Every first year head coach is focused on putting his own stamp on a new team as camps open. For new Giants head coach Joe Judge, that means a few things that NFL players probably aren't used to.
For one, if you're a player or coach and you make a mistake in practice, expect to take a penalty lap. Jump offsides? Take a lap. Throw a pick? Take a lap. Make a mental error? Take a lap. You get the point.
Yes. Really.
“There are consequences on the field for making mistakes,’’ Judge shared with the NY Post. “In a game, it’ll cost you 5, 10, or 15 yards. In practice, there needs to be consequences so we learn how to deal with our mistakes.’’
After practice yesterday, Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard shared that he hasn't run laps as a punishment since his middle school days.
Another unique change for an NFL training camp - players don't have names on the backs of their practice jerseys. Why? Well that gets an interesting explanation from Judge...
"To be honest, there's been places I've been where we go the entire offseason without numbers. To me, it's important to know who the players are on the field and across from you by their body type and how they move, more-so than having to see a nameplate to identify your teammate."
"We should know each other as coaches and players by how we move and how we carry ourselves. When a quarterback gets under center, I expect him to know 'is that a safety in the box? Or is that a Will linebacker?'
"The numbers and names stuff, we'll do that on game day, right now we've just got numbers to meet the rules laid out by the league, but to be honest with you, the identification of who the players are, we should be better than that as coaches and players by knowing our teammates."
Not coincidentally, another franchise that doesn't put names on the back of jerseys? The New England Patriots, where Judge learned under Bill Belichick for the last eight years prior to landing the head role with the Giants.
Will these strategies be embraced by players or coaches? Or will they end up causing some friction? Time will tell...