Things have not gone according to plan over Joe Judge’s first two seasons as New York Giants head coach.
In 2020, the Giants finished with a record of 6-10 and missed the playoffs despite playing in a historically bad NFC East. That spilled over into 2021 where the Giants seemingly took a step back. They sport a 4-11 record entering the final two weeks of the season.
Despite the failures, Giants ownership seems content with Judge and all indications are that they intend to move forward with him as coach.
That’s A-OK with his players, who continue to throw the weight of their support behind Judge.
“He’s been doing a good job with just keeping us motivated to go out there and play these games. It can get very discouraging with losing games, being on a losing streak. For him to keep us motivated to go out there and continue to go and play hard week after week is all we can ask for,” running back Devontae Booker told reporters on Friday.
Motivation. Fight. That never quit attitude. All of those things are what players pointed to when asked what Judge brings to the table amid a lost season.
“Everybody in the building has got a lot of pride,” cornerback Jarren Williams said. “We’re all pros in the sense to where we want to win. Nobody’s throwing in the towel. Yeah, we might have been eliminated from the postseason, but nobody is throwing in the towel. We’ve still got two games left that we’re trying to win — especially with this one coming up.”
“We wished Coach Judge a happy birthday at the end of practice,” cornerback James Bradberry added. “I think we’ve got some good guys on this team. I mean, we know it’s not from a lack of effort. We actually go out there and we put a lot of effort on the field, whether that’s during the week or during the game, so we just try to keep our heads in it week-in and week-out and try approach every day like it’s a new day to where we can get better.”
Perhaps most importantly of all, Judge has kept the Giants’ locker-room in order. The team has stayed tight, they continue to fight for each other and that’s poised to continue through Week 18.
“I think we’re good. We’re good. Everyone’s staying together as brothers. We’ve been together the whole year and the whole season, so we’re comfortable. We’ve just got to keep working,” rookie Azeez Ojulari said. “Just go back to the locker room, go back to the field and you just go back to work, look at what you’ve got to fix, stay together as a team because if you’re family, you’re going to stay together. I feel like that’s what we are here, so staying together.”
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