In lighter news, the Giants coach is a massive a$$hole and the Giants are doomed

[T0mShane]

Joe Judge continues taking charge Bill Belichick style as first Giants roster takes shape

Pat Leonard

New York Daily News

Apr 27, 2020 | 8:00 AM 

 

Joe Judge laid down the law Bill Belichick-style with first-round pick Andrew Thomas. And second-round Alabama safety Xavier McKinney was next.

Judge’s phone call welcoming McKinney to the Giants on Friday included this exchange, courtesy again of ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio:

“When you talk to the media, you’ve already been through this with Coach [Nick] Saban,” Judge told McKinney. “No predictions, no comparisons, be grateful for the opportunity, alright? I don’t want to hear anything about Super Bowls or any of that crap, you got that?”

McKinney gave the answer Judge was looking for: “Yes sir.”

If this tough talk brushes you back a bit, well, that is the point.

Just like it was the point when Judge told his No. 4 overall pick Thomas, per Paolantonio:

“When you talk to the media, I don’t want to hear anything about Super Bowls. I don’t want to hear any predictions or comparisons. You talk about coming up here, getting to work, putting your head down and improving. That’s all you have to worry about.”

This is a small glance behind the scenes of what the Giants are going to be under Judge, but it is a meaningful one. And what they will be, in no uncertain terms, is Judge’s team.

Alabama defensive back Xavier McKinney was welcomed to the Giants by new head coach Joe Judge with a stern message.(Sam Craft/AP)

The Daily News asked Judge point blank in a post-draft Zoom call about his stern introductions to his rookies, and Judge said the players he’s picking and the manner in which he’s handling them can be boiled down to one goal:

“I don’t want 53 independent contractors,” he said. “I want one team.”

Put that on a sign and hang it in your man cave, Giants fans. Because that encapsulates what Judge is trying to build and the team you will be rooting for as long he is your head coach.

It will be one thing to utter a catchy mantra, though, and another to be a player facing Judge’s early ultimatum on how this must goes if they will be employed as Giants for long.

Judge certainly left no gray area in explaining why he’s not being warm and fuzzy.

“I think there’s more said on the phone calls than just what not to do. There’s a lot of we’re very excited about adding these players and giving them a chance to come up and compete and add to our team,” he said. “But.”

“To be honest with you, look: I’m not big into predictions,” Judge said. “I’m not big into that. I’m not big into comparing people to other people. One thing that drives me nuts is when sometimes guys get drafted, the emotion gets caught up, and they stand on the stage a lot of times and what do they say? They start talking about how they’re going to take over the league. OK look, this is a guy who hasn’t been in the league for five seconds. What do they know about taking over the league, OK? What they have to worry about at this point is improving. Put your head down, just work hard.

Judge wasn’t finished, and he wouldn’t be for a while.

Giants new head coach Joe Judge has been frank with his new players.(Frank Franklin II/AP)

“Hey, here’s the reality of every one of these rookies we just took: they don’t know how to be a pro yet. They don’t,” Judge said. “As much as they may think they do, they don’t. Physically, they have an advantage over a lot of vets because they have young legs. But in terms of technique, in terms of mentally how to prepare themselves and handle the situations, in terms of emotionally how to handle the duration of the season, they have no idea what they’re doing yet. So, they’re behind in everything except for having fresh, young legs with everyone they are competing against. They watch it on TV, they think they have an understanding of what’s going on in the league. The reality is they don’t. And the faster they understand that, the better off they’ll be in the short term to improve and give themselves a chance to compete.”

Judge continued, and it is important everyone sees his full answer, because this is as close a look as we all will get at how Judge is speaking to his players when we are not watching.

“So look, everyone gets excited,” Judge said. “When you get excited, you let emotion get the best of you. A lot of times you say things, you turn around afterwards and go, ‘Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say.’ Well, sometimes you don’t want to have those slips when you’ve got millions of people and it’s forever engrained anyway in print and social media, whatever it may be. You want to make sure that sometimes you wish that someone gave you a little bit of guidance.

