Joe Judge’s 12-minute rant about the Giants’ culture and all the negativity surrounding the team is something that you just have to listen to or watch to really take in.
One thing he said around that rant, though, was how he believes the Giants are building a foundation, even if the results of the last two seasons – 10-22 with one game left in 2021 – don’t show it.
Saquon Barkley was the top draft pick two regime changes ago, when Pat Shurmur took over as head coach after the Ben McAdoo era ended, and if Judge somehow doesn’t return, whoever is next will be Barkley’s third head coach in five seasons, and the Giants’ fourth full-time (and fifth total) head coach since Tom Coughlin left after the 2015 season.
And, to a point, he agrees with Judge.
“I think you've got guys that come to work every single day; win, lose, or draw, win by 40 or lose by 40, guys come to work and fight and that's all you can ask for on both sides of the ball and special teams, too,” Barkley said. “Obviously, we're not getting the results we would like, but even at 4-12, the culture and the locker room is still being carried on and we're still staying together as a team. If anything, this will bring us closer.”
Judge had said that when he took over in 2020, one thing he noticed is that as the team started losing, there was a lack of effort on a lot of fronts. That wasn’t the case in 2019, according to Judge, and according to Barkley, it’s not the case in 2021, either.
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“Like I said, guys are coming to work every single day fighting for each other. That's all we have, that's all we got. We have nothing to lose, just got to go out there and fight for each other,” Barkley said. “Obviously, the results and the points especially on the offensive side of the ball are not what we'd like it to be. But, I'm in the locker room and I can tell you directly and honestly and truthfully, the love of the game from those guys in the locker room and the passion that they have, the culture that we have and the belief that we continue to have in each other is amazing.”
That’s why, he says, the script is indeed going to flip, as his head coach tries to say every week.
“It's going to change at some point. It tells a lot about a man and his character when it hits the fan and it's easy to give up, it's easy to point fingers. That's the easy thing to do especially when things aren't going your way, but the fact that the guys in the locker room are keeping their head high and continuing to believe in each other and continuing to fight for each other, to me, I think that's amazing,” Barkley said. “I have faith in this organization and this team and those players in the locker room and it's been tough times, especially personally for me over four years. But the right guys are in this locker room, and I truly believe that just based off their character, based off their work ethic, based off of the talent that they have. Obviously, we would love for it to be different this year, but sometimes we've just got to keep sticking with it and keep believing and keep trusting the process.”
It’s on both sides of the ball, too, according to cornerback James Bradberry, who mentioned it when talking about the Giants’ late interception in Sunday’s lopsided loss.
“I think it shows in our plays, especially as a defense. Late in the fourth quarter, we made an interception, a game changing play. We're going to fight until the end, and we're going to try and keep that energy going,” Bradberry said. “We had guys flying around after the pick, trying to celebrate and stuff. We're still out there trying to make plays no matter the score.”
As Judge himself even said in his postgame presser, “the one thing I'm repeatedly proud of is the way they played and they finished. They fight and play for each other.”
That’s something that has to continue, even though the Giants’ season finale is mere formality, and maybe, just maybe, the Giants can find some success to end the season on a high note, using this formula revealed for how to turn progress and process into wins.
“Work. Continue to work, continue to believe, trust the process and continue to come in every single day. Just take one step forward, that's all we can do,” Barkley said. “Obviously, our offense has to execute better, put more points up to give us a fighting chance, and that's collectively as a whole. We've got to do better, but we've got one more game left to try to finish the season off strong. That's all we can do is continue to believe in it, continue fighting and take one step forward.”
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