Veteran guard: Sharpe criticism misses mark

There are those outside the Giants’ sphere of influence who are hot and bothered about new head coach Joe Judge demanding his players and assistant coaches run a penalty lap during Monday’s training camp practice. This caught the attention of Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe. The former NFL tight end tweeted, “This isn’t going to end well.’’

There is always rampant concern, usually followed by derision, when a first-time head coach tries to lay down the law by using old-school tactics on NFL players. This is especially so for any coach who grew out of the Bill Belichick coaching tree.

Ben Watson, the former Patriots tight end — he worked with Judge last year in New England — took to Twitter to opine that Judge should not try to be Belichick: “Be. Your. Self. There is only one [Belichick].’’

It is not as if Judge is halting practice every time there is a miscue to send the offending players off on a run. And, if those wondering if Judge is taking too much of a hard-line approach actually saw what went down in his first padded practice, they would have realized the slow-paced penalty laps could hardly be described as cruel and unusual punishment. Or even remotely embarrassing.

“The way I see it, it just goes with coach Judge’s philosophy,’’ veteran guard Kevin Zeitler said. “He said we’re going to be detailoriented and there will be consequences for our actions that aren’t good for the team. It’s just a way of playing it through, for players and coaches. We all need to get better every day, and there are no exceptions.’’

Judge on Tuesday was asked about the criticisms sent his way by Sharpe and Watson.

“Everything we do has a purpose and we’re very intent with our team explaining why we’re doing things were doing,’’ Judge said. “We’re not just blindly out there winging it, trying to go ahead and enforce punishment.”

Last summer, DT Dexter Lawrence sought out his 2019 rookie classmate

Daniel Jones to be his roommate in their first NFL training camp. Jones credits Lawrence for keeping things light and serving as a stress reliever. The two developed a friendship.

The 342-pound Lawrence took notice in their second camp together how Jones gained nearly 10 pounds of muscle to hover near 230 pounds heading into his second season.

“He’s definitely looking a little buff out there,’’ Lawrence said. “He’s looking good. He’s felt like he needed a little more beef. I gave him a hard time but it’s all good.’’