Giants offense under Garrett will look a lot like Cowboys

Daniel Jones had better start watching videotape of the Dallas Cowboys' offense. New coach Joe Judge said the Giants' offense this season would like the one the Cowboys ran the past decade with Jason Garrett as the head coach. Garrett's contract with Dallas was not renewed after last season and Judge hired him as his offensive coordinator less than two weeks later.

“There’s going be some similarities, but it’s got to cater to our players we have on our roster currently,” Judge said Tuesday in a video conference call. “So right now we’re installing all the base concepts and the shell of the offense. I think really you’ll see through our training camps as it takes form with the character of our team and as different players emerge.”

Judge said the offense will vary by game depending on the opponent. Jones, who was the sixth pick overall in last year's draft, may throw more one game and Saquon Barkley might carry the load the next. The system is not the West Coast brand coach Pat Shurmur employed the past two seasons. Eli Manning ran it the first year and Jones, the sixth pick overall in 2019, replaced the two-time Super Bowl MVP after the second game last season. “One thing that Jason does that’s really outstanding is it's really his system that’s been formed over years collectively from where he’s played and coached,” Judge said. "And those are part of the conversations we had when we talked about him joining the staff.

Jones will see some similarities with some things he knows because all systems have some concepts that are similar. Judge said the same concept will be true for defensive coordinator Pat Graham, who ran the Dolphins' defense last season. It will be multiple formations with parts of the systems Graham used in Miami, New England, New York, Houston and Tennessee. Judge, a special teams coordinator in New England in recent years, said will be involved in all three areas.

With the coronavirus pandemic preventing teams from holding organized team activities, Judge said his biggest concerns is keeping his players healthy. His hope is they can find a way to stay in shape so they can compete when team training facilities open. There has been some speculation that some states may not ease restrictions in time for training camp to open. The Giants train at their team headquarters in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Without naming any potential sites for an away training camp, Judge said the Giants have discussed the possibility of training at a different site.

Still, he hopes to train at the team's headquarters. “To be honest with you, if we can’t practice in the facility, I would just like it to be the best setup possible,” he said. “There’s a lot of factors that go into that in terms of field space, training room, weight room, food for the players room and accommodations. You know, these guys have off days and training camp as well. One of the advantages of having it at our facility is these guys have a chance, go home and see their wives and kids as well on the off days, which look, that’s a big part of it.”