Pat’s Perspectives: The calm before the storm as Giants

brace for crucial game vs. Eagles I’ve covered the New York Giants for 20+ years so I’ve experienced a lot of different locker room swings over that time.So this week New York Giants Hats , I was particularly interested to see what the vibe would be after an emotional, hard-fought loss to the Panthers which in many ways was reminiscent of last year’s disappointing loss to the Eagles on a last-second long field goal.What I came away with is that unlike last year, where that loss pretty much sucked whatever life was left in the Giants season, this year’s loss has supercharged them. by that I mean I senses a quiet, yet steely like calm among the players and a focus that I don’t think I’ve seen from this team in quite some time.Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan probably said it best when describing what’s been missing from this Giants team but yet what’s been slowly creeping into the picture: cohesiveness. “It’s a new system, a new everything for everyone there,” Strahan said during a conference call with the Giants beat writers Wednesday. “I think we forget that. We look at the players on the team and go, ‘We should win now.’ In theory, it’s great. But when you have a new coach, new system, new everything, it’s not that easy.”No it’s not. It’s a process which, as I’ve noted before on the LockedOn Giants podcasts is one that wasn’t exactly aided by the fact that the offensive and defensive units didn’t really play much together in the preseason to build up that cohesiveness.Lately New York Giants Hoodie , there have been signs of that gelling process starting to come along and that unity solidifying. Unfortunately, it had to take a few weeks of the regular season—and with it a few losses—to come together, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the arrow is pointed in the right direction.As for Thursday’s game, I have no idea if the Giants are going to beat the Eagles Thursday night—I do think they can pull it off and (spoiler alert) I’ve picked the Giants in my BBV weekly staff picks.I do believe in my heart this team is going to come out swinging not only because it’s the Eagles but because of what’s at stake, not just in terms of making up ground in the division but also in further solidifying the bonds that Pat Shurmur and his staff have laid the foundation for. Brad Mills-USA TODAY SportsWilted FlowersI usually don’t like to read too much into things,but I found the following response from head coach Pat Shurmur in his weekly “Shurmur Sez” column done with Giants.com writer Mike Eisen about now former offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, who was waived Tuesday, of interest:Based on Shurmur’s words, it sure does sound to me that Flowers resisted the efforts by the coaching staff to help him improve. I can’t help but wonder if that problem became worse once he was benched in favor of Chad Wheeler and simply checked out mentally. I say that because last week when Wheeler hurt his hand, one would have thought that Flowers would get ready to step in, yet it looked like Spencer Pulley was instead being readied.Whatever happened, Flowers becomes one of the most high-profiled examples to clearly not take full advantage of the clean slate that was afforded to all the players. It will be interesting to see if he catches on and finally flourishes elsewhere.Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY SportsFinal word on Odell and Lil WayneI’m not about to write a long, drawn-out editorial on why I think Odell Beckham Jr. made a judgement error by having rap star Lil Wayne by his side for his interview with ESPN. I get it that he was looking for support and who better to support you than your good friend Youth Customized New York Giants Jerseys ,But part of being a leader is standing up independently and taking a stand. Odell did the second part and while I think parts of what he said should have stayed in house, I still admire him for having the moxie to go on national television to speak his mind.The first part—standing up independently is what continues to bother me. It wasn’t a good look—and that’s no offense to Lil Wayne. It’s just that if you’re going to own your words, which all good leaders do, do so without the cavalry there to back you up. Rob Gronkowski has come a long way since doubting his NFL future following the New England Patriots' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.Gronkowski, who has battled injuries throughout his eight-year pro career, was asked about what was next for him after the 41-33 loss in Minneapolis."I'm definitely going to look at my future," he said in February. "We'll sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I'm at."There was brief talk of an acting career or possibly joining professional wrestling.It left New England fans knowing Tom Brady would be returning for his age 41 season, but not knowing if the All-Pro tight end would be there with him.Those doubts are now gone as Gronkowski awaits his ninth season, which starts Sept. 9 at home against the Houston Texans."I definitely feel ready for sure, and I feel good," Gronkowski said Tuesday."But it's a long season. It's kind of hard to describe the body. You gotta go through it in order to understand. It's what every player — I mean, one day you can be feeling great and then the next day you just don't how you're are going to feel — taking hits, you could take a helmet to the thigh www.giantsauthorizedshops.com , you can take a helmet to the chest, wherever and your body can just react differently ... and you're feeling like garbage the next day."I can't ever really get up here and ever say that I feel amazing, because you just never know and every single day, though, I prepare myself to the fullest so I can feel the best I can feel the next day."Gronkowski was coming off back surgery when camp began last year.This summer, he arrived at camp without a restructured contract he was seeking. He shrugged that off Tuesday — while also acknowledging the substantial deal given to Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. — "those are great players" — and also the contract extension reportedly signed by teammate Shaq Mason on Monday."I'm in for the players always — I'm a player, so it's good to see that," he said.Asked about tight ends being given that kind of respect, he smiled and said, "That would be pretty cool."As far as his own situation being resolved soon, he said, "I'm always looking for that," but added New York Giants Womens T-Shirt , "It is what it is. That's not really my focus. I've got a long season ahead and I'm just trying to focus on what I really need to do — let everything else play out."Gronkowski won't play in the preseason finale against the New York Giants on Thursday night, but the work will continue to prepare for the regular season."I've always got stuff to work on, big-time, no matter what it is," he said. "Route running, route detail, blocking ... but I felt like it was a good camp overall. We got a lot of conditioning in, a lot of reps in, the passing game, the run game, whatever it is. Now we'll just focus on keep on going to the next level, keep on getting in better shape ... gotta keep grinding."It's good to be out there every day, get the work in New York Giants Hats , get the body adjusted."Gronkowski feels good heading into the season with the Patriots favored to maintain their dominance in the AFC East and make another run to the Super Bowl."I just love playing the game," he said. "I feel good right now. I definitely feel like a hundred times better than I did last year during training camp."When you're feeling good you love playing the game and I feel good enough to where I thought I could come back, go throughout the whole season, go throughout camp and just keep playing the game and enjoying it."That's how it's been — when you're enjoying the game, when you're feeling good, you just love playing the game. It's just something where when you're out on the field, your mind's just in another place because you're just focusing on what you gotta do."