Getty Head coach Joe Judge of the New York Giants.
It’s never good to troll Philadelphia and everything it holds dear, especially when the Eagles are the next team on your schedule. Don’t tell that to Joe Judge, not after the New York Giants head coach just put on a clinic on what not to do before a huge divisional rivalry game.
Judge, a Philly native, had a “Best of Philly” playlist blaring at Giants practice on Thursday much to the chagrin of everyone on Twitter. And (hopefully) Giants players who were forced to jog onto the fields in East Rutherford while being serenaded by the “Eagles Fight Song” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song, as well as a bevy of bangers from Philly rapper Meek Mill.
The masses wanted to know one thing: why? But Judge didn’t immediately address the media so that answer will have to wait one more day. In the meantime, social media debated whether or not it was a sign of utter disrespect or a way to simulate game conditions at Lincoln Financial Field where those songs could be playing. The two teams battle in South Philly at 1 p.m. on December 26. Twitter was undecided.
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was asked about the weird musical selections a few miles up the New Jersey Turnpike. He laughed and reminded reporters that Judge was a “Philly guy.” Maybe he was channeling the city’s energy.
“I think Joe’s from Philly, right? Yeah, see, that’s why he’s playing those [things],” Cox told reporters. “He’s a big Philly guy. I respect him. He’s a Mississippi State guy also so I can’t help but respect him.”
Fly Eagles Fly!! Best tradition in the NFL! #Eagles #GoBirds #FlyEaglesFly
Judge served as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State (2005-07), the alma mater of both Cox and Eagles cornerback Darius Slay. Cox was racking his brain trying to remember an equally odd instance and his mind wandered back to college. He wouldn’t give out any specifics, though.
“I think the weirdest thing that maybe I saw … probably in college, when we played Ole Miss, we had some pretty weird stuff that I don’t think I should disclose,” Cox said.
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Eagles Preparing for Jake Fromm, Mike Glennon
When the Eagles lost to the Giants almost three weeks ago – a 13-7 defeat on December 5 – they faced quarterback Daniel Jones. He went 19-of-30 for 202 yards and a touchdown but injured his neck on the second play of the game that day. Now he’s out for the remainder of the season. The Eagles are back to the drawing board as they prepare for two options: Mike Glennon or Jake Fromm.
“It’s got to be kind of a blend of go back to step one, prepare just like you haven’t played them all year,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “You do have that game log that you look at, see how they tried to attack, see what we did, see what worked for us, et cetera, but it’s a fresh slate.”
Every Jake Fromm dropback from the Dallas game. Leads the team down the field and in typical Giants fashion, the offense freezes inside the red zone.
Glennon, a nine-year veteran, has made three consecutive starts for New York before getting benched late in the fourth quarter on December 19. Fromm, a fifth-rounder in 2020, stepped in and went 6-of-12 for 82 yards. The Giants might let him audition to be the future starter over the final three weeks. According to Gannon, the Eagles will prepare for both quarterbacks.
“And then second part to your question is we got to prepare for both quarterbacks,” Gannon said. “You got to have plan in place to be able to affect the quarterback and a lot of this goes into who is actually playing quarterback. So, we’ll have a good plan for both of those guys.”
Eagles Bring in 2 Kickers for Tryouts
Philadelphia has been preparing their special-teams room for a possible COVID-19 outbreak. They brought in Brock Miller for a tryout last week, but he left without a contract. It appears the team wants to safe-guard against illness to Pro Bowl alternate Jake Elliott. On Thursday, the Eagles brought in kickers Blake Haubeil and Tyler Rausa for workouts (via B.J. Rains).
Former Boise State kicker and current @BNNBroncoNation show host Tyler Rausa worked out today for the Philadelphia Eagles.
He told me it went “very well” and he’s waiting to find out what Philadelphia will do.
Former Ohio State kicker Blake Haubeil also worked out.