Getty Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots
The “tyrant” leader of the New York Giants, head coach Joe Judge, turned off his militant ways towards the latter end of Tuesday’s practice to take part in some extracurricular activities.
The team opted to close out the session with an interesting fumble recovery drill from the recommendation of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. The drill involved diving on a football in a patch of muddy field, while being sprayed by a hose, i.e. a slip-and-slide.
After a few players made their way through the drill, Judge decided to get in on the action. Putting to death the idea that “football guys” can’t have fun, the head coach stepped up to the plate to howling chants of “Judge! Judge! Judge!”, before being showered by affection from his players after securing the loose ball.
Not bad for a guy who many outsiders have suggested has already lost his team.
Judge Takes Playful Dig at Belichick
While we are unaware if Judge has previously partaken in the drill throughout his career, Tuesday was certainly not his first introduction to it. The drill is a common occurrence in New England Patriots training camps, camps in which Judge was a part of for each of the past eight seasons working as an assistant to head coach Bill Belichick.
When asked by the media on Wednesday if he ever saw the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach take part in the drill during his time in Foxborough, Judge proclaimed “no” before taking a playful jab at his long-time superior, noting “he doesn’t have near the ball security skills that I do.”
The playful banter between the two coaches has become a common occurrence since Judge has taken the helm in New York, as noted by Tom Rock of News Day.
You can tell Joe Judge and Bill Belichick are super close by the number of subtle teasing jabs Joe takes at him. Don’t hear that stuff a lot from other BB proteges.
Unless of course Judge hates Bill and is legitimately taunting him.
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Giants Players Buying In?
Much has been made about Judge’s physical practices during Giants training camp this year. Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe has gone on record stating Judge’s tenure in New York “isn’t going to end well,” while a former Giants player went as far as to mock Judge for “trying to act like Bill Belichick on Steriods.”
However, it appears that the perception of Judge’s tactics are being received much better within the Giants building than they are outside of it.
Players heaped praise on their head coach following the slip-and-slide drill, with linebacker Blake Martinez telling reporters “I think Coach Judge is always about efficiency, but he adds the fun aspect to it.”
Pass-rusher Markus Golden stated, “that was my first time seeing something like that. I was hyped up and excited to watch it. Had all the rookies go, and then we ended it with Coach Judge. That was big time. Coach Judge, he knows how to do it. He’s coaching us about ball security and he proved that what he does works because he got out there and did it himself.”
Furthermore, tight end Evan Engram told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that players are buying in to Judge’s coaching style to the point that “if they make a mistake that a coach did not catch, they’ll run their own lap after practice.” Engram added that “every day is intense around here, but we know that all the small details will add up to wins at the end of the day.”
A sign Joe Judge’s tough practices are resonating with Giants — players are starting to give themselves laps when they make mistakes.
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Giants Head Coach Joe Judge Takes Shot at Bill Belichick