The Giants entered Week 10 with a 2-7 record, and win, lose, or draw against the Eagles, they’re going to head into their bye week well below .500 and still chasing the division-leading Birds.
Still, to David Diehl, this team looks so much different than the one that was 2-8 heading into their Week 11 bye last season – and much of that is in the demeanor of new head coach Joe Judge.
“I absolutely love his demeanor; it’s about discipline, technique, and fundamentals, and doing it for 60 minute, and he holds players accountable. If he sees you doing something perfect one time, he’ll hold you to it, because he knows you’re capable of it,” Diehl told Danielle McCartan on Sunday morning. “It reminds me of Bear Bryant’s quote from Alabama, where he coached under Nick Saban: coach the hell out of them and hug ‘em later. He is as tough on them on the field as it gets, but off the field, he has those personal relationships because he is under 40 and can relate to them. The fact that he can be as stern as he is, but then also have that other relationships, that’s why the player respect him and respond to his messages.”
Winning doesn’t come overnight, but when you believe in the coach and believe in the system, good things will eventually happen.
“I think we’ve seen them make progress every week, and to be honest, the only game that was a blowout was the 49ers game. You can look at ever other game they’ve lost, and it was a few self-inflicted wounds,” Diehl said. “I think they’ve elevated their game for the coaches, and they understand their roster’s strengths and weaknesses. That’s going to show up every week post-bye – their last two games, they were opponents they’d seen recently, so it’s a good chance to show that improvement.”
A lot of similarities between Judge and the coach Diehl played for, says the big man.
“I hear him out there, and there are a lot of similarities to coach Coughlin, with accountability and no agendas,” Diehl said. “You can see it in the way they play and respond – when the offense makes a play, the defense is engaged, and vice versa. That shows a team that really cares about one another and winning, and you never hear finger-pointing through the adversity.”
There is a lot of heat on GM Dave Gettleman – whom Diehl did note did three very good things by adding James Bradberry and Blake Martinez and re-signing Leonard Williams – but the hear is mostly based on the Giants’ recent drafts.
How the last two draft classes finish this season out will do a lot of talking for the GM, Diehl says, but none may be more important than potential franchise quarterback Daniel Jones – who also has improved greatly over the last few weeks in Diehl’s eyes.
“I think the Washington game was a good sign with no turnovers, and moving forward, it’s about making good decisions and listening to his internal clock. I think he is the future quarterback – he has the arm talent, the athleticism, and the intelligence,” Diehl said. “This season, the early offensive line issues did affect his mechanics, but he has to learn to live for third down, and listen to that clock in his head with the pass rush. Early in the season, he was always under pressure, but now it’s on him to feel it and use his athleticism to stand in and deliver the football in a proper way, or take a sack if need be instead of trying to force it.”
It doesn’t help that Jones replaced – literally and figuratively – an icon who was also a high draft pick in Eli Manning. But, as Diehl stressed, they came into different situations and also had different circumstances through their first two years, so any comparison is unfair.
“You can’t compare Jones and Eli in their second seasons, because in 2005, we had all that experience in 2004, but we also had Tiki Barber, who ran for 1,500 yards,” Diehl said. “Jones doesn’t have Saquon Barkley, and when you don’t have that premier back, it makes things difficult. But, I think with the way we’ve seen the offensive line start gelling, and the way Wayne Gallman has run, this is the true time to evaluate Daniel Jones going forward.”
Just look at perhaps the best quarterback in the league as proof that comparisons are moot.
“Patrick Mahomes sat out a year, didn’t he?” Diehl asked. “When you have a young quarterback that comes in and has quick success, people think it should be that way right off the bat. Quarterbacks used to get time to develop, now they get one season! But with Jones, you have to take into account that he had no offseason, and he played half of this season without a full plethora of weapons.”
Still, as Jones and the offense have improved, so, too, has new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who is putting the team in position to succeed – and with the way the NFC East is this season, all it might take is one spark and one quick run to get a chance at the ultimate prize.
“As crazy as it sounds, come Week 17 against Dallas, the Giants could be playing for the playoffs,” Diehl said. “That’s what you’re looking for: an opportunity to get in the dance. We’ve seen teams finish below .500 and shock the world by winning home playoff games. There’s no telling what can happen on any given Sunday.”
Listen to Diehl’s entire segment with Danielle McCartan below!
Follow Danielle McCartan on Twitter: @CoachMcCartan
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