“So sometimes it’s good to just get reminded at a certain time that, ‘Hey listen, this is your focus, this is what we’re building, this is what our culture here is going to be, let’s just make sure you say the right thing at the right time,’ Judge added. “Number one, not to make yourself have any expectations you now have to meet, because it’s going to be tough enough for you to go ahead and get in the rhythm of you being a pro as it is. And then number two, don’t ever — ya know — the whole comparisons and predictions, like, just work out what you can control. And right now what you can control is showing up, doing your job day-by-day and improving, and that’s it.”

Phew. Need a glass of water? I do. I’m sure some Giants’ players will after some of these meetings, too.

And be assured: A major story during Judge’s first season is going to be about the players who do not accept this style of coaching and who do not remain major factors — or Giants at all — because of it.

Stars like Saquon Barkley are going to need to get comfortable being treated like the 53rd man on the roster. Players with poor rookie ethics like DeAndre Baker are going to need to wake up. Underperformers like Lorenzo Carter are going to have to shape up.

People will have to be at meetings on time. There will be consequences if they are not.

The Giants existing roster is going to have to get used to their new head coach's style of leadership.(Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

When Judge was asked how he thought these rookies were handling themselves so far, in fact, he made clear he was reading or watching their interviews when he could to make sure they weren’t straying.

“I’ve only seen a couple of the actual quotes or interviews. I’ve gone back and looked at a couple of them that (senior VP of communications) Pat Hanlon sent my way,” he said. “But you know what? I’m very pleased. I’ll say this, I’m not surprised because we spent a lot of time with these guys on the front end. We spent a lot of time on the character, on the traits, on the personality.

“Look,” the coach said. “We’re not collecting talent, we’re building a team … There’s a lot of good players out there. There’s not a lot of right fits. And you want to find the right fits to bring into your locker room. So it’s important to spend as much time with these guys as people on the front end to make sure that you’re building a culture in your locker room.”

These are the new Giants. This is the new Giants head coach. There is a new sheriff, or rather, a new Judge in town.

[Dcat]

I kind of like it. 

[CanadienJetsFan]

He likes to flap his gums, don't he?

[predator_05]

"I DON'T LIKE 53 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS"

Rah rah rah!!!

 

I hate how some coaches got their heads so far up their own asses. Your players aren't robots, they probably know what they're doing if they made it this far.

[drsamuel84]

We'll see how long this lasts, we've seen this act before with wannabe Bellicheks including our own Eric Mangini.  The act can wear thin quickly if they don't start winning.

[T0mShane]

Has a definite PJ Carlesimo vibe to it. A ******* special teams coach, at that. 

[More Cowbell]

Being a disciplinarian isn't  a bad thing for a HC. I heard Fin players were scared to death of Shula. 

[predator_05]

Also, if you're trying to be like Belichick....how about you try understanding his tactical acumen first.

i'd guess that'll bring you closer to his success than being a tight-lipped a$$hole.

[#27TheDominator]

Joe Judge to draft picks:  Watch what you say.  

Joe Judge to press:  I can't stop talking!

[BigRy56]

He'll fit right in with the sinking ship that is the NYG

[Losmeister]

9 minutes ago, predator_05 said:

"I DON'T LIKE 53 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS"

Rah rah rah!!!

 

I hate how some coaches got their heads so far up their own asses. Your players aren't robots, they probably know what they're doing if they made it this far.

they gonna tune this guy out widda kwikness

[#27TheDominator]

1 minute ago, More Cowbell said:

Being a disciplinarian isn't  a bad thing for a HC. I heard Fin players were scared to death of Shula. 

Those guys couldn't leave as free agents. 

[Losmeister]

1 minute ago, More Cowbell said:

Being a disciplinarian isn't  a bad thing for a HC. I heard Fin players were scared to death of Shula. 

50 yeras ago....

[#27TheDominator]

3 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Has a definite PJ Carlesimo vibe to it. A ******* special teams coach, at that. 

Is there going to be a strangling?

[HawkeyeJet]

Coming in with that attitude, at that age, with that lack of HC experience ought to be well received by his veteran players.

You can get the exact same message across in such a better way. 

[Warfish]

18 minutes ago, Dcat said:

I kind of like it. 

 

[y2k8]

 

Mangini 2.0

 

Can't wait to watch it unravel.

 

 

[slats]

Sounds like a Mangini. 

[Losmeister]

joe judge massive assehole

could be contracted to masshole...   but is that reserved for pats fans?

