The New York Giants will hold an intra-squad game on Friday afternoon, composed of their own players looking to put film on the practice field.
With a major void being left in the middle of the preseason without scheduled practice games, undrafted free agents and late-round draft picks will find it hard to display their best self. Back-end roster guys like Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack, Kyle Murphy, and so many more will ultimately lose the opportunity to play in the NFL in 2020 due to the lack of preseason.
However, head coach Joe Judge will utilize this intra-squad games to give them an opportunity to shine.
Here’s what the New York Giants’ head coach had to say:
“Tomorrow will be a lot of put the ball down and play it out,†Judge said on Thursday. “We may put the ball down more in a red area and let them play in the red area, or we put them in a backed-up situation and let them play it out from that zone. But tomorrow is definitely going to be a lot more of just aware on the field, see the sticks, what’s the down and distance. Jason (Garrett) call it, Pat call it, T-Mac (Thomas McGaughey) have his unit ready to go if it’s third down. Go down to fourth down and let’s just go ahead and play it out and see how smart our players can react, see how physical they can play, and see how we can hold up our fundamentals and execution through a higher intensity.â€
Awareness in-game is a factor that supersedes many dating back to the Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur eras. The lack of in-game clock management and awareness was devastating, and ultimately played a major factor in the Giants inability to win.
However, everything starts on the practice field, and carrying it over into the game is the key. It is quite alarming that a lot of teams don’t practice tackling when it’s a fundamental portion of football.
While injuries can occur practicing live-tackling drills, refining your form can prevent injuries during games. That is conclusively the goal for New York Giants’ Judge and his coaching staff.
Giving opportunities to the younger, more inexperienced players on the roster is the hope during these intra-squad games, along with mentally preparing the season veterans for an abnormal regular season.
“We’re looking to go ahead and give everyone a chance to compete and put on tape their resume,†Judge said.