Joe Judge placed the emphasis of blame on the coaching staff before firing offensive coordinator Jason Garrett earlier this season, and after Sunday’s lopsided loss to the Chargers, the head coach made a point to indict himself for the team’s 4-9 season.
“I'm the head coach. Everything in the program reflects on me,” Judge said. “I don't ever shy away from that, I don't make excuses, I don't hide from that either. I'm not a finger-pointer, I'm not an excuse-maker, and I'm never gonna try and deflect anything.”
But even as the Giants clinch their fifth straight losing season, and their second under Judge, the second-year head coach continues to insist that the pieces are being put in place for sustained success, even if there is currently no sight of progress on the field, where New York was just torched by the Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles offense.
“In terms of the direction the program is going, there is a lot of things I see week after week with our players and where we’re going that I’m encouraged in a lot of ways,” Judge said. “Sometimes that’s hard to see externally. But there’s some key foundational pieces being put in place, and there’s a lot of things we’re making progress on moving forward.”
It certainly is hard to see from an external perspective, as the Giants have issues all over the field at skill positions, a quarterback in Daniel Jones that is still widely regarded as an unknown regarding his future potential, and a head coach that remains relentless in his battle cry that brighter days are ahead. But while Judge preaches the existence of a solid foundation, many Big Blue fans can only see another attempted rebuild that is showing signs of crumbling.
But, as he has many times after frustrating losses this season, Judge continues to preach patience.
“My scope is always big-picture,” Judge said. “I told the team a second ago, I look every week…I’m very conscious of what’s going on around the league and where we are within the standings, but ultimately, my vision goes beyond that. I’m looking long-term for a lot of things.
“First time I ever got in front of a microphone in front of you guys, I talked about putting the foundation together and pushing it and building the right way. I never talked about taking a shortcut or wanting immediate gratification.”
There was no immediate gratification in Judge’s first season, when the Giants finished 6-10, and there certainly isn’t any now, after the team retooled in the offseason and have only gotten worse. It is unclear what the front office thinks of the direction of the franchise under Judge, but Judge, who was a part of one of the most successful franchises in sports in the Patriots, promises that the Giants are heading in that direction.
“We have to put a product on the field that everybody is proud of,” Judge said. “I’ve said that a million times as well. I’m not gonna shy away from that…it’s a production business. But in terms of the big scope and where we’re going, internally you can see a lot of pieces being put together…I’ve been fortunate enough to know what it’s supposed to look like, and I can see the direction it’s going, and I can see the foundation being poured and solidified, and we’re gonna get things going in the right direction.”
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