One such method Judge mentioned has been video games, which can not only provide a sense of how one might think in certain situations but also stimulate the competitive spirit in the athletes.

“We’re always searching for ways as coaches ourselves that we can put them in positions and try to create competitive situations within meetings," Judge said. “As much as that seems like something to pass the time, it’s as important for team bonding right now.”

Another thing that Judge and the coaching staff have encouraged is the use of video chats, be it through Zoom, Skype, Apple's FaceTime, or any of the numerous apps that allow for group chats.

It's not the same as sitting next to each other in the locker room chatting, but it can have the same desired effect of building a comfort level between teammates that will be important later on when social distancing and stay-at-home orders are eased.

“The one thing we can’t have is for us to walk into training camp in July or August, and we start looking around and introducing ourselves to each other," Judge said.

"There are things you can’t replicate through a computer, but we have to do our best as a coaching staff to put the players in a situation where they can start forming some of these relationships.”

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Judge and his staff are also holding virtual team meetings with the individual position groups to address the more serious matters of the playbook and game planning.

While the quarantine has impeded Judge and Giants' ability to convey the information in person, the technology has appeared to work just as well.

"We’re trying to make everything as normal as we can," Judge said.

"A lot of it has got to come through the football meetings themselves, in the Xs and Os and conversations, and a lot of it’s to get the players to understand at some point they have to reach out themselves,’’ Judge added.

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