New York Giants Notebook | Judge's Milestone, Injury Concerns and More
Giants head coach Joe Judge is about to embark on a significant milestone in his coaching career.
On Monday night, the 38-year-old Judge will take the sideline for the first time as an NFL head coach, a job reserved for 32 of the most organized and brightest minds in the industry.
While no one would exactly blame Judge if on Monday he stepped out to midfield to soak in the moment and reflect, that's the last thing on his mind right now.
"Right now, we’re preparing for Pittsburgh. That’s the biggest thing right now. In terms of anything individual or personal, I’ll reflect back on that later. Obviously, there’s adrenaline pumping."
'Adrenaline pumping' became the latest Judge-ism day during Saturday morning's press conference. The start of any NFL season comes with gleaming excitement by fans and everyone involved.
But 2020 has been no ordinary year for the NFL.
This year's kickoff was never guaranteed even to happen after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Giants, and entire NFL, had to maneuver an offseason plagued by unprecedented and polarizing circumstances.
Yet here they are. The season is happening, and the Judge era is set to begin in New York. Given everything the Giants, and league, has had to overcome, some extra adrenaline is understandable.
But it is also something that Judge and his staff believe they have to control.
"The feeling in every building in the National Football League is a little bit different today," Judge said. "There’s going to be more adrenaline and excitement obviously, especially in the first regular-season game. We have to prepare by putting these guys in stressful situations and keeping the pace of practice such that they have to think while they’re tired."
Man on Man
The Steelers are coming in with an explosive passing attack and a wide receiver corps highlighted by Juju Smith-Schuster, a player who is the very definition of versatile.
So how do the Giants stop him?
"Well, I think what you just said, his versatility of where they can use him obviously presents variety to their offense," Judge said, obviously refusing to outline what the Giants have in store to shut Smith-Schuster down.
One possibility though, is for veteran James Bradberry, who has a history of excelling when asked to travel with the opponent's top receiver, to take on the responsibility.
Like his head coach, Bradberry wouldn't comment on the game plan, nor would he even provide insight into whether he had a preference to travel or play one side.
"I take a lot of pride in just getting the job done, whatever the coaches want me to do," Bradberry said. "Whatever assignment they give me at the beginning of the week, I just take pride in getting that job done Sunday, Monday, Thursday, whichever night we play on."
Whatever the Giants ask him to do, Bradberry better deliver on those words.
Newcomers in The Secondary
The Giants secondary has been the topic of conversation over the last several months, and their last-minute moves to add depth to the unit at the end of camp didn't make that conversation anymore optimistic.
Still, the Giants are hoping those moves pay off, as the additions of veteran Logan Ryan and Isaac Yiadom at least bring added some NFL experience to a very young crop of defensive backs.
Bradberry will depend on both of them to hold their own and adjust to the Giants' game plan sooner rather than later.
"Logan is just a well-seasoned vet," Bradberry said. "He’s played in this defense before, so he’s talked to us about how they’re going to try to attack us and whatnot. He’s played Ben (Roethlisberger) and them before, quite a few times, so he’s brought a lot of knowledge to the defense,"
"[Yiadom] came over from the Broncos. He brings a lot of size. He can run as well. He’s bringing overall athleticism to this defense."
Bradberry is somewhat of a newcomer to the Giants himself and has had to adjust to a brand new team and defensive system over the last several months. He knows what Yiadom and Ryan have to adapt to, but they have to adapt to it quicker.
"The hardest thing to learn is the terminology," Bradberry said. "Quarters is quarters, Cover-2, Cover-3--tt’s not hard to pick up, the hardest thing to pick up is the terminology.
"Once they pick up the terminology, I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but it’s easier to learn it after that."
Wide Receiver Depth
Veteran wide receiver Golden Tate was officially listed as questionable on the team's final injury report ahead of Monday night with a hamstring issue.
"Tate's been working hard," Judge said. "He’ll be with the trainers a little bit as far as getting treatment. We expect everybody to practice today. We’ll take a look at how they are coming out of practice today and make the decisions for the game."
Tate was the Giants leader in yards after the catch last year and their primary slot receiver. If he can't go Monday night, Sterling Shepard could see more time in the slot in Tate's place, with 6'1" C.J. Board possibly contributing on the outside opposite of Darius Slayton, assuming the Giants don't bring anyone up from the practice squad.
Newcomer DamionRatley could also potentially contribute if need be.
Judge told reporters Saturday morning that no decision had been made regarding whether to promote anyone off the practice squad.
"Obviously, we’re entertaining all options throughout the week. We practice everyone accordingly for the game plan. But we haven’t finalized those conversations yet," he said.
