New York Giants head coach Joe Judge absolutely erupted in the aftermath of Tuesday’s full-team brawl, shredding his players with a slew of expletives while also making them run gassers and do countless pushups.
With a day to sit on it, Judge remains frustrated by what he saw out of his players but hopes that a lesson can be learned.
“The important thing is we learn from it,” Judge told reporters prior to practice on Wednesday. “What happened yesterday at practice would have taken away a chance to win a game.”
Judge refused to detail any conversations he’s had with players or what additional discipline might be coming (and there will be some), but made it abundantly clear that what led up to the melee is entirely irrelevant.
“There needs to be consequences and there needs to be a lesson learned,” he said. “The reason it happened is insignificant.”
On the positive side of things, Judge assured that there are no lingering locker-room issues as a result of the brawl. As several players stated afterwards, it was right back to laughing and joking for most once cooler heads prevailed. But not everyone was all smiles.
#Giants Joe Judge said there was no carryover to locker room or cafeteria after the brawl but they weren't all laughing off the situation, either. https://t.co/2y41LrNEvR
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) August 4, 2021
In addition to the on-field punishment, Judge also revealed that he decided to cut Tuesday’s practice short. There was more to go but in the end, he opted to eject the entire team — all 91 players.
“In terms of fights, my policy is to get guys out of practice,” he said. “It happened with the whole team, so I threw the whole team out of practice.”
Ultimately, Judge says, the Giants need to focus on eliminating bad football. On-field brawls lead to penalties and ejections, and penalties and ejections equal bad football.
“This time of year guys do get a little chippy,” Judge said. [But] they understand . . . we have to eliminate bad football. Penalties are bad football.”
“I’m a little bit old-school in what I believe,” he added. “It’s about fundamentals and foundation; it’s about discipline and culture. A lot of people have different ways of doing things but I know there is a proven way that works and we’re going to stick to the base fundamentals.”
