Giants Head to West Virginia with Harbaugh's Playoff Mandate in Mind

Head coach John Harbaugh has not been afraid to say it. In fact, he's already got his staff preaching his main mission to the players as the team opens training camp: Turn around this franchise and get the New York Giants into the playoffs THIS season.

And why shouldn't he feel this way after leading the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl and 12 postseason appearances over the past 18 NFL campaigns?

He's got a potential franchise quarterback and a favorable mix of his type of newcomers and young veterans in the locker room. In fact, the Giants have imported nearly 45% of the players on their 90-man roster since he joined the team in January.

Several players indicated the Giants' offseason practices were a bit more strenuous than they have been over the last few years, but that was to be expected given Harbaugh's enthusiasm for hard work and details.

And they can expect the same over the next five weeks, starting with 10 days in West Virginia (a move necessitated by renovations at team headquarters and the dismantling of the World Cup setup in the adjacent parking lots).

Harbaugh expects to use the team's displacement to The Greenbrier Resort and training facility to their advantage.

"I look at it like a real opportunity. It's going to be a chance to get locked in," he said. "It's a simple place to be, you know. You don't have to deal with coming back and forth from a hotel. Obviously we'll get away from the World Cup stuff and the construction here, which is a plus, too, for us.

"But that bonding opportunity: Guys aren't going home. They're going to be with each other into the evening, stuff like that, go to dinner together. I think it's a real plus for us. I'm excited about it."

The trip marks the first time the Giants have held at least part of a training camp away from their home facility in East Rutherford (NJ) since practicing at the University at Albany (NY) in 2012.

The majority of NFL teams (75%) have stayed home or within 10 miles of their complex each year since the 2020 COVID season.

Giants sideline reporter and Super Bowl XXV champion tight end Howard Cross offers his thoughts on the training camp move and discusses the key factors that are expected to shape the team's season during the training camp preview edition of the Big Blue Breakdown podcast.

Listeners will also be able to ask questions of host Paul Dottino via chat or video call by clicking on this link, starting Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

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