Dexter Lawrence, Needed Changes, and More in NY Giants Week 9 Defensive Player Review 

⏹Brian Burns

Though he did make a couple of big plays this week, Burns was also one of those edge players who didn’t do enough to stop the bleeding outside.  

Still a master of the big play, Burns came through with another sack (his 11.0 sacks lead the league), his hit forcing a fumble that became the game’s lone turnover.  

Burns made this big play on a speed rush that nailed the quarterback on one of the few times the Giants did get to the quarterback.  

Burns made another big play when he batted away a wide-open WR screen that had big yards written all over it.  Burns also made several tackles in drop-back coverage, an underrated part of his game.  He finished with four total tackles, once again impacting the game.

⏹Kayvon Thibodeaux

Though he’s not pulling in the big numbers on the stat sheet every week (only one measly assist this week), we still think Thibodeaux is playing with impact.  

At the very least, he’s played more of a heavy game than he’s played in the past.  He’s getting off the ball well and attacking the line of scrimmage.  

Alas, he was as guilty as anyone of giving up his edge containment this week, going for the upfield burst while allowing the play to go either around him or inside him. 

⏹Abdul Carter

Carter’s another one of the edge players whose edge attacks are being frustrated by the loose coverages in the secondary that are springing quick completions left and right.  

Carter has been flashing upfield on those edges, overrunning plays, and/or running around blocks.  That’s not a good sign.  He needs to learn a little patience in allowing the game to come to him at times.  

This patience came into play on the defense’s lone turnover when he played middle contain and came down with the fumble Brian Burns had jolted free.  

Other than this big play, Carter was limited to one tackle and zero pressures on the quarterback. This week was his least impactful game of his dynamite rookie season.

Inside Linebackers 

⏹Bobby Okereke

You can’t lead the defense with 14 total tackles and not have a good game.  Okereke was responsible for plugging the dikes on too many running plays that his mates could not defend.  

None of Okereke’s tackles came near the line of scrimmage as the traffic to get through pushed him downfield, where he was left in contain mode.  

Okereke was just as ineffective in zone coverage, where he failed to break on any of the numerous easy completions executed in the middle of the field. 

Overall, this week was one of the worst in a season of bad performances by this defense that couldn’t make a stop when it counted.

⏹Darius Muasau

Continuing with his disappointing play as a starter at inside linebacker, Muasau held up physically to the tough stuff inside, but the rest of it was too fast for him to defend.  

Once again, he was responsible for several of the big runs when he failed to get to the right gap and could not keep up with things.  Muasau injured his ankle on a second-half kickoff and did not return. 

⏹Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles

This veteran inside linebacker stepped in when Muasau went down, and we thought the run defense held up a bit better.  

Flannigan-Fowles had been subbing for Muasau in spots earlier in the game, primarily on passing downs, and took over full-time duties after the injury.  

He finished with a healthy seven total tackles on the day, though none of them were impact plays, most of them coming on reactionary, which is one way of saying that Flannigan-Fowles wasn’t very quick to anticipate or read the flow of the game.  

He held up as well as Muasau physically, while showing much better open field speed. Look for him to start next week’s game inside.

Defensive Backs

⏹Dru Phillips

For the second week in a row, Phillips was not targeted in the passing game, as the opposition chose to attack the plethora of options across the board while avoiding the one secondary member capable of making a play.  

His lone tackle of the night came on the one play in which the defense stifled running back Christian McCaffery.  

On this wide run, Phillips made a quick read, shot upfield, and flung McCaffery out of bounds while fighting off a straight arm for a 4-yard loss.  

It was a Top 5 play by the defense on a day when you would find it difficult to come up with five good defensive plays.  This was one of them.

⏹Deonte Banks

The defense’s CB1 this week – how difficult to imagine that scary thought?– Banks almost made a big play when his tight coverage found him wrestling with the 49ers receiver for a contested ball.  

Inexplicably, the officials gave the ball to the receiver even though it looked like Banks had more of the ball on the ground.  

Banks had one more tight coverage on a press snap, but the rest of his day was spent in zone, where he is particularly useless.  

It was almost funny – there’s that word again with Banks, almost – following Banks around doing his very best NOT to get involved.  

Late in the game, however, big running back Brian Robinson bounced his way right into Banks, and poor Banks had to try to make a tackle, only to be run over while giving very little effort.  

We’re sure Banks thinks he had another good game (at least in his mind), as he finished with four tackles while once again bailing out of confrontation after confrontation.  

It’s sad to see him getting a uniform every week, while there are less-talented but willing athletes eager to be in his shoes. 

⏹Korie Black

Getting the CB2 start, Black was overmatched throughout the day, giving up easy catch after easy catch, leading to an 8-tackle night that reflected the heavy attention that his presence drew and his willingness to wrap up.  

Black is painfully thin, but he runs well and was never hesitant to stick his nose into the action.  We are heartened and hopeful with Black for one play, and that was how he defended a deep ball in the end zone. 

Like he did once last week, Black turned and looked for the ball, and because of that, the yellow flag that normally follows Giants defensive backs around did not come.  

Besides this well-defended pass, Black also got credit for a tackle in the backfield.  He got banged up late in the game but walked off the field under his own power.  

Black earned himself some future playing time by holding up to this week’s heavy workload. 

⏹Tyler Nubin

Continuing his quiet second season, Nubin totaled eight tackles, was in the vicinity of several pass completions, and made nearly every one of his tackles downfield in contain.  

With Jevon Holland inactive once again, Nubin was mostly limited to playing in the deep zones and thus serving as the last line of defense. 

