Big Blue View
“I’m not taking nothing from nobody.”
Nine practices into New York Giants training camp, there has yet to be a fight. Saturday, with WWE SummerSlam being held across the parking lot at MetLife Stadium in the evening, seemed like the perfect time to expect some extra-curricular activities. Yet, a two-hour practice passed peacefully.
It has become common for some of us who watch practices regularly to speculate not only on when there will be a camp fight, but who will be involved in it.
If you have been following the Giants throughout the offseason workout program and into training camp, you should be able to guess that the odds-on favorite to be in the middle of the first melee of camp is offensive tackle James Hudson.
When I told Hudson that after Saturday’s practice, the big man laughed heartily.
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all,” Hudson said. “I haven’t had a fight in camp yet this year. I mean, in OTAs, we [Hudson and Brian Burns] had the little, you know, the little back and forth, but it was very hot that day. Heat got to us. Things happened. But, you know, man, like I said, we’re just out there competing. That’s all it is.”
Hudson, a 26-year-old who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns plays with a palpable energy that endears him to his offensive teammates and can aggravate defenders.
Head coach Brian Daboll likes Hudson’s style.
“I love it, for an offensive lineman. You’re always looking for offensive linemen that bring an edge,” Daboll said. “Again, we got to be smart so what’s it going to be in the fourth quarter when things get tough and somebody shoves you and pushes you? Are you able to have the emotional maturity to go ahead and focus on the next play and not get involved in that? That’s some of the stuff we evaluate out here as well. Can these guys – we’ve all done training camp for a long time, so emotions are going to happen. Competitive juices are – there’s going to be stuff that happens. There is every year. There hasn’t been a year since I’ve done it where there hasn’t been, usually multiple times. That’s stuff you coach off of, you teach off of, but you want offensive linemen that have edges, that like to finish, that like contact, that enjoy the physical nature of what that position requires, but you also have to be smart in how you practice.
“His edge and his personality has been a welcomed addition to the room.”
Former Giants great Carl Banks is also a fan of the personality the 6-foot-5, 313-pound Hudson brings to the Giants.
On a recent episode of the Bleav in Giants podcast with Bob Papa, Banks called Hudson “the right kind of a—- to have on your offensive line ... he’s the right kind of jerk. You need that type of energy on your offensive line ... he’s going...
