'Feels like we're in a movie': Giants taking it all in before London game vs. Packers
WARE, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND — The picturesque landscape framed the only practice the New York Giants planned to have here in preparation for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers in London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It was a visual postcard, to say the least, and as Saquon Barkley, he of the sole focus on the task at hand, reluctantly admitted that, just for the sake of the experience, everyone there owed it to themselves to "take it all in."
The castle in the distance. The rolling hills and greener-than-green trees creating the skyline. A football field etched into the grass just beyond one of the 18 holes at the historic Hanbury Manor Country Club.
That may seem out of place, but the Giants were more than welcome to call this home, even if they will only be on the property for a little more than 48 hours.
"It just felt like we were in a movie," Giants co-captain Xavier McKinney said after practice Friday. "Everything looks super nice. Everything looks clean. It’s just feels like we’re in a movie."
The Giants are used to practicing in the shadow of the Manhattan skyline, just beyond MetLife Stadium, from the Empire State Building to Freedom Tower, all the hustle and bustle that makes the New York/New Jersey area what it is.
This was James Bond meets The Sound of Music, and apologies with full acknowledgment that the latter was filmed in Salzburg, Austria. There was a fleet of sleek sports cars - BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz - in the parking lots, which were heavily guarded by what looked like a group of well-dressed members of MI6.
"I think it’s a cool experience just to think that we’re in London playing a football game," Giants quarterback Daniel Jones said. "Kind of like Xavier said, you walk down the hill, and there’s pastures, there’s a golf course, and all of a sudden, you see a football field. That was pretty cool."
The Giants departed from Newark Liberty International Airport on Thursday night after practicing in New Jersey, and by the time they landed, the local time in London was around 7 a.m. They were shuttled to the Hanbury Manor, a sprawling property north of London with an 18-hole golf course tucked among majestic rolling hills.
Instead of checking in and getting some rest, the Giants pushed through on the advice of their sports science and performance staff in order to keep their bodies and minds from acclimating to the 5-hour time change. They stretched, held meetings and headed to the football field for the first time for a morning walkthrough.
The intensity of the game itself Sunday will bring its own share of emotions. That's for then.
For Giants defensive lineman and co-captain Dexter Lawrence, this setting was all about zen.
"Kind of felt peaceful, in a way [walking down the hill to the field]," Lawrence said. "Just opened up to a whole bunch of fields, a little pond over there. We took a couple laps. It just felt peaceful. Get a little stretch. Almost like we are about to do some yoga."
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The Giants practiced for 75 minutes or so. Jones seemingly cemented his spot as starting quarterback against the Packers, showing no apparent ill effects from the sprained ankle that knocked him out of last Sunday's 20-12 victory over the Bears. Prior to that, the team sponsored an NFL-affiliated flag football camp for about 100 area children, and former Giants Super Bowl champions Victor Cruz, Zak DeOssie and Brandon London were the coaches for the clinic.
The clinic finished just as the Giants were making their way to the practice fields, and the boys and girls lined the pathway entrance/exit, offering high fives and encouragement. Safeties Julian Love and Landon Collins, back with the Giants on the practice squad as of Friday morning, were among those who walked the path and cheered them on.
Rookie Evan Neal was in the passenger's seat of a golf cart and co-captain Leonard Williams leaned off the back, slapping hands with campers as fans cheered for Neal.
There were media obligations for select players after practice, and McKinney, Lawrence, punter Jamie Gillan, Barkley and Jones did interviews in a news conference setting for those beat writers who traveled and international media.
McKinney and Lawrence talked about how eager they were to go sightseeing in London on Friday night, with McKinney promising to check out the fashion district. Barkley signed autographs off to the side after his presser, but his day as an interview subject wasn't done. The league's leading rusher after four games had a sit down interview with a member of the foreign press.
Asked how he felt having his likeness hanging alongside Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Barkley said: "I would say that’s pretty cool to have the photo, but I really don’t look at it like that. Like I said, you’ve just got to take it in. You’re across the pond, and you’re playing the game that you love. That’s how I look at it. I just want to put on a show and do whatever I can to help my team win the game."
If somehow that's the ending to the movie McKinney envisioned, the Giants will certainly take it.