Joe Judge Reveals Why Giants Have a Solid Foundation in Place

From the outside looking in, the Giants are a mess. But head coach Joe Judge disagrees, and he explained why in detail he views the team as heading in the right direction.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Dec 13, 2021 1:38 PM EST

Giants head coach Joe Judge knows that the football program he's running has to produce results.

But Judge, who is finishing up his second season as an NFL head coach, doubled down on his postgame response after the Giants' 37-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers about building a solid foundation, his responses.

In a lengthy answer to a question requesting that he elaborate on what he sees that gives him confidence things are headed in the right direction, Judge delivered a six-minute monologue touching on several topics behind his initial answer.

"Some of the things that we look at which are some of the hardest things to do when you take over a program can't be seen," Judge said.

"One of the things I found out, being in a different place for the first time in a while, (from) (defensive coordinator) Pat Graham and (quarterbacks coach) Jerry Schuplinski after coming from that experience (Miami) was you're not gonna believe how tough it is to teach people how to practice."

As far as Judge is concerned, there's a right way to practice, which the Giants had to learn.

"I can think of examples last year, and then this year with a lot of new players in the way, you know, some of the things went through training camp, but getting guys on the right page of how to come out and practice and prepare," he said.

"That goes through how you meet throughout the day, how you prepare your body, but then when you go on the field, how to practice the right tempo, the right intensity, the right execution and detail. And that's something that took some time, a lot longer than I thought, to be honest with you. It's not as simple as saying, 'This is how the drill goes;' it's how to practice as a whole."

These baby steps have Judge encouraged that his plan is working.

"You know, it's not as simple. It's not fantasy football. You don't come on in, you don't go ahead and, and select a couple players in a draft and sign someone a free agency and say, every problem solved. You gotta come in and put all the pieces in place over time," he said.

"There are a lot of examples of teams that have come in and had quick success and then filtered out quickly. But there's better examples of teams that have come in and collectively gone together and put the team together the right way over the course of a few seasons and had sustained success over time."

To hear Judge's entire response, check out the video above.