By Aaron Ozni
The New York Football Giants possess a record of 7 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie thus far in the 2022 NFL season. Struggles to sustain drives due to penalties, and dropped passes have been issues. Whenever a football team fails to generate offensive first downs due to errors such as these, the coaching staff can step in to make adjustments prior to the next game. Despite these battles, a doomsday narrative about this Giants team continues to swirl across the interwebs which forces the positive aspects of this season to remain overlooked.
To open, the defense of the New York Giants has improved in all areas. In coverage for example, Big Blue is doing a phenomenal job at keeping the ball in front of them, and not allowing offenses to have an aerial assault across the field. In the Giants Huddle Podcast Jonathan Vilma remarks, “I do like that the secondary, no matter who’s in, they’ve been coached very well on how they want to play man coverage” (Vilma). According to TeamRankings.com the New York Giants defense is, “sixteenth in the league giving up 216.3 yards per game” (TeamRankings.com). Additionally, it cannot be overlooked that the Giants’ defensive front is winning at the line of scrimmage against opposing offenses. Jonathan Vilma states:
“Dexter Lawrence is really coming into his own. I called a game two years ago. I thought he was good. He wasn’t at this level, and now watching him the past couple games I think he’s one of the best defensive tackles right now. Playing at a very very high level, and he’s shedding off the blocks. Forget the sacks, I know he has 5 sacks, but it’s really more important to see that he’s going to start commanding a double team. Once you do that you know the world is your oyster as far as dictating what you want to run defensively.” (Vilma)
To clarify, the New York Giants defensive line is winning upfront by cutting the field into quarters. In other words, bringing pressure from the middle, or from the outside edges forces the opposing quarterback to use only one or two parts of the field rather than the entire playing area. Correspondingly, the secondary playing man defense has to cover their opponent, but an extra defender can help cover over the top depending upon which package has been called. Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale has done an incredible job of mixing up defensive concepts which has helped the Giants gain an advantage over their opponents this season.
Ultimately, football teams finding creative edges to win games while beating their opponent has been historically documented. One example of this in New York Giants history can be seen in the NFL Championship Game of 1956 which is also known as the, “Sneakers Game” sequel” (Plaut, Cossrow and Lucatuorto) Former Defensive Back Dick Nolan recalls:
“And that was the game where we wore tennis shoes. We wore the tennis shoes on the frozen field. The field was just as hard as a cement sidewalk. And the Bears went on with their cleats. I think they had trouble because of the ground. It was so hard and so slippery.” (Plaut, Cossrow and Lucatuorto)
Earl Mann adds, “Quarterback Charley Conerly directed a Giants attack that rolled to a 34-7 half-time lead, then coasted in for New York’s most decisive championship-game win ever” (Plaut, Cossrow and Lucatuorto)
By all means, this Giants team has to clean up drops and penalties, but it is prudent upon fans not to allow disastrous narratives to mold their perspective. This coaching staff has done a tremendous job. Coaches have even addressed the fans at the beginning of the season because they wanted to change the tone surrounding the team. Wink Martindale said:
“I know we’re talking about you know changing the culture and changing the culture defensively. This is one of the biggest changes you’ll see is this week, to bring back great defense in this facility. And I’ve only lived here for a short period of time, but I know New Yorkers are loud. And we need to be loud in that stadium. They have to go on silent count. If you want to be a part of changing this culture here with the Giants, be loud. Alright, have that place rocking where people don’t wanna come to our stadium. We’ll take care of the rest, alright, and we’ll give you something to be loud about. But, just be loud. And I can’t wait to see it.” (Martindale)
In brief ladies and gentleman, this Giants team is growing and maturing, be loud!
Works Cited
Martindale, Wink. Wink Martindale on Home Opener: ‘I hope it’s loud’ | New York Giants Giants Press Conference. 15 September 2022 . Video . 04 December 2022. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRKF8Ms-6A0>.
TeamRankings.com. NFL Team Opponent Passing Yards per Game. 04 December 2022. Website . 04 December 2022. <https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/opponent-passing-yards-per-game>.
The Complete History of the New Giants. Dirs. David Plaut, et al. Earl Mann. 2012. Documentary Film.
The Complete History of the New York Giants . Dirs. David Plaut, et al. Perf. Dick Nolan. 2012 . Documentary Film .
Vilma, Jonathan. Giants Huddle Podcast John Schmeelk. 1 December 2022 . Video Podcast . 04 December 2022. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUus9SEW5s>.
