John Harbaugh Deals With Achilles Nightmare in New York: Giants Coach Adds Equipment After Three Injuries
John Harbaugh spent 18 years with the Baltimore Ravens and won a Super Bowl. He came to the Giants for a fresh challenge. He got a fresh nightmare instead.
Three of his players have torn their Achilles during offseason activities. Rookie cornerback Thaddeus Dixon. Wide receiver and special teams contributor Gunner Olszewski. Defensive lineman Roy Robertson Harris. All three are gone before the season starts.
Robertson Harris is the biggest loss, because the Giants had just traded away Dexter Lawrence, their star defensive tackle. Losing your other veteran interior player to a season ending injury before training camp is a disaster.
The pattern is what has people alarmed. Three Achilles tears in one offseason is not a coincidence. Something is going on, whether it is training methods, footwear, playing surfaces, or plain bad luck. Harbaugh has to figure it out fast.
To his credit, he is trying.
Harbaugh told reporters that the practice schedule has not changed but that the team has added things. Specifically, he is bringing in new fitness testing equipment, new strength training equipment, and new body movement equipment. All of it aimed at monitoring individual players and catching potential problems before they turn into blown Achilles.
This is Harbaugh at his best. He is not a coach who panics. He is a coach who studies. Baltimore was one of the best in the league at injury prevention during his tenure, and now he is bringing that same approach to a Giants team that has been beat up for years.
The Giants have been an injury team for as long as anyone can remember. Saquon Barkley missed time repeatedly. Daniel Jones missed time. Their offensive line was always banged up. Their defense had constant rotation. New York needed a fresh voice on training, and Harbaugh has always been one.
The new equipment includes body movement testing that measures how a player’s mechanics change over the course of practice. If someone starts to compensate on their landing pattern, coaches can see it in real time. That is the kind of edge that could save an Achilles late in camp.
Still, three tears in one offseason is a lot to explain away. The likely reality is a mix of factors: modern player size and speed, artificial turf at some facilities, and the pace of offseason work. The Giants play their home games on FieldTurf at MetLife Stadium, which has been criticized for years.
Harbaugh is going to need everything to work. The Giants have Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo, and a young roster that could surprise if it stays healthy. They also have a lot of new pieces on defense.
The season starts with question marks. Robertson Harris was supposed to help the defensive interior. Dixon was supposed to compete for playing time in the secondary. Olszewski was a special teams core piece. All three roles now need replacement players who may not exist on the current roster.
Fixing an injury problem is a long project. Harbaugh does not have long. Veterans report to camp next week. Preseason games start in a month. The regular season is in September.
What he can control is preparation. New equipment. New monitoring. New culture of paying attention to how bodies feel every day. If Harbaugh can bring the Ravens injury discipline to New York, the Giants might yet get to play a full season with their best players available.
If not, the story of his first year in New York will be about who got hurt. Not the way he wants to be introduced.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
