Through seven weeks of the NFL regular season, the New York Giants and New York Jets have put the importance of coaching on full display. At 2-5, Gang Green often look like a disorganized group of talented players; the Big Blue stand at 4-2-1 despite losing star players weekly on both sides of the ball.
Outside of location, roughly, readers may be wondering what these stadium-sharing squads and their coaches have to do with the NBA's reigning-champion New York Knicks. The answer lies with that team's head coach, Mike Brown, and his recent handling of offseason signing Andre Drummond.
After a turbulent first half from the center against the Boston Celtics in the team's second game of the season, Brown decided to give Drummond's second-half minutes to 25-year-old third-stringer James Wiseman. Drummond resumed his role the very next game, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes of action against the Detroit Pistons. His head coach, however, had sent a message by benching him the game before. His performance made it clear to fans that it had been received.
Brown, Harbaugh benched key players to set an early-season tone
After a costly fumble against the Washington Commanders, running back Cam Skattebo's production was no longer overcoming the detail-oriented issues holding him and his team back — according to WFAN's Tiki Barber. While he still saw the field in the next week's game against the New Orleans Saints, he never carried the football.
Head coach John Harbaugh insisted postgame that Skattebo had not been benched, shortly before the running back directly told reporters his lack of offensive involvement was a punishment for his fumble the week prior. After his non-benching, though, he delivered a huge performance against the Houston Texans' defense — ripping off 17 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown — including a 42-yard run in overtime to set up the game-winning touchdown.
Both Drummond and Skattebo deserve the brunt of the credit for their performances at the highest levels of their respective sports, despite the push from their coaches.
The circumstances also come with differences — Drummond's errors were less costly, Skattebo's punishment was worse; Brown just won the championship with this group last season, Harbaugh was just five weeks into his tenure with the Giants before benching his running back; and Skattebo's immediate bounce-back helped the Giants pull off an improbable upset.
The message from both Brown and Harbaugh, however, was relatively the same. There's a standard to uphold in New York City, and no member of the team is above that at any point of any contest — regardless of opponent, time, or score. And neither coach was afraid to cause some unrest inside their locker room to make sure each one of their players heard them clearly.
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