There is a narrative going around the NFL that New York Giants head coach Joe Judge’s practices are “too hard” and his methods draconian.
Several former and current players said they would never play for Judge, who makes his players run laps after making mistakes and holds the entire team accountable for all types of behavior.
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Not everyone is a critic, however. Former Giants quarterback, who played under both Ray Perkins and Bill Parcells, doesn’t see anything wrong with the way Judge has handled his players in training camp.
“I have to watch a sports station go, ‘that’s old school football, you can’t do that to today’s modern players,'” Simms said on CBS Sports Radio. “Shut up, they’re wrong, you can. It’s team building. It really does bring chemistry to the team. When guys have to run, yeah it’s a punishment, but it’s kind of funny and it brings everybody together.”
“Just like the fight did with the Giants. I didn’t look at that as a detriment. And practicing too hard? Oh, come on. Come on. You gotta practice and do things on the field, take a rest, get back on, like it’s a game. And when you do things like that, scientifically it’s been proven, that’s the way to do it. And that is the best way that you can help prevent your team from getting more injuries. Does it work out always like that? No. But to think he’s run the training camp too hard is absurd and for people who say it, be quiet. You’re wrong!”
Simms comes from the era where two-a-days were the norm and the facilities archaic. Today’s players have it made compared to the players of Simms’ era. The player’s union is stronger and workplace laws and rules have transformed training camps from stringent tests of will and grueling physical grinds to more lenient — and safer — gatherings.
“Pressure. That’s actually what I said to the team,” Simms revealed of his recent visit with the Giants. “I practiced under pressure for eight years under Bill Parcells. Every practice was the most important day of my life and I was nervous as hell going out to practice.
“Games? It never even crossed my mind. I couldn’t wait to play. But practice, man, it was everything. And by doing it like it’s a game, of course, only makes you better and play better and be more prepared for the game.”
Sure, there are still some padded practices and the heat can be brutal, but training camps are no longer these dreaded rites of passage. Judge is simply pushing the envelope on the current rules. His players haven’t complained much, so how unacceptable can it be?
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