The New York Giants are just like every other team in the NFL right now. Virtually working in the classroom installing the playbook while also keeping the players motivated to stay in shape on their own.
Even though these are unprecedented times in the sports world, the Giants are doing what they can to keep everything as normal as possible. Isolation due to the coronavirus outbreak has made it difficult for the Giants to work in the classroom together.
It has also made it difficult for the team build that offseason chemistry, which is extremely important during the early phases of a new regime.
“We’re trying to make everything as normal as we can,” said head coach Joe Judge on NBC Sports Network’s Lunch Talk Live. “We’re working virtually but we have to knock down some of these walls.”
These conditions don’t make it easy for the team to bond and work together throughout the offseason. It can be difficult enough for first-year head coaches to get their team to buy-in immediately—let alone having to do so during a virus outbreak that has forced the team to stay isolated.
However, Judge did mention how video games play into the bonding. Players are able to connect and bond by playing online, which helps during times of separation.
Joe Judge on @nbcsn: Video games are important for team bonding right now as anything.
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) May 6, 2020
While the Giants will continue to install their schemes on each side of the ball, Judge believes the biggest issue that stems from the isolation will be the off-field moments.
“The X’s and O’s are very important. What we’re missing right now is the lunchroom conversations, the weight room conversations, walking off the field in Phase 2 or Phase 3 and taking off our cleats together,” Judge said. “Those are things we just can’t replicate through a computer.”
It isn’t clear when the Giants will get back to working out together, but the team is trying to make it as seamless as possible.