New York Giants Defend Their Turf

Members of the Giants say there's nothing wrong with the MetLife Stadium field where the 49ers suffered several significant injuries last week against the Jets.

The New York Giants have taken the concept of "defending one's turf" to a whole new level.

The Giants, who will host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at MetLife Stadium, were made aware of the 49ers' concerns about the new field turf installed this past off-season for use by the Giants and Jets, co-tenants of the stadium.

To recap, the 49ers suffered a litany of injuries Sunday against the Jets. Afterward, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, in his postgame press conference with reporters, had this to say about the turf, per Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee.

I don't know exactly why it happened, as far as the feeling that was on the sidelines, that's as many knee injuries and ankle stuff and people getting caught on the turf as I've ever been a part of. From what I saw, the other team did too. I know our players talked about it the entire game, just how sticky the turf was, and I think that was the first time people played on it, I think. But yeah, it was something our guys were concerned about right away. ... Unfortunately, this is a place we got to go back to next week.

Among the 49ers injuries that occurred on the field include edge rusher Nick Bosa (knee), who is suspected of having torn his ACL; defensive end Solomon Thomas, who also is suspected of having torn his ACL; quarterback Jimmy Faroppolo, who suffered a high ankle sprain; and running backs Raheem Mostert (MCL sprain) and Tevin Coleman (knee). 

Giants head coach Joe Judge defended the MetLife Stadium turf, noting that he had the Giants players on the stadium field every day during training camp and that no one raised any concerns about the turf.  

"We had our players on the turf every day for some kind of walkthrough, competitive practice, and then leading up to the game last week, not a single player said anything negative along the way to me at all about any of the facilities specifically the turf," Judge said.

#49ers Arik Armstead on the surface at Met Life Stadium:

“I think the turf was pretty thick. Guys seemed to be getting stuck in the ground more regularly. A bunch of guys wen’t down, wasn’t real fun to be a part of.”

Added there’s “anxiety” over playing there again next week.

— John Dickinson (@JDJohnDickinson) September 20, 2020

Safety Jabrill Peppers who was on the field for the Giants in Week 1 when they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium, didn't think there was any problem with the MetLife Stadium field.

"No, not that I can say. I think every field kind of presents its own kind of problems," he said. "That’s why you go out there pregame, get a good feel for the turf. Is it a fast track? Do you need your studs or your molded cleats? Things like that. But on our part, we haven’t had any issues with it." 

Receiver Golden Tate, who will play his first game of the year on the new turf--he was inactive for the Week 1 home opener-- wondered aloud if the rash of injuries that occurred Sunday around the league, which also included teammates Saquon Barkley (torn ACL) and Sterling Shepard (turf toe) on Soldier Field's grass field, was just a result of the unusual off-season

"You can’t help but to think about where we are now two weeks into the NFL season and where we were three-four months ago, not having any OTAs, no time to be with the team," Tate said.

"But as far as MetLife’s field, I think it’s fine. But again, also personally, I haven’t played a game on it this year, but our guys last week did well, I thought."

Judge seemed to share Tate's belief that the unusual off-season might have something to do with the rash of injuries around the league, which, per ESPN, has 132 players from around the league listed with injuries of some degree.

"I think there are probably different factors that go into that," Judge said. "There was definitely a concern coming in without a preseason as to what position that would put our players.

"No one had the opportunity to play any type of full game until Week 1. There's an accumulating effect that happens with your body it's just natural that the shock your body goes through coming out of any game takes a couple of days to recover anyway if you haven't been through that type of stress and that kind of physical demand it takes a little longer to recover."

According to a report by Pro Football Talk, NFL's field operations personnel were set to take a closer look at the MetLife Stadium field which was initially certified by an inspector on September 12.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Traina.)