Bradberry backs Judge after Benjamin bash
Kelvin Benjamin’s anti-Joe Judge rant doesn’t speak for the rest of the Giants’ players.
In James Bradberry’s mind, it reinforces why Benjamin is no longer here. Or as the Giants’ top corner put it on Thursday:
“It ain’t for everybody. You feel me?”
“He’s entitled to his opinion,” Bradberry said of Benjamin, who blasted Judge following his release Wednesday night. “I definitely think Coach Judge is tough. But football is tough. There’s a lot of pressure being in our shoes, so I don’t expect him to give us our way all the time.
“A tough coach, that’s how you build structure,” Bradberry added. “That’s how you build discipline. That’s what he’s building here. It’s part of our culture. It ain’t for everybody, man, ya know? It ain’t for everybody. You feel me?”
Benjamin had told NJ.com that Judge was a “know-it-all” who “sits there and cusses all day” and will never “win a Super Bowl.” But the tight end also admitted that he’d failed to cut his weight from 265 pounds in June to 251, as the Giants had asked.
Instead, Benjamin showed up to camp weighing 268, claiming he’d put on muscle. Judge told Benjamin on the field before practice on Wednesday that he would be fined, and the tight end thought it was unfair and didn’t appreciate receiving the news on the field.
Judge took the high road Thursday when asked about Wednesday’s animated on-field conversation with Benjamin and GM Dave Gettleman:
“I want to make sure I respect anything we said in confidentiality when we talked with him,” Judge said. “That being said, guys, there’s 32 teams that make roster moves every day. This was really no different. We decided to make a move we thought was best for the team. I wish him well. I wish him the best of luck. No ill will, and I hope he has success.” As for Judge waiting to tell Benjamin the news on the field, the coach said: “Look, sometimes things happen a certain way and you just got to keep going. Everyone makes moves in different ways. I’m not going to overanalyze or dissect what happened specifically with one move. It is what it is. I wish him well.”
Judge did want to clarify something about Benjamin’s accusation that the coach can’t control his use of bad language.
“I mean, look, I’ve got some colorful language,” Judge admitted. “When we’re out at practice, you watch, you guys can figure that out. I know how to clean it up at the right time. I don’t curse in front of my wife. I don’t curse in front of your kids, your wife, grandmothers, my mother, whatever it is… It’s a little bit different when you’re out there, kind of heat of the moment in practice, teaching. Sometimes colorful language happens.”
Judge made clear he has a “rule” in his program, too: “We’re never going to attack anybody personally.
“Cuss words, we’re never going to direct them at a player,” he said. “There are certain times you have to use something for emphasis. However, we’re never going to attack any player personally. We’re never going to do that. We’re coaching mistakes. We’re correcting the position by helping the person. We’re never attacking the person.”
Judge’s players, with Benjamin gone, in turn seem to understand and respect the coach’s good intentions.
The coach’s authority isn’t in question, and that was clear listening to center Nick Gates trip over himself trying not to say the wrong thing when explaining why the team might buy in and Benjamin does not.
“Um. I dunno. I just kinda feel like we’re a younger team,” Gates said. “There’s usually buy-in with a younger team. I just... It is what it is. I don’t know how else to answer. Sorry I don’t want to say anything to…”
No worries, Nick. Message received. The players have Judge’s back.
ON LOCKDOWN
It’s early, but so far, No. 1 receiver Kenny Golladay is having trouble getting open against Bradberry when the Giants’ top corner is matched up with him in man-toman coverage.
Bradberry was asked if he was going to let Golladay make any catches in camp. He laughed.
“We’re gonna compete,” Bradberry said, smiling.” We’re gonna compete. That’s all I’m gonna say. Hey, it’s only day two. It’s only day number two.”
Golladay, the expensive free agent signing, continues to stay with Daniel Jones and the quarterbacks in some periods and catch extra passes as the pair tries to build chemistry. So far nothing has come easily.