Why New York Giants Won’t Ease into Training Camp Practices

Giants head coach Joe Judge expects to have his team hit the ground running when it comes to training camp practice tempo. And he has a very good reason, backed up by data, for taking that approach.

Sometimes when one returns from an extended time away from a job, it can take a re-adjustment period to get back into the flow of the daily grind.

But for the New York Giants, who only have so many training camp practices to get ready for Week 1 of the 2021 season on September 12, it’s going to be full speed ahead, according to head coach Joe Judge.

“We're trying to get their bodies ready to go ahead and perform how they have to in a game,” Judge said Wednesday. “The most dangerous thing you can do for a player is skimp on how practice, whether that's conditioning to get their bodies in the right position and build up that callus within their muscles so they don't have soft tissue injuries on the field.”

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Judge has always been in favor of holding intense training practices that meet the CBA’s rules. But he also pointed out that his philosophy has had an added benefit to the team supported by data.

“We're getting our players' bodies to stay healthy,” he said. “And one thing we do is a lot of research and self-scout. We went back after last year and showed it to the players themselves, and it came back in spring and explained why we practice the way we do.

“It was reflected in a decrease in injuries across the board, within this organization as well as relative to the league. We were one of the healthiest teams last year in the league and healthiest this team has been a long time.”

Last year, the Giants players missed 207 games due to injury, according to data from the website Man Games Lost, 25th in the league. For comparison purposes, the Eagles (271) and 49ers (326) were the most injured teams in the league, while the Falcons (65), Dolphins (90), and Rams (99) were among the least injured teams in the league.

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Still, Judge’s point about there being an improvement is well taken considering that in 2019, the Giants players missed a combined 273 games due to injury had 273, which was fifth-most in the NFL that season.

And for a team that aspires to go to the playoffs this season, the Giants will need their 2020 total to be even lower.

“You can't put a player on the field and tell him to play a hundred percent for 60 minutes if you haven't trained them that way,” Judge said. “To me, there's a difference in practicing and training. And we talk to our players all the time. You know, we say we're going for practice, but we're really going to have to train.”

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Judge has been very transparent with the players about the how and the why behind what they are asked to do, which has ensured the players’ buy-in.

“I think the guys see on the field how they play as they improved throughout the year,” he said. “To us, it's about keeping yourself on the field and healthy. And I think that's the best example you can give to a player is ‘Were you able to go out there and play last year or were you limited through something that maybe you weren't in shape to do?’”

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