The New York Giants have suffered one too many injuries this offseason, despite not even making it to training camp yet.
It started with undrafted free agent Thaddeus Dixon in May, who tore his Achilles tendon during rookie minicamp.
Then, veterans Roy Robertson-Harris and Gunner Olszewski also suffered Achilles injuries, this time during OTAs.
The latest came on Monday, when it was revealed Abdul Carter suffered an ankle/foot injury.
It’s an unfortunate string of bad luck for the Giants, who have had to go out and sign replacements in the wake of the losses.
But is it really bad luck if your head coach has a track record of pushing his players too hard in summer and regular-season practices?
Zay Flowers Blamed Ravens Injuries on Hard Practices
In a resurfaced quote from Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers, the star pass catcher questioned John Harbaugh’s practice style in an appearance on the 4th and South podcast.
“Bro, we doing one-on-ones Week 17. Week 17, we doing one-on-ones. Everybody out there, you’re tired. You’re still going. That was low-key (why) we had a lot of injuries. Because of how we practiced, how we went. Yeah, the load was heavy,” Flowers told podcast hosts Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette.
For those not familiar, Flowers is referring to one-on-one drills, when cornerbacks and wide receivers, running backs and linebackers, and offensive linemen and defensive linemen go against one another.
It’s an incredibly competitive drill, designed to get players back into the swing of contact after some time off.
Typically, that’s reserved for training camp. But Harbaugh clearly wants his guys to always be exerting themselves throughout the duration of the regular season.
“Like, bro, the first two games of last year, bro, I ran 10,000 yards the first game.
I ran 10,000 yards the second game. I ran 20,000 yards in two games and still ran 4,000, 5,000, 4,000 (yards in practice that week),” Flowers continued.
The Ravens were a team that seemed consistently plagued by injuries over the last few seasons, and they always seemed to crop up at the worst times for a team that had Super Bowl aspirations.
Were Harbaugh’s tough practices a contributing factor? It’s entirely possible.
But if it was that big of an issue, the head coach would surely change his ways, right?
John Harbaugh Planning on Maximum Practice Time
It seems like, no matter what Harbaugh had learned over his final few seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, he won’t be letting it affect his coaching style with the New York Giants.
Entering mandatory minicamp, the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard reported that New York intends to practice for as long as they can per the NFLPA rules, for better or for worse.
“NFL teams are allowed to practice a maximum of 2 1/2 hours per day during mandatory minicamp,” wrote Leonard.
“John Harbaugh has the Giants going for 2 1/2 hours on Monday AND 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday — plus a 75-min Wednesday finale. Preparing his team for camp & the season.”
Maybe it’s good that Harbaugh is pushing his team to new boundaries this summer. After all, Brian Daboll notoriously had easy practices, and he never saw success outside his first season.
Harbaugh has been an NFL head coach for 18 years, and he knows a thing or two about what it takes to keep his players conditioned for a postseason run.
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