What Patriots can gain from annual practices with Joe Judge’s Giants
By Mike Luciano
The New England Patriots and New York Giants might not be in the same division or conference, but the histories of these two franchises are intertwined with one another, with their meetings in the Super Bowl standing out as the most noteworthy interaction.
Both teams have found it profitable to pluck coaches from the ranks of their cross-conference contemporary, as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was famously a Giants assistant back in the 1980s and Giants leading man joe Judge came from Belichick’s ranks in Foxborough.
Joint practices are nothing new, but the Giants appear to be eyeing one very specific team that they want to get some licks against before the preseason comes around.
In fact, Judge wants to get as many reps for his team against Belichick as possible, adhering to the philosophy that iron sharpens iron.
Judge claims that he is a “big fan” of these joint practices. While the practices will take place in New England this offseason, Jordan Raanan is reporting that the teams will alternate between New York and Massachusetts over the next few years.
The Patriots have a ton to gain as part of these arrangements, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Joe Judge says it’s not completely finalized but the plan is to have joint practices at the Patriots and Browns. “Big fan of them,” he said of joint practices. Sounds like this year it will be at New England but rotate every year. Sort of a home and home.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) June 10, 2021
The Patriots can evaluate new additions against the Giants.
The biggest new addition the Patriots brought in this offseason was quarterback Mac Jones, a first-round selection that needs to work on absorbing an NFL playbook in order to allow his accuracy and arm talent to shine.
The Giants not only have an above-average defense, but they have one of the best secondaries in the sport thanks to the presence of James Bradberry, Jabrill Peppers, and former Patriot Logan Ryan. Time to see how far along Jones has come in his development.
The Giants’ offense might not scare anyone right now, but players like rookie Kadarius Toney and free-agent acquisition Kenny Golladay can cause a ton of problems individually. So can Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard! With Jason McCourty out, Jalen Mills in, and Kyle Dugger likely going to earn a bigger role this season, these practices can give Belichick a chance to evaluate how far they have come.
What better way to see how all of the moving parts on this roster are fitting than by actually putting them out there against live bullets and a second set of eyes from a competitor? As long as Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin don’t get into anything serious, this should be a very fruitful exercise for the Patriots and Giants.
