The New York Giants possess the talent to have a pass rush that should be among the best in the NFL. To maximize its effectiveness, though, the Giants must be better on run defense than they were a year ago, when they were 24th in the league in yards allowed per rushing attempt at 4.6.
That run defense, especially when star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is not on the field, has been the focus of a great deal of angst in the Giants fan base.
Through two preseason games, with Lawrence playing only
a handful of snaps against the Buffalo Bills, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said he has seen “flashes” of the kind of run defense the Giants need.
Against the New York Jets on Saturday, the Giants gave up 141 yards on 33 attempts, 4.3 yards per carry. The front-line defense gave up runs of 11 and 12 yards, and the Jets had a meaningless 15-yard run with the game out of hand and just about a minute remaining in the game.
Overall, the Giants are giving up 4.15 yards per rush, 22nd.
“Room for improvement. There is. Just consistency with our technique, fundamentals,” Bowen said. “When we are pressuring, some of