DON’T JUDGE HIM YET
New Giants coach handles media but it’s still early
If the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his introductory soliloquy is any indication, Joe Judge is going to enjoy an extended honeymoon with the media. The new Giants coach’s microphone stylings, the way he blended confidence and humility while presenting himself to notebooks and cameras on Thursday, will give the organization something it has lacked for years — a front man with credibility, a leader who can begin restoring confidence to a franchise lost in the ozone.
Someone who preaches pride and accountability.
Until the bricks start flying, this is all about style points. Judge will eventually be tested after a tough loss when he must react — live and on the grill — to rapid-fire questions and second-guessing. And even after his command performance last week, there were Gasbags who were not sold.
Like ESPN-98.7’s Michael Kay, who said Judge flexed his “hard-ass” muscle. “But it’s hard to be a hard-ass without the hardware,” Kay said. “He opened up a coaching handbook and whipped out coaching clichés.”
On the other side of the aisle, there was praise for Judge emphasizing he is not a coaching clone. “He didn’t try to run a press conference with the crusty charisma of Parcells or the flippant manner of Belichick,” Mike (Sports Pope) Francesa said on his Radio.com show.
Judge’s performance did not bring back memories of an uncomfortable Ben McAdoo behind the podium. Nor did it resemble a defensive Pat Shurmur sparring with reporters as he responded to questions better suited for David Gettleman, who spent the 2019 season avoiding the media.
The Giants’ recent miserable past has already led the team to be devalued as a TV attraction. On the live side, home attendance was down 3% in 2019.
In Judge, the Giants have someone who can start trying to disinfect the dysfunction from an organization now most recognized for its miserable decision-making. Winning (duh) is the only way to set the franchise back on course. Still, between now and whenever things get turned around, Judge will be responsible for explaining the plan and how it’s progressing. It’s crucial that he is believable.
How will the media react if the losing continues? Much of that will depend on how Judge handles the situation. If sincerity melts into spin, the honeymoon goes down the sewer. Judge will open himself to serious scrutiny.
So, there’s a huge risk involved here. No matter. Hope is the only thing Giants suits have left to peddle. And Joe Judge may be the right guy to sell it.
PREPOSTEROUS GAP
Hopefully, nobody decided to hold their breath for the 15 days between the college football’s playoff semifinals and Monday’s national championship game between LSU and Clemson.
The long wait brings an anticlimatic feel to the game. Since the title tilt falls on the Monday after the NFL’s divisional round weekend, most of the talk will center on what transpired in those games.
ESPN, of course, will use all its platforms all day on Monday to hype the game. Local radio shows in non-college football markets, like ESPN-98.7 here, will suddenly become highly interested in this “event.” Cats like ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, whose specialty is basketball, will suddenly become college football brainiacs.
And no one at ESPN, which pays billions for college football playoff rights, will have anything to say about the ridiculous amount of days between the semis and the finals.
NEW COKE, CALM POPE?
After all these years, it’s hard to believe Francesa is recreating himself.
So, maybe this is about some studio atmospherics. Or him getting used to doing his new Radio.com show (5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.) Whatever the reason, the pontiff is totally mellow. No high-decibel, proving-hispoint, obnoxious energy. Is that can of Diet Coke by his side watered down?
In week one of his new gig, Francesa didn’t take any calls from the unwashed masses. That’s gotta change. We need to see the Pope wave off first-time callers, long-time morons.
Then, and only then, will we know there is still hope for the Free World.
PBS SPORTS
Hey, it’s no secret CBS Sports has been the unofficial network of the New England Patriots for quite a while.
No owner gets more face time on a CBS NFL telecast than Robert Kraft. And before he got caught with his pants down, former CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves was a frequent guest in Kraft’s Gillette Stadium suite.
Yet Jim Nantz and Tony Romo doubled-down on their Patriots pom-poms near the conclusion of Tennessee’s 20-13 win over New England in the wild card round. The duo gushed on about the Patriots tradition, Tom Brady, Grand Master Belichick and the team’s future.
Nantz and Romo should have put the Pats on the back burner and placed their emphasis on what Tennessee had accomplished. The Titans came into Foxborough and took the heart out of the Patriots. This was a tremendous win, one that deserved more attention and respect from Nantz and Romo.
AROUND THE DIAL
This radio relationship between Maggie Gray and Marc (Moose) Malusis is like a ticking time bomb, capable of blowing the roof, figuratively of course, off FAN’s studio. The two mouths engage in head-on, full-force combat. Nothing contrived here. No going for laughs. Just two Gasbags wanting to be right. They recently got into a blowout with Gray claiming David Gettleman’s picks will determine what kind of offense/defense the Giants play. Malusis disagreed, vehemently. Unfortunately, the “debate” was cut short by a commercial break. Very disappointing…. In a telephone appearance on 98.7 with Alan Hahn, Bart Scott said Giants players told him the organization would “not hire a black coach.” Scott did not identify the players who provided the info. Why not?…