NFL
Giants' Joe Judge says the players aren't to blame, it's the coaches
While others have a lot of potential takes on why New York isn't performing, their coach is absolutely sure about where who is responsible.
In any team sport, it's always the coach who is looked at first should results not go the club's way, however, it's not normally the case that the coach himself says as plainly says to do so.
Giants' coach Joe Judge takes responsibility
It's our fault not the players. New York Giants head coach Joe Judge's message was loud and clear after Monday night's 30-10 hard loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Judge wasn't trying to win support either, he was adamant. "You can put that down tonight. Got that?" Judge said. "You guys can write that tonight. Players have to execute. That is their job, right? It is our job to teach them. It's their job to go out and execute. But we've got to make sure we put them in position to have success. That has to be consistent, by the way. So, you can go ahead and write that down. I'm not going to debate that."
To add insult to injury the Giants who currently sit on a 3-7 record, actually saw the return of running back Saquon Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas who were previously out through injury. There was also the case of wide receiver Kenny Golladay who looked sharper than he has for the majority of the season so far. That is all to say that the Giants weren't without their preferred assets. Yet they were only able to muster a single touchdown which incidentally came as a result of a turnover by Tampa Bay at the 5-yard line.
"We have to do a better job of scoring points," Judge said. "I know it sounds pretty obvious and to the point with it. But I'm going to keep it pretty blunt right there. We have to do a better job of putting our players in position to make plays. We have too many good players. We have to put them in better position to capitalize on it. That's it." Judge even voiced his empathy for the players saying, "As a player, there are things I would be frustrated with too."
Judge has faith in his staff, it seems
One of the questions that Judge faced was that of his offensive coordinator. During the game Golladay, was targeted just twice and only managed one catch for 12 yards. As a player who signed a four-year, $72 million deal during the off season, that's not enough. With that, the focus has fallen on coordinator Jason Garrett. Even more damning is that fact that the Giants have only scored 30 points once in 26 games since he has been on staff. "I have faith in all the people on our team - players, coaches, everyone. We'll assess everything as a team and make any move we need to going forward," Judge said. The coach was further pressed on whether or not Garrett would maintain his post to which he finally said "I'm not going to go into it right now."
The players weigh in on Garrett
Quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley were both asked how they felt about their offensive coordinator and both were supportive. Jones went 23-of-38 passing for 167 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Barkley on the other hand had 56 total yards on 12 touches in his first game back following an ankle injury. "Yes, I believe in [Garrett]," Barkley said. "At the end of the day, like I said, it's easy to just go and everyone wants to blame the coaches. Sometimes, instead of pointing the finger, you have to look yourself in the mirror. As players, we're not making plays. It is just that simple. We have to go out there and make plays."
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Is it the players or the coaches?
There seems to be a contradictory narrative coming out of the Giants camp. The players believe they are culpable, while Judge says the coaches have to do better. Either way it's cut one thing remains clear, the New York Giants are heading for another season without making the playoffs. The Giants have in fact not seen the playoffs since 2016 which incidentally is the last time they had a winning record. Meanwhile Judge continues to insist that it's simply a matter of time before things go in the right direction, yet how much time does he and his coaching staff have?
"I'm telling you we're going to put something on the field that you're going to be proud of. That is on my name. You understand that?" he said. "That is on my name. I am the leader of this team.I'm in charge of this team. That is on me. I don't point fingers. I don't make excuses. We're going to get this right."