Giants New Chapter Begins Under Head Coach John Harbaugh

While he joked that the intensity of his training camp won’t be on the level of what the late Vince Lombardi used to run, which Harbaugh considered to be a “10” on the scale of difficulty, his training camp won’t be too far off, with Harbaugh placing his planned camp as an eight on the intensity scale.

That intensity combined with the getaway from New Jersey, which was prompted in part due to the teardown of the infrastructure around MetLife Stadium that was put in place for the recently completed World Cup and the ongoing renovation of the team’s East Rutherford headquarters, has presented Harbaugh’s Giants with a golden opportunity to strengthen their bond as a team.

“That bonding opportunity–guys aren't going home. They're going to be with each other into the evening, stuff like that, go to dinner together. I think it's a real plus for us. I'm excited about it.”

As he should. Harbaugh is known for optimizing every available minute provided under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, something his Giants predecessors weren’t always known to have done. Whether one is a rookie, a seasoned veteran, or a roster longshot, everyone is going to get their share of practice reps as they look to convince Harbaugh that they belong on the team.

It’s also going to be a camp with little to no distractions during this critical part of training camp, a benefit that comes as a result of the time away from East Rutherford and the other little distractions that normally find their way into the long days.

“It's all football all the time,” Harbaugh said. “If you love football, you love training camp. I love waking up every day, starting football, doing football all day, going to sleep, and waking up to do football again.

“For a coach, it's the funnest thing ever. Players might not agree, but coaches do.”  

If Harbaugh gets his way, by the time the Giants head back to East Rutherford a week from Saturday, they will have fully appreciated the situation and be able to use it to ensure the Harbaugh era gets off to one of the most successful starts in recent years.

The Day Ahead

The first practice (Day 2 of the mandatory five-day acclimation period) is not open to the public.

General manager Joe Schoen is scheduled to speak to the media at 1 p.m. Head coach John Harbaugh is scheduled to speak to the media at approximately 3:15 p.m., and a select group of players will take to the podium at approximately 3:30 p.m.