Giants’ Joe Judge discusses Eagles criticism, Patrick Graham and Daniel Jones
New York Giants head coach Joe Judge heard those who were critical of his take on the Philadelphia Eagles after they decided to tank in Week 17 against the Washington Football Team, but he’s not at all sorry for his comments.
While appearing on WFAN’s Morning Show with Boomer & Gio on Tuesday, Judge refused to walk back his statements and instead decided to double-down while returning fire on those who were critical.
“I spent about the previous 20 minutes of that interview explaining we had 16 opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them. Our fate should never be in someone else’s hands,” Judge said, adding that he doesn’t view any game as a throwaway. “My comments were clearly what I was saying to my team since Day 1 and how we’re going to play the game here. For me, it’s important to respect the game, to respect the players that lay it on the line for you every day.”
Asked more specifically about Doug Pederson, who was fired as head coach of the Eagles on Monday, Judge passed on kicking a man while he’s down.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Doug,” Judge said. “I’m not going to talk about somebody else’s job. I have a lot of respect for what he’s accomplished in this league.”
Judge also discussed several in-house topics including the return of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who withdrew from head coaching consideration around the league to sign an extension with the Giants earlier this month.
“Keeping Pat here was definitely a priority for us. We know Pat’s going to have a lot of opportunities going forward,” Judge said. “That, to me, was huge. He’s a tremendous help to me.”
Judge added that Graham’s assistant head coach title “isn’t just fluff on the sheet” and that there’s a reason he’s in the position he’s in with the organization.
The first-year head coach also reiterated his stance on quarterback Daniel Jones, who he admits didn’t put up flashy statistics in 2020.
Joe Judge says there's a lot of things that go unnoticed about Daniel Jones that give him completely confidence in the QB going forward. Says he knows Jones will give them the best chance to compete.
— TheGiantsWire (@TheGiantsWire) January 12, 2021
Joe Judge (on WFAN) on why Daniel Jones is the guy, acknowledged the stats don’t jump off the page but again hyped up his competitiveness, toughness, work ethic and how he controls the huddle. #Giants
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) January 12, 2021
Judge also acknowledged that Jones’ hamstring injury was “significant” and that it not only hindered the quarterback over the final few weeks of the season, but altered how the team approached each game offensively.
Jones is expected to be 100 percent by the time offseason activities begin later this year.
