JUDGE RAGES
He blasts
Joe Judge unleashed a torrent of F-bombs and ran his Giants players into the ground on Tuesday after Xavier McKinney, Evan Engram and Logan Ryan ignited a teamwide brawl.
Franchise quarterback Daniel Jones ended up at the bottom of the pile and had to be pulled out by left guard Kenny Wiggins and defensive tackle Danny Shelton. Fortunately the QB was no worse
Daniel
DPAT LEONARD GIANTS aniel Jones was a perfect 11-for-11 in Tuesday’s live drills before a team-wide brawl cut practice short.
Jones couldn’t remember an incompletion because he didn’t throw one.
“I’m not sure. I gotta look at the tape,” Jones said humbly. “I’m sure there were few I’d like to have back and get out of my hand quicker, see quicker and be more accurate at times. So I just gotta keep working. I thought we executed better today.”
Safety Logan Ryan praised Jones’ first-string offense, which got the better of the defense for the first time in camp despite losing No. 1 receiver Kenny Golladay (hamstring) halfway through.
“The offense moved us off the ball a little bit,” Ryan said. “They had, in my opinion, their best day today.”
Jones made his best play in the open field when pass protection broke down, rolling outside to the right and throwing slightly back across his body to Evan Engram at
for wear.
“I was fine,” Jones assured. “I was all good, no problem.”
Judge was incensed at players for losing their cool on their first day in pads, however, including Engram and Ryan, who are supposed to be two of Judge’s veteran leaders.
So the coach made the entire team run gassers from end zone to end zone for about 20 minutes. And he had them do two sets of 30 pushups on the goal line, all while cursing them out.
It’s a miracle no one threw up. “Joe’s the leader of this team,” Ryan said. “He’s got everyone’s respect. And what he says goes.”
McKinney, the second-year safety, started it with an over-aggressive hit on running back
Corey Clement on the second level. McKinney dropped Clement to the turf. The hit was late and harder than defenders were supposed to deliver.
Engram escalated it by coming to Clement’s defense and smoking McKinney down to the ground. Then Ryan crossed the line with a vicious hit to the back of Engram’s neck.
That set off a wave of fists and tackles and punches, causing a pile-up that Jones joined in his non-contact red jersey.
Ryan surprisingly said he did not regret his actions.
“I’m gonna pay my punishments,” he said. “I don’t regret anything I did out there. I’m a grown man and I’m gonna pay my dues.”
Ryan assured there is “no bad blood” between him and Engram. But he said, “I told the secondary I’m their leader and I’m gonna protect them if I feel like something’s wrong.”
Clement said he didn’t have a problem with McKinney’s hit.
“It was just a hit,” he said. “But somebody else didn’t like it and the team’s behind me and had my back. But we got some running to do … Once everybody joined the brawl I was like, ‘Coach ain’t gonna like this.”
Jones said that on both the offense and defense, “there were issues with people losing their cool. And as an offense, as a team we gotta do a better job handling that situation.”
The Giants’ players seemed to think highly of Jones for sticking his nose in the fray.
“I think everyone respects Daniel,” Ryan said.
“Oh yea man s--t, that’s what you wanna see,” Clement said. “Even though [Jones] is not supposed to be doing that, hey man, hats off to him because you won’t see a lot of guys do that.”
Jones disputed the suggestion that as the quarterback he should keep his distance from a teamwide fight.
“I’m part of the team, part of the offense, and we’re competing,” Jones said. “So I don’t see myself as separate from that.”
Judge eventually rounded up his gassed players — “just the players!” he screamed at coaches and staff —keeping them on the sideline. The coach delivered an us-against-the-world, we’re-allwe-got message laced with more expletives.
Then Judge walked about 200 yards over to the coaches’ family section, put on his dad hat, and said happy birthday to one of his daughters.
A couple of the Giants assistants yelled “Happy birthday!” from the stairs as they strolled into the facility.
It was all a surreal scene. Undoubtedly Ryan and Engram will be fined, at least.
Now the real question is how the players respond at Wednesday night’s second padded practice, and whether this brings them closer or splits them further apart.