Despite Virtual Living, Joe Judge Sees Camaraderie Developing Among Giants Players

Spending the early days of spring cooped up in his house in front of a computer screen isn’t exactly how giants head coach Joe Judge envisioned starting his head coaching tenure.

Yet because of the novel coronavirus, Judge, like millions of people worldwide, has been forced to work virtually with the players he’d much rather have on the grass running around.

He’d rather hear the kibitzing in the Quest Diagnostic Training Center’s locker room and gauge the players’ full body reactions as they learn the schemes crafted by his coaching staff before COVID-19 brought life as we knew it to a screeching halt.

But rather than wring his hands and wonder “Why me?”, Judge, whose circumstances are not unique within the NFL, is looking at the glass as being half full when it comes to getting a feel for the temperature of the 90-man roster he and general manager Dave Gettleman have assembled since March.  

“The interesting thing is, early on in this process, I think we all had a lot of question marks in terms of how we are going to see relationships, how we are going to see leadership, how are we going to see all this emerge,” Judge said Tuesday on a video teleconference with reporters. 

While face-to-face interactions reveal so much more about the participants, Judge has been extra vigilant in paying attention to how his players have conducted themselves with the coaches during the various video teleconferences used to teach the schemes and the new Giants way of life.

“You can see a lot of guys from interactions in meetings,” Judge said. “You can see who is going to take the reins and start the communication. You can identify from different players who is standing out front and organizing some extra communication exercises on their own at the time. You still have the ability to see who is stepping out in front. 

“As I’m talking to these players individually and asking them for direct feedback as well, you can tell how engaged and really how invested they are in the program by the answers they give you. It’s been very telling, and I’m very pleased with the way our players are working right now.

“Whereas on the front end, there was a lot of talk about what we can’t do, I think we are finding out along the way we are getting a lot done because this is the asset that we have to use and we are finding ways to use it.”

Although Judge would have preferred to observe his players in person, he credited them for being inventive in building coalitions and friendships that he hopes will serve them well when they ultimately return to the football field.

“They are going to find different ways to get together and study with each other and get caught up with material and help each other out with notes,” he said.

“Maybe even more so now than some other springs in the past because the reality is everyone’s situation is different around the country. You have to find what to do in your free time.

“Things still aren’t opened up everywhere. Every state is a little bit different, but generally speaking, the country is still closed down for the most part. These guys are in areas where they have a lot of free time in their day, where there is not a lot to do necessarily.”

Eventually, when state restrictions on stay-at-home orders ease, the hope is that all the players can be together under one roof with Judge and his staff. But for as anxious as Judge might be for that to happen, he continues to have his priorities straight when it comes to the personal health and safety of the players he’s been entrusted with overseeing.

“I have a tough time right now asking a player to fly across the country from California when I probably wouldn’t be the first one most willing to throw my two sons on a plane to go the other way,” Judge said.

“We have to consider the big picture of what’s going on. Look, I would love to have them in Jersey right now. I would love for us to have set up remote camp if that’s what was necessary. But getting them to the campus and making sure that while we’re there, they’re not exposed to anything, we have to consider that as well.”