This kept him away from the line of scrimmage, where he seems best suited due to his physicality, except his lack of instinct and awareness, and play flow make it difficult to determine where his best spot might be. 

⏹Dane Belton

Getting the full-time snaps with Holland inactive, Belton was around the ball all day and finished with 13 total tackles, most of them coming near the line of scrimmage, where he was quick to read and close on the action, taking proper angles and finishing reliably.  

There were the occasional misses, but for the most part, Belton was a positive contributor out there both against the run and in coverage.  

If he doesn’t take Nubin’s spot in the starting lineup once Holland returns, then there’s something wrong.

Special Teams

⏹Graham Gano

Well, thank heavens the Giants have their veteran placekicker back —everything is right with the world.  

That is, until Gano missed from 45 yards out on a kick that would have made it a one-score ball game by halftime. 

Instead, Gano’s miss flushed the momentum created by the game’s lone turnover right down the drain.  Talk about taking the air out of a team!

Hey, at least give Gano credit for nailing that difficult 22-yarder and all three of his extra points. It’s not easy kicking for a living, especially when it’s the only thing that you do.

⏹Jamie Gillan

Watching Gillan kick the football around the football field is as frustrating as it gets.  

His first punt of the game should have been a 50-yard pooch fair-caught at the 10-yard line, but the 49er return man misjudged the ball and allowed it to hit the turf.  Of course, with Gillan’s luck, it bounced into the end zone for a touchback.  

His second punt was a 32-yard pooch that was fair-caught at the 19-yard line.  Gillan may get credit for an “inside the 20” punt, but this was another poor pooch in a lifetime of poor pooch punts from this punter.  

Next, Gillan had to punt from his own end zone, but instead of booming it, he could only manage a returnable 45-yarder that was returned to the NYG42, setting up the 49ers on a short field.  

His next punt, a 52-yarder, was his first positive punt of the day.  

Starting the second half with a kickoff, Gillan couldn’t even get it to the “kicking zone,” thus giving the 49ers field position at the 40-yard line and another short field.  

You want more?  A subsequent pooch punt from his own 41-yard line ended up being returned for 9 yards when it should have been fair-caught inside the 20.  

Want the cherry on the cake? Gillan lined up for an onside kick, but before he did so, he walked over to Gunner Olszewski and whispered something into his ear.  

The 49ers' fullback saw that, so when Gillan kicked the ball in Olszewski’s direction, the fullback nailed Olszewski with the type of vicious, open-field blindside hit that surprisingly wasn’t flagged. 

Talk about giving away the plan, right? Let’s hope Olszewski is okay.

⏹Casey Kreiter

More reliable deep snapping from the Giants veteran.

⏹Gunner Olszewski

This young veteran continues to deliver solid returns.  His lone punt return was fair-caught reliably, while his three kickoff returns got the ball to the 36, 35, and 31-yard lines. 

Even on the four other kickoff returns, Olszewski threw economical blocks.

⏹Jalin Hyatt

The coaches may have finally found a role for this youngster to contribute, and it’s on kickoff returns.  

Why did it take the coaches halfway into Hyatt’s third season before trying to harness his great straight-line speed on kickoffs? 

It sure looked like a good match out there as Hyatt was aggressively attacking creases and holding onto the ball against contact.  

Hyatt looked dangerous on 3 of his four returns, which set up the offense with solid field position at the 32, 28, 31, and 35-yard lines.  

Even on his one uncertain return, he still got the ball to the 28.  That’s what great speed can do for a team that is desperate for speed.  

Hyatt even looked like a football player attempting to throw lead blocks on Olszewski’s returns.  Who knows what could result from Hyatt contributing on returns? It could help the team build him up into a real football player.

⏹Nic Jones

For the second week in a row, Jones lost contain on a kickoff coverage that resulted in big yardage.  

Jones was aggressive on both whiffs, as he obviously overrates his speed and athleticism to contain the edge he cannot. 

Jones also did not flash at Gunner, though he did assist on a punt coverage tackle.

⏹Beaux Collins

Getting some early snaps at gunner, Collins suffered a neck injury, which ended his day prematurely.

We saw the productive Hewitt in the middle of several special teams coverages this week, but he never got credit for a single tackle.

⏹Zaire Barnes

Elevated from the practice squad once again this week, Barnes was a wizard in coverage, finding the ball three times for the finishes.  Three special teams tackles in one game is a really productive day.

⏹Dane Belton

Once again, Belton contributed another tackle on special teams. 

Give credit to Belton for being in great shape to not only step up and play every single defensive snap this week, but also play almost every single snap on specials.  

He’s really doing it all out there and needs to be an offseason priority in this, his walk year. 

⏹Rico Payton 

Of the two new additions to the cornerback room, Payton was the least impressive of the two on special teams.  

Getting lots of gunner opportunities, the best that Payton could do was diving for the ball carrier’s feet, the football equivalent of swinging and missing in baseball.  

Payton has been away from the football field for quite some time, having spent so many weeks on IR, so this was his first action in quite some time and should be given the benefit of the doubt as he works himself back into game shape.

⏹Jarrick Bernard-Converse

Easily the more impressive of the two young additions to the cornerback room, Bernard-Converse not only looked more comfortable on specials with his one tackle plus some excellent contain on a kickoff return, but he also contributed on defense with two garbage time tackles.  

Bernard-Converse is much bigger than Payton (6-1, 205 pounds) to Payton’s 6-0, 182 pounds. He is also more physical, and thus a better match for the physical demands of special teams.