The New York Giants have been a mess ever since Jerry Reese left them with bloated contracts and no mobility almost three years ago. However, the reality is more grim – Reese had been building a team into oblivion, frequently missing on offensive linemen in the draft and investing more in skill-positions than fundamental building blocks.
Re-working the roster has been a challenge for GM Dave Gettleman, but he’s also made mistakes along the way, claiming the franchise could win while rebuilding. After one year of that aggressive mentality, the Giants were forced to revert back to a traditional model, which includes overhauling the defense.
The New York Giants finally committed to the rebuild:
In 2019, the Giants shredded their secondary and drafted youth players to begin filling holes. They attempted to do the same at the pass rusher position, but there’s still work to be done.
One player that knows what’s needed to reach a Super Bowl is newly signed tight end, Levine Toilolo. The massive body played for the San Francisco 49ers last season, who reached the Super Bowl.
Toilolo detailed what his former teams practiced to reach the end goal, according to Giants.com:
“One of the biggest things for me that I saw between the two teams over the few years was off the field, how close the guys came together and built relationships, and see how much that can translate onto the field,” Toilolo said. “When you’re playing at this level, I think it can be hard to really get out of the business aspect of it. But once you develop those relationships with not only your teammates but your coaches, and you feel that everyone is playing for something bigger than just themselves. You can definitely feel that on the field. Obviously, there’s tons of hard work that goes into it. But really just approaching each day as not only just a work day, but something you enjoy, because you enjoy the people there. You enjoy the people that you’re in the building with, that you’re in the meeting rooms with. A lot of people outside of football may not see that. But for someone who is in the building, I think that’s one thing that people may not realize is probably something that, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects to a team being successful.”
What Levine is describing is called “culture.” Joe Judge has been inserted into positive cultural experiences with Alabama and. New England during his career, and hopefully that’s something he will bring to the Giants.
A franchise in dire need of an atmospheric installment must add players who’re willing to do the work necessary to build that type of positive culture.