Nobody practices as well as the Giants. At least, nobody talks about it as much as their head coach.
Ben McAdoo has spent the week praising his team’s work habits, a season-long theme in this lost season, and he took it to another level on Friday.
“I feel that we are a better practice team this year than we were last year,” McAdoo said. “The tempo has been consistently better.”
The record, however, is much worse. At this time last year, the Giants were 4-3, on their way to 11 wins and a playoff berth. They’re 1-6 now, and are irrelevant unless a player is getting suspended. McAdoo was unsure why practicing so well hasn’t resulted in better performances on game day. But he does feel it’s important nevertheless.
“It gives you a chance to have a chance, though,” he said.
Allen Iverson, the NBA Hall of Famer known for his anti-practice tirade, and McAdoo probably wouldn’t have been a good fit.
Asked what constitutes a good practice, McAdoo listed a number of things, such as tempo, catching the ball cleanly, not committing penalties. One thing stood out.
“You win the turnover battle in all three phases,” he said.
Of course, in practice Giants are facing Giants, so a turnover can be construed as positive and negative.
McAdoo’s thoughts on his team’s practice performance comes in stark contrast to general manager Jerry Reese’s comments last week.
“You have to do the little things right and it starts with preparation,” Reese said. “You have to prepare during the week. You don’t win the game on Sunday. You win the game during the week when you practice. That’s where you win the football games. You don’t win on Sunday.”
It seems like they have a lot to discuss.
McAdoo left open the possibility of using some of his safeties at cornerback if need be with just four active corners on the roster at the moment.
“We cross-train some of our safeties inside,” he said. “So, that’s certainly an option. It’s not ideal, but it’s an option.”
The season-ending injuries to Odell Beckham Jr., Dwayne Harris, and Brandon Marshall have given Sterling Shepard more responsibility in the wide receivers’ room, according to position coach Adam Henry. The second-year wideout is now the one who hands out fines to fellow receivers for dropping passes or being late to meetings. He has taken on a leadership role for the inexperienced and youthful group.
“He was making sure guys [are] getting themselves together,” Henry said.