There was more than a bounce in the Giants players’ steps on Thursday. They were loose and putting on a show.
Cameras caught quarterback Daniel Jones hitting the ‘Griddy’ dance as players huddled to kick off the week’s final practice.
Leonard Williams and the defense broke out in a wild dance to Bankroll Fresh’s ‘Take Over Your Trap’ as they prepared to face the scout team offense.
The Giants looked like an underdog playing with house money that is confident in pulling off a second straight upset Saturday night in Philadelphia.
“[That’s] just joy,” linebacker Jaylon Smith said. “We all love each other, we love this game. We’re happy to be where we are, but we’re not satisfied. You gotta make sure you’re having fun. A lot of us have been playing since we were seven years old.”
Thursday’s practice was short and to the point, and running back Matt Breida said that was a good example of why head coach Brian Daboll gets the best out of his offense and team.
“The way he coaches, you just want to play for him,” Breida said Thursday. “He’s a players’ coach. He understands that we go through a lot. He tries to tempo the practice down to help our bodies rest. He asks how you’re doing, asks how you are feeling, that type of thing.”
The Giants players have shown their appreciation in the form of full-team contributions recently, including last Sunday’s 31-24 Wild Card road win over the Minnesota Vikings.
And they’ll be looking for that again Saturday evening at Lincoln Financial Field.
Breida was one of those players grinding away in Minneapolis, dodging three Vikings and breaking two tackles on a 3rd-quarter 3rd-and-1 to get a hard-earned first down.
“That’s just your mentality,” he said. “Playing football my whole life growing up, you either got it or you don’t. You don’t think about it. You know the game situation, and you’ve got to get the first down.”
Williams said Daboll’s Giants have found a good balance between having fun and getting their work done. Other players have credited the Giants’ leadership, including captains like Julian Love and Jones, for harnessing the freedom that Daboll affords the team the right way.
“Something that I really value in this team is we’re serious when we have to be,” Williams said. “Obviously, we’re taking this seriously. But at the same time, I think we have to be loose and have fun and remember that it’s a game.
“Be where you’re supposed to be and know what you’re supposed to do and all those types of things,” he added. “[But] I feel like when we play with that type of fun and looseness that we play with a different type of swagger, and it allows us to play fast.”
The Giants will travel to Philadelphia by bus on Friday, get a good dinner somewhere at night, and then hold walkthroughs Saturday morning at the team hotel before their 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
Corner Nick McCloud said he likes to sleep or rest most of the day in his room, excluding the walkthroughs, to conserve energy and best simulate his preferred gameday approach: wake and play.
Amid the loud music, dancing and last-minute preparations, though, a quiet confidence hung in the final open locker room of this Divisional playoff round week.
One offensive player, well aware of the challenge that Jalen Hurts and the Eagles present, gave a knowing look to the Daily News and said of the Giants’ defense: “They’re ready.”
They were acting like it on Thursday. Saturday they’ll have a chance to prove it.
