The John Harbaugh era hasn't been in full force for very long, but it's already clear that the New York Giants are much better off with him as their head coach. The bar is underground because of the last couple of coaches before Harbaugh, but it doesn't change just how he's changed the Giants' culture.
After dealing with Brian Daboll, Joe Judge, and Pat Shurmur as the last three coaches, there is a level of liberation that comes with this new era in New York. Having a Super Bowl-winning head coach run practices made it clear that it would be hard to do worse than the previous three.
Ideally, Big Blue would turn back the clock to the same ideals that won them two Super Bowls this century with Tom Coughlin coaching them. And it just so happens that he adopted those same ideals after nearly two decades of success in Baltimore which the Giants have already felt the effects of.
John Harbaugh has turned the Giants' practices into a gauntlet
There is nothing more exciting than seeing the changes in an organization when a new head coach comes to town. And while going over takeaways from every team during offseason workouts, The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll noticed a big difference in the way the Giants attack the practice field.
"One big observation under the John Harbaugh era already is the length and content of practices," Carroll wrote. "Both mandatory minicamp practices went over two hours and featured plenty more situational reps. And that was a constant theme throughout OTAs and not just minicamp. We’ll see how that carries into camp and the team’s preparedness through the season."
Carroll noted that that the biggest change of the Harbaugh era in East Rutherford is the length and the content of practices. Apparently, both minicamp practices went over two hours to reach the league-mandated limit of two-and-a-half hours and featured more situational reps than ever before.
We've already seen the G-Men look to get tougher and more physical, especially in the trenches with this new staff, but seeing longer and more focused practice sessions is the dead giveaway. For the first time in what feels like forever, this team won't be woefully unprepared and gassed on Sundays.
We saw how many times the Giants just collapsed late in games last year because they were soft. Harbaugh is making sure that his squad doesn't repeat those mistakes. And his refusal to tolerate the laziness and lack of accountability that have plagued this team the last few years is a welcomed sight.
And this wasn't a minicamp trend either. Practices have been more intentional all spring, and knowing that the trend of preparedness will continue into training camp and the season is just more proof the New York Giants made the right call hiring John Harbaugh as their new coach to turn things around.
Add us as a preferred source on Google