Brian Burns Says Giants Defense Needs to Live Up to Its Hype

It’s hard not to get excited about the talent overhaul the general manager, Joe Schoen, added to the New York Giants defense.

From rookies Darius Alexander and Abdul Carter to veterans Paulson Adebo, Jevon Holland, and Roy Robertson-Harris, there’s no question that the Giants defense has undergone quite the overhaul.

But despite the big things being predicted for this unit, particularly the pass rush, outside linebacker Brian Burns, who is a key part of that unit, issued a word of caution.

“Everybody feels encouraged and excited and hyped up at the beginning of the season. You understand?” he said on Monday after the team’s first padded practice of the summer.

“At the same time, we look great on paper but we (didn’t) do (anything) yet. It's all on us. We can take this as far as we want to go. Everything looks good with the names that we have and the potential, and this and that, but until we put that (stuff) to stamp, (there isn’t) anything to talk about.”

Burns is right. In the history of pro football, there has never been any awards handed out to a team that looks good on paper only to flop when it gets onto the field. 

But while Burns is, again, correct in cautioning people to pump the brakes just a bit, the Giants defense has been building up toward being something special, and it’s all thanks to one thing, according to Burns.

“Trust. Being able to trust the man next to me and being able to know and depend on, ‘He's going to do his job and I know he's going to do it,’” he said.

Again, Burns has a point. There were far too many instances last year when the defensive players appeared disoriented by the new defensive scheme introduced by coordinator Shane Bowen.

It likely didn’t help matters that Bowen sometimes had to jam square pegs into round holes to accomplish the best possible counterattacks against opponents, only to create even more confusion and dent the trust Burns spoke about when players had to do the jobs of others on the fly.

But now entering their second season in Bowen’s defense, the familiarity and the talent should make for a much improved unit, assuming, of course, everyone stays healthy. 

“This is going to be my second year working with (defensive linemen) Dex (Lawrence), second year working with (outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, KT, first year with (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter), first year with (defensive tackle) Roy (Robertson-Harris),” Burns said.

“At the same time, we have to practice these reps and practice that camaraderie between us, so I know what he's going to do when it's time to get the money. That's going to take time, and that's what we're going through right now.”