How the Giants' new locker room culture has taken root

The first thing that strikes a visitor to the New York Giants locker room is the increased number of competitive games available for the players to participate in.

There is a bean bag toss, a giant-sized version of the popular kids game Connect Four, and, new for 2019 a ping pong table with a nearby whiteboard tracking what appears to be a friendly tournament exiting amongst teammates who get into it during their downtime.

Down the hall in the players' lounge located around the corner from the cafeteria, the players can rest in large comfortable chairs where they usually engage in a video game with each other such as Madden.

Welcome to the new Giants locker room culture, where you'll also see more players chatting with their locker neighbors or visiting fellow teammates within their position group.

Take for instance offensive linemen Chad Slade and Jon Halapio, who are "next-door" neighbors in the locker room.

These days, Halapio is having fun at Slade's expense by calling him "Chris" because the nameplate above his locker incorrectly lists his name as "Chris" instead of "Chad."

Elsewhere, you'll find smaller clusters of players who are either engaged in chatting about college football or sharing humorous videos on their smartphones, all the while enjoying each others company.

It’s all part of the new culture in the locker room where head coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman have worked hard to create an atmosphere where, at the end of the day, 53 players are sharing the proverbial cab instead of each man going his own way.

“I think that’s the thing that we wanted to accomplish over the offseason, getting guys with great character,” said receiver Sterling Shepard.

“You look around the locker room and we’ve just got a group of great guys at the end of the day."

Shepard said he couldn't quite put his finger on the difference but noted that there is a different vibe in the locker room.

“You know that if you’ve been in a locker room before, you can feel when a team is very close. I can’t be too specific with it, but it’s just a feeling, and it feels great.”

“Yeah. We definitely have come together a lot closer this year,” linebacker and newly re-elected defensive captain Alec Ogletree agreed.

“It’s one of those things—the more you stay together with a certain group, the more comfortable you get with being around each other.”

Ogletree noted that there was a lot of newness among the team between the players in the locker room and the arrival of the coaching staff.

But now that everyone has had a chance to get to know one another, a stronger nucleus has formed to where the new additions to the roster this year have found it easier to step in and know what to expect.

The players who form that leadership nucleus have also been instrumental in driving home head coach Pat Shurmur’s practice of blocking out the chatter from outside the building, some of which has not been favorable.

“We’re not too big on listening to the outside noise,” Shepard said.

“We know what we have as a team, and we’re going to put our best foot forward every week. We’re going to prepare the way we’re supposed to prepare.”

It has also helped that Shurmur has kept the goals for the team consistent and within reach.

“We are going to do what we can to go out and win every game we play,” he said of those expectations, adding, “I would encourage you to ask me each week. My expectation is that we go out and put an effort on the field to beat Dallas and then next week you can ask me again.”

Shurmur agreed that the Giants had a better team than last year, though he stopped short of criticizing the talent the team had on last year’s roster.

“I like the way we have built our team,” he said.

“I like some of the changes we made personnel-wise. I also feel like the second year in our system, we are smoother in how we operate. We know we are at the stage of our year where winning football games is what it’s all about.”

As is having each other’s back, especially when things don’t play out as initially drawn up on the whiteboard.