The New York Giants have one of the NFL’s most promising young coaches in Dennard Wilson, who is finding ways to maximize the immense young talent on the roster. Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese credited the coaching staff’s strategic use of him as a key factor in his success. Reese had 1.5 sacks and six pressures heading into the Giants’ Week 9 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Giants traded Dexter Lawrence during the offseason, leaving a significant void in their ability to generate interior
pressure. Lawrence had been a consistent force disrupting quarterbacks from the inside, but Wilson has found another way to manufacture pressure through creative blitz packages that attack the interior. He recognizes Reese’s ability as a pass rusher and the mismatch he creates when matched up against running backs in pass protection.
New York deployed a variety of pressure looks aimed at the center and guards, with defensive linemen widening their rush paths to manipulate the protection. Players like Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) would feign an outside rush, forcing offensive linemen to account for them as potential threats. This approach occupies blockers and creates advantageous one-on-one matchups elsewhere along the line — opportunities that a versatile talent like Arvell Reese can exploit.
The hit heard around the world
Charlie Jones fumbled a punt giving the Eagles the ball in Giants’ territory with all the momentum in the world; a situation that would have crippled past Giants’ teams. However, New York forced a third-and-5 pass attempt where Joe Milton was hit hard Reese:
New York schemed three over two to the offensive left side (where Reese was); Dawuane Smoot (96) aligned as a 4i-shade, with Thibodeaux wide of the tackle and Reese wide of Thibodeaux. Micah McFadden (41) sugared the A-Gap, forcing center attention, with Darius Alexander as a three-technique (91), Abdul Carter (3) as a five-technique, and Dru Phillips (22) wide of Carter.
The loaded line of scrimmage led to Saquon Barkley (26) accounting for McFadden and the three other rushers to the offensive right – and NO ONE accounted for Reese the left, including Milton. Both Smoot and Alexander dropped off into coverage, with Thibodeaux acting effectively as a spy once his initial rush was stopped and the four-man rush got home for an unblocked sack-forced fumble. Here’s another video of the hit:
Reese’s second sack
via GIPHY
Reese had another third-down sack, this time on third-and-10. Wilson overloaded the offensive right side with four players on the line of scrimmage: Thibodeaux, Smoot, Alexander, and Tae Banks (2); Wilson aggressively aligns the corners in press coverage versus condensed fronts to gain a numbers advantage in the pass rush — Wilson isn’t shy about sending the cornerback to creatively cover the receiver.
Reese is stacked behind Alexander, and he slants opposite to the protection slide toward McFadden and Carter, who both have one-on-one matchups due to the pressure-look. Elijah Mitchell (39) did an excellent job picking up McFadden, and Reese was stopped by the guard, so he slid off the rush and eyed Milton, who attempted to run into green grass, but instead found the waiting arms of an elite Ohio State rookie linebacker.
Reese’s third sack
via GIPHY
Reese’s third sack came on third-and-10 with 7:22 left in the fourth quarter. Reese was aligned off the line of scrimmage in a 4i-shade with Thibodeaux to his right, wide of the tackle. Alexander was over the center, which isolated Reese against the guard, Landon Dickerson (69). New York ran a game with Reese penetrating the B-Gap for Thibodeaux to undercut and loop into the A-Gap, while another twist happened with Alexander and Carter.
Final thoughts
Wilson is on a tear. He’s generating pressure in a variety of different ways with a lot of exotic coverage looks on the back-end. Wilson uses disguise on a loaded line of scrimmage, while dropping his short-zone coverages off the line of scrimmage after declaring a rush, which effectively wastes blockers and isolates players like Reese and Abdul Carter into valuable one-on-one matchups.
Not only do the Giants have immensely talented young defensive players, but the coach understands how to best maximize the talent. Arvell Reese is now the favorite to win defensive rookie of the year, but conversations about defensive player of the year are starting to happen. With performances like Week 9, it’s not crazy to mention his name in that conversation.