[Larz]

As long as he is consistent and this applies to the players evenly this is no big deal 

what kind of snowflake would have a problem with this?

[Dcat]

It will be fun to watch.  heh heh heh   

I like it.

[T0mShane]

2 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

Is there going to be a strangling?

One can hope. Bart Scott was funny about this the other day; he said, basically, that a coach like this would be dragged behind the woodshed if he pulled this sh*t on those Ravens teams

[RevisIsland610]

A stern coach who wants players to be held accountable and not act like jackasses. The horror. 

[KRL]

These Belichick clones just don't get it.  You have to have SB wins to act like a jerk.

Just being in the big chair doesn't excuse you acting like a moron

[Losmeister]

1 minute ago, T0mShane said:

One can hope. Bart Scott was funny about this the other day; he said, basically, that a coach like this would be dragged behind the woodshed if he pulled this sh*t on those Ravens teams

i agree. treat these guys like men. 

its not a ****in dictatorship

btw, i always sorts liked sprewell

[RedBeardedSavage]

Yea that’s gonna alienate professional athletes. 

Might work on rookies but sooner or later if your team hates going to work everyday... 

Why can’t every coach be like Jurgen Klopp?

[Butterfield]

He seems to do a lot of talking for a guy that doesn’t like a lot of talking.  

[southtown24th]

yeah this guy is already rubbing people the wrong way, including me.

typical philly area a$$hole.

[Losmeister]

4 minutes ago, Larz said:

As long as he is consistent and this applies to the players evenly this is no big deal 

what kind of snowflake would have a problem with this?

has nothing to do with hurt feelings or being soft. its having to listen to a blowhard be a blowhard doimg a full metal jacket imitation.

its eye rollingly, painfully lame

[predator_05]

5 minutes ago, More Cowbell said:

Being a disciplinarian isn't  a bad thing for a HC. I heard Fin players were scared to death of Shula. 

A sustainable leadership is an accepted leadership. you can make people fear you, but in long-run, you need them to respect you. its a two-way street. even authoritarian leaders put on a friendly face.

You cannot inspire genuine respect through fear. You have to be competent - first and foremost - and be honest in your communication. We see this in all the good coaches.

belichick wins the respect of his players by promising them that he'll make them the best players they can be, and by NEVER taking the credit for their success. That's how you get guys to buy-in.

[southtown24th]

21 minutes ago, predator_05 said:

"I DON'T LIKE 53 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS"

Rah rah rah!!!

 

I hate how some coaches got their heads so far up their own asses. Your players aren't robots, they probably know what they're doing if they made it this far.

FALSE

[southtown24th]

Ya don't see Kevin Stefanski acting like this.

 

[More Cowbell]

3 minutes ago, predator_05 said:

A sustainable leadership is an accepted leadership. you can make people fear you, but in long-run, you need them to respect you. its a two-way street. even authoritarian leaders put on a friendly face.

You cannot inspire genuine respect through fear. You have to be competent - first and foremost - and be honest in your communication. We see this in all the good coaches.

belichick wins the respect of his players by promising them that he'll make them the best players they can be, and by NEVER taking the credit for their success. That's how you get guys to buy-in.

If the coach wins, he will have the players respect, if he doesn't,  then they will think he is a clown no matter what. 

[T0mShane]

33 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

“When you talk to the media, you’ve already been through this with Coach [Nick] Saban,” Judge told McKinney. “No predictions, no comparisons, be grateful for the opportunity, alright? I don’t want to hear anything about Super Bowls or any of that crap, you got that?”

If Judge said this to me, I’d have demanded a trade right there on the phone. That’s not hard coaching, that’s just being a condescending control freak. You want to scream at a player for being lazy or picking up a bad penalty? Fine. But you’re demanding that an adult male thank you for the opportunity to play for your team? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck yooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu. I cannot wait for this guy to get into a camp and pull this sh*t with vested veterans. 

[Embrace the Suck]

His heart is in the right place, and I agree with what he's saying. Having said that, there's a more productive way to do that without making yourself out to be that boss no one would call a paramedic for. Not being on the call maybe the tone was different, but he sounds like the Ying to Rex's Yang which won't work either. You can be tough and hold people accountable without alienating them in the process.