NY Giants: No need to overreact to Joe Judge’s comments at combine

NY Giants head coach Joe Judge spoke to the media at length at the combine on Tuesday, and his comments left many scratching their heads.

If Joe Judge’s combine press conference wasn’t a clear enough indication that he is a Bill Belichick disciple than I’m not sure what could be. The NY Giants head coach was asked an array of questions and stuck to his tight-lipped ways, offering nothing in terms of giving away hints at what the starting roster could look like in 2020.

The big hoopla of the day came when a reporter asked the new coach whether or not Daniel Jones could be penciled in as the 2020 starter at quarterback. Like he did throughout the entire press conference, Judge refused to mention Jones by name and simply stated that the depth chart was wide open.

Now, if he had only done this with Jones and went on to label other players as starters, this would be cause for concern. However, the former Patriots coach refused to mention any player by name in a clear effort to begin fostering a culture of competition.

His overall demeanor was beyond refreshing after listening to Pat Shurmur speak for the last two years, as the rookie head coach was poised, confident and direct. He may not have given any information away, but he gave clear reasoning as to why he was doing that.

Daniel Jones is mature enough to understand what’s going on here, so there’s little reason to worry that he’ll be offended by his new head coach’s comments. It’s fair to assume that Jones was actually happy to hear his coach’s comments, as he’s a player that simply wants to win and is likely encouraged to see the new type of culture that Judge will be leading.

If one negative came out of Judge’s comments, it’s that they opened the door once more for ridiculous Tom Brady to the NY Giants rumors. It’s unlikely that the young head coach is worried about that though, and he can’t control the ridiculous stories the media chooses to put together.

So while some may prefer to just hear ‘Daniel Jones is our starting quarterback’, Judge is looking at the bigger picture. He wants his players to feel like they can earn their way onto the field through hard work, while also feeling like everyone is equal from the top to the bottom.