NY Giants Week 7 Defensive/Special Teams Review: Breakdowns Galore

⏹Dexter Lawrence

Seven games into this season and we’re still waiting on Lawrence to have a breakout game.  

This week was another ho-hum one-tackle, one-deflection, one pressure game in which Lawrence did a lot of the dirty work between the tackles, but did not produce a single big play.  

We still wonder if he’s suffering from the effects of his elbow injury from last season, but for what it’s worth, Lawrence is also not making any plays with his quickness.  

He never shoots a gap and he’s not winning any one-on-one’s.  He’s playing strong and with discipline, but the big plays (other than the INT vs. San Diego) have become a thing of the past.

⏹Roy Robertson-Harris

We thought this veteran picked up his game a bit this week, producing two hits on the quarterback, knocking down a red zone throw that was very nearly an interception, and shedding some one-on-one blocks between the tackles that kept the middle of the defense quiet.  

Robertson-Harris finished with three total tackles and was rewarded with an uptick in his playing time.

⏹Rakeem Nunez-Roches

Also having earned more playing time with last week’s productive game, Nunez-Roches was once again productively active.  

Though it didn’t result in any tackles on the stat sheet, the veteran did get his hand on one throw.  

In fact, the defense got a hand on six Denver throws at the line of scrimmage, but not one resulted in a turnover.  That’s just bad luck.

⏹D.J. Davidson

Getting 20 rotation snaps over the nose, Davidson held his ground well and contributed with his power game.  His name did not dent the stat sheet, however.

⏹Darius Alexander

Getting 24 snaps, after last week’s lackluster effort we were expecting a more involved Alexander this week, and that’s what we got.  

The rookie got in on one tackle, got his big paw on one of those passes, held up well to the double-teams inside, and chased the quarterback out of the pocket on several occasions. 

Outside Linebackers 

⏹Brian Burns

Adding two more sacks to this team-leading total, Burns was the recipient of a strongside Kayvon Thibodeaux stunt that took two blockers with him, and a naked bootleg reaction that surprised the quarterback in the open field. 

Though these were the extent of Burns’ pocket pressures, he was his typical active self closing down and containing vs. the run.  

Burns was also his typical coverage menace as his feel for playing a multi-faceted, versatile game is really second to none.  He’s playing at a Pro Bowl level.

⏹Kayvon Thibodeaux

This week wasn’t one of Thibodeaux’s better games.  He does get partial credit for the Burns stunt sack, and he got in on one run game tackle while playing mostly solid contain, and he did draw a holding call on a heavy weakside pass rush, but he made several bad mistakes in the fourth quarter that really hurt his team.  

He jumped offsides on a key red zone 3rd-&-5 that gave the Broncos a cheap first down; they scored shortly thereafter.  He then lost quarterback contain on a bootleg that went for a too-easy touchdown right around his edge. 

⏹Abdul Carter

Questionable right up to game time with a hamstring injury, Carter did play and in fact he rarely came off the field.  

He mixed his snaps between the edges and off-linebacker, and contributed with three total tackles plus several backfield pressures with his great upfield burst.  

Carter did not look hindered out there at all, though his off-linebacker role was exploited on a wide run that went for 32 yards when he was slow to react to that wide contain.  

He was robbed of a full 2-yard sack when his coaches correctly accepted a holding call on the same play. 

⏹Victor Dimukeje

Getting 10 snaps as a physical contain edge defender, in his first action as NY Giant, Dimukeje showed well with one tackle, a pass that he knocked down at the line of scrimmage, and the heavy and physical presence that the coaches are always looking for.

Inside Linebackers 

⏹Bobby Okereke 

Two of Okereke’s six tackles were of the heavy variety, both of them coming while closing on the edges. Still, Okereke was also nowhere to be found on that 32-yard wide run by the Broncos, nor on several of the short yardage plays that others had to make in his stead.  

Okereke was also not a big factor in coverage this week.

⏹Darius Muasau

We continue to appreciate the physicality with which Muasau is bringing to the field these days.  

He’s meeting bigger blockers face-up in the hole and standing them up.  Now if we could only get him to the edges a bit quicker to finish off the tackles he is only diving for.  

He did finish with six total tackles, and also contributed with some solid pass coverage duties.  

We’re still waiting for him to start diagnosing plays faster, as his foot speed is only average.  His recognition skills need to get better which would help him play faster.

Defensive Backs

⏹Paulson Adebo

For nearly three quarters, the Giants’ secondary was doing a job on the Denver passing game, and Adebo was front and center with his tight press coverages that were bordering on the suffocating.  

Late in the third quarter, Adebo came up and made a hard tackle and suffered a knee injury.  He did not return.  From that point on the game changed entirely as the lack of depth at cornerback bit the Giants in the behind. 

Till that point, Adebo was playing perhaps his best game as a Giant, save for the second quarter 32-yard crosser that he yielded to Courtland Sutton.  

This was the extent of the yardage yielded by Adebo, who also contributed four solo tackles.  

⏹Cor’Dale Flott

The defense’s CB2 was matched up against Denver’s WR2 Troy Franklin, and Flott won that battle up and down the field.  

⏹Jamie Gillan

On the play where Denver scored their first touchdown, Flott was actually covering Sutton and deflected the ball in the end zone, but the ricochet went right to Franklin who scored the lucky touchdown.  

Flott is as good a CB2 as there is in the league.  Can he be a CB1?  

We’re not sure he has the strength to hold up against the league’s No. 1 receivers, but as a CB2 he has legit value, and played up to that level this week, building on the confidence that last week’s big interception has given him.

⏹Dru Phillips 

For three quarters, Phillips was really playing well.  He was breaking up the Broncos’ short-passing game with his lightning-quick reactions to screens, slants, and checkdowns.  

