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Ex-Browns GM Michael Lombardi rips Giants after ‘Hard Knocks’ reveals

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4 months ago

July 18, 2024

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Ex-Browns GM Michael Lombardi rips Giants after ‘Hard Knocks’ reveals

Perhaps the Giants are providing a little too much of an inside look in “Hard Knocks.”

Former Browns general manager Michael Lombardi skewered the Giants for lacking an identity based on the behind-the-scenes clips displayed in HBO’s offseason program.

“What I find missing in terms of when I watch this show is there’s no identity for the Giants. There is no systematic, ‘This is who we are,’ and that started in 1979 when the great George Young came in and said, basically, ‘We are going to create a system of scouting that is going to put a team on the field that has great size and speed,” Lombardi said on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.

“I watch this show and I see a team that is basically every player is evaluated individually, so they’re adding talent, not building a team. That’s my one concern.”

The Giants have generally been praised for how much they have offered to viewers in the first offseason edition of the famed “Hard Knocks” series, with general manager Joe Schoen at the forefront.

The show, among many topics, has covered the Giants’ approach to free agency, including their negotiations with Saquon Barkley, plus their big trade for Panthers star pass rusher Brian Burns.

Next week’s episode, the fourth, is teased to focus on the draft, where the Giants landed Malik Nabers.

Obviously the show has not provided all the talks between Schoen and his top lieutenants, such as often-featured assistant general manager Brandon Brown, director of player personnel Tim McDonell and director of pro scouting Chris Rossetti, meaning there are key details being left out.

Lombardi, who worked for six teams in his career, said he can’t believe how much access the Giants have allowed, but it’s clear he finds flaws in how Schoen is assembling his roster.

The former executive claims he’s a disciple of the Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells team-building philosophies, which influence how he views the Giants’ efforts.

He said teams should have three main focuses with their roster-building efforts: must-haves, need to have and what they want to build a better team.

Lombardi seemingly feels the Giants are viewing players in a silo, just strictly basing it off talent.

He does not see a concentrated effort to have a particular style implemented throughout the team.

“When you enter into free agency, you’re entering off how you set up your team needs. What do we want to do, how we do improve it and you figure out what player you can get that can adhere to those things,” Lombardi said. “When I watch it, everything comes down to ‘We can get this guy. OK, well maybe we can get that guy.’ And then everybody has a different opinion.

“The one thing the great Charlie Munger once said, he said, ‘If you want to make a bad decision, ask a lot of people. That’s what I watch when I see that.”