EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Before the New York Giants’ Week 7 game against the Houston Texans, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson called out “traitors to the defense” after being unhappy with player effort on several snaps in a Week 6 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The defense responded with an inspired effort in a 27-21 victory, giving up a season-low 237 yards.
“They responded in a great way,” Wilson said on Thursday. “They responded the way I knew they would respond. Obviously, we talked about watching
the tape and seeing ourselves not running to the ball.
“They’re a proud bunch. I really didn’t have to say much. They knew that they had to come out and they had to run to the ball and play with toughness and physicality, and that’s what we did in the game.”
Wilson using such strong language to publicly criticize player effort is considered unusual in the modern game. It could have had a different result, with players who are not used to that responding in a negative manner.
When I asked him if there was a risk in speaking that aggressively about players, Wilson smiled, then gave a long and revealing answer about his coaching philosophy.
“I think we get too caught up into not speaking the truth,” Wilson said. “The film doesn’t lie, and it never lies. It’s always evidence.
“It’s the silent tape. What I said in front of this podium, they’ve heard me say it from the first day they were here. It’s nothing that they haven’t heard before.”
The Week 7 victory over Houston featured this incredible effort by rookie linebacker Arvell Reese:
“Obviously he should have got a sack if he didn’t jump,” Wilson said. “But once he jumped and he put his foot in the ground and you saw the tenacity and the effort that he had to run to the ball, that exemplifies what a good, nasty defense should look like. And that’s like that play within itself is what everybody should strive for in defense in terms of running to the ball with that type of energy and effort.”
Wilson, in his first year as Giants defensive coordinator, pointed out that in his “traitors” remarks he did not call out specific players.
“It’s not calling out a specific player,” Wilson said. “It’s calling out a behavior. It’s calling out what we’re not doing collectively because at the end of the day, it’s me as well.
“If I let it slip, shame on me. It’s about us upholding the standard that we set in that room that we want to exemplify on a daily basis when we go out and play. I think too many coaches these days are scared to have those hard conversations.”
Coaches often talk about telling players the truth and holding them accountable. For many, in an age where players are coddled more than pushed, the John Harbaugh-led Giants coaching staff is an exception. Harbaugh and his staff are certainly not afraid to drive players hard, and to tell them the truth. The tough love, and players’ acceptance of it, is one of the reasons the Giants are 4-2-1 and have a chance to win an NFC East title for the first time since 2011.
“It goes back to this. What is your relationship with the group? What is your relationship with the player?,” Wilson said. “If you build a relationship and you have this bond and you have this tight-knit group, you can speak to them in a certain way and identify certain things without attacking them personally. It’s not a personal attack. It’s a behavioral attack.
“That’s how I go about it and that’s how I’ve been trained to do this since I was a young coach 20-something years ago.”
Maybe that is an old-school approach. Maybe it wouldn’t work for every modern player. It certainly is working for this team, though.