He was making tackles, between the tackles, against the run.  It seemed like Phillips was all over the field, and he was.  

He was on his way to earning player of the game honors, when he just seemed to stop playing late in the fourth quarter.  On a 4th-&-3 with 6 minutes left, he got flagged for a lazy, blatant hold out of the slot.  

He next had a chance to push a ball carrier out of bounds but he failed, giving up another 10 yards.  Next, he got beat on a deep go route for 31 yards.  

Then he got beat deep middle for 29 yards when he was incredibly lax on the man he was supposed to be covering.  

For all the good that Phillips does around the line of scrimmage, get him away from the line of scrimmage and he becomes a liability, especially late in games, which is when opposing offenses directly target him, that is when they’re not targeting Deonte Banks.  

Phillips finished the day with a whopping nine solo tackles, but his fourth quarter lapses really helped to lose the game.

⏹Deonte Banks 

It’s simply amazing that the coaches keep running Banks out there when it’s so obvious that he’s just going through the motions. He plays with zero urgency, zero interest, and zero want-to.  

When Adebo went down, the tide of the game immediately turned when the coaches sent Banks out there.  

The Broncos immediately went after him, whether in coverage or runs to his side, it didn’t matter.  All he did was make mistake after mistake.  

It was painful to watch, and infuriating that the coaches continued to run Banks out there. He may be physically up to snuff but mentally he is so overmatched that it’s sad, it really is sad.  

⏹Jevon Holland

The knee injury that Holland suffered in the first half did not impact the secondary as much as Adebo’s injury did because Dane Belton stepped in for Holland and played well.  

Holland never did make it onto the stat sheet, but when he was out there, the secondary played its best ball.

⏹Tyler Nubin

We consider Nubin to be a weak link in this group, but this week, he wasn’t a liability except in spurts.  Whenever there's mis-communication, like on the Denver wide open 2-point conversion in the back of the end zone, usuallyNubin is somehow involved.  

Like Banks, Nubin is regularly targeted, though it wasn’t as obvious this week.  He finished with four total tackles, had zero misses, and made zero impact plays, which is typical.  

⏹Dane Belton

Stepping into the void that Holland’s injury created, Belton came up big most of the day with his reliable mental and instinctive game that makes him such a valuable asset on this defense.  

His biggest play was the 4th-&-goal wide receiver screen that was headed into the end zone till Belton stepped up and stopped him dead in his tracks for what was essentially a turnover.  

That wasn’t Belton’s only big hit.  He was getting to the ball on time throughout the game, so much so that he was always in position to finish off tackles.  We didn’t spot a single miss in his game.  

His only negative play was getting beat in the end zone on a 2-point conversion.  Even so, he was in the vicinity and nearly made the play.  

Belton led the entire defense with ten tackles.  He’s the secondary’s strongest and biggest hitter, and usually its smartest.  

He needs to be out on the field more often than the dozen or so snaps he regularly gets.  If Holland is out with the knee problem, look for Belton to become full-time.

Special Teams 

⏹Jude McAtamney

This organization’s failures with its placekicking game is becoming a broken record that never gets fixed.  

This week, this inexperienced placekicker, who has yet to even attempt a field goal longer than an extra point, flubbed two of his four extra point attempts today, lost points that led directly to today’s losing effort (though there were many reasons for today’s loss).  

Who knows? Even if McAtamney made all four of his extra points, this team seemed destined to blow today’s game.  

We expect the team to waive this youngster this week and go with the veteran, Younghoe Koo, on their practice squad.  

⏹Jamie Gillan

The Giants punter-slash-holder-slash-kickoff-specialist had a busy day.  

His first kickoff was a winner, forcing the Denver returner to field the ball and step out of bounds at the 6-yard line.  Talk about bad field position!  

Alas, Mr. Inconsistent sent his next kickoff into the end zone for a touchback and field position at the 35-yard line.  Certainly NOT a winner.  

His two subsequent kickoffs were positives, yielding field position at the 27- and 22-yard lines.  Anything inside the 30 is considered good these days.  

Gillan punted 6 times and had a ho-hum day.  He forced two fair catches, had one touchback, and gave up 29 return yards.  

His best punt was a pooch that went out of bounds at the 12-yard line.  He finished with a 43.8 gross and a 35.7 net – not great numbers due to the touchback and the return yardage. 

⏹Casey Kreiter

Most of Kreiter’s snaps were solid, but on McAtamney’s first extra point miss, the snap was a bit low.  Gillan did get the hold up but the rookie kicker could not adjust. 

⏹Gunner Olszewski

The veteran returner had another solid, clean performance on returns.  He fielded six punts cleanly – 3 fair catches, three returns for 28 north-south yards.  

He also returned three kickoffs to the 33-, 30- and 28-yard lines.  Solid numbers across the board with pristine ball security.

⏹Nic Jones/Art Green 

More of the same from the team’s punt gunners as they continue their fine play through seven games.

⏹Neville Hewitt

This veteran linebacker continued his fine special teams coverage play with another kickoff tackle.

⏹Zaire Barnes

This newly-signed backer contributed with two enthusiastic tackles, both of them coming on kickoff coverage.

⏹Victor Dimukeje

Besides contributing on defense today, this veteran off-season linebacker signing finally made it onto the field and got in on one of the kickoff coverage tackles.

⏹Thomas Fidone

Having gotten a uniform the past few weeks, this rookie tight end is showing he belongs with some solid blocking on specials, and now in coverage with a solid open field punt coverage tackle.

⏹Beau Brade

The team’s waiver wire pickup at the start of the year has been around the ball on special teams coverages, and this week he finished off a solo kickoff tackle.