A few years from now, when the Giants return to their perch as playoff contenders, fans may point at a singular moment by their fledgling head coach.
Joe Judge took a painful time - missing a playoff spot by a whisker - and seduced fans, players, and pundits with a few firm words at just the right time. Instead of griping over the Eagles' inexcusable handling of their final game, Judge instead promised us that the G-Men would never wave a white flag on a football game as long as he's the coach. And he did it with the precise tone and touch to keep it tough yet hopeful at the same time.
And in doing so, Judge reminded us one more time why he's the right man for the job. With his boss, GM Dave Gettleman, keeping his job for at least another year, the Giants have a strong corporate structure, with a clear line from owner to GM to coach to QB. There are no cliques or fiefdoms. There's no squabbling, backstabbing, or infighting. For all their flaws, the Giants are getting better because they have harmony from top to bottom.
Gettleman, who was a bad draft pick from being run out of town two years ago, now looks sharp for drafting Daniel Jones, and even sharper for hiring Judge, the incredibly young and raw assistant coach from New England who has since flashed the signs of a fabulous NFL head coach. With a few deft moves, the Giants have turned this tanker around, and have let the Jets carry the mantle as the woebegone little brothers of the Meadowlands.
Gettleman also nailed draft pick Saquon Barkley, the supremely gifted halfback who tore an ACL too early in the season, and hit a homer in acquiring DL Leonard Williams. The Jets washout seemed to be a few bad games from life as a fringe player who bounces between backup and practice squad, but instead, he was Big Blue's biggest force on the defensive line.
So if you stop picking at the scabs of this just-ended Giants season, you may smile at the prospects for next season. They get Barkley back from a torn ACL. Jones should have healed all of his pesky leg injuries. They hit home runs with free agent linebacker Blake Martinez, who led the club by a mile with 151 tackles (fourth-best in the NFL) and James Bradberry, who was one of the best cornerbacks in the league and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Even Williams - whom many of us panned as a Jets draft bust for whom the Giants overpaid - joined the defensive fun with 11.5 sacks, good for eighth in the NFL.
Big Blue has four picks out of the first 110 selections in the next NFL Draft, and they could still use a cornerback and edge rusher on a defense that ranked 12th in total yards allowed and ninth in points allowed per game. Hopefully, once Barkley gets back, TE Evan Engram can remember how to catch the ball, but they can also use a speedy wideout. They are one of only two teams that didn't average over 300 total yards per game, and put up the second-fewest points in the league.
Yet even with obvious holes on their roster, a rookie head coach, a sidelined star RB, and a pandemic that poached rosters and cancelled training camps, the Giants were a scalp-scratching call by Doug Pederson from making the playoffs. Next time, it won't be such a surprise to see the Giants hover around first place. And maybe they win that one extra game that puts them in the playoffs.
Follow Jason Keidel on Twitter: @JasonKeidel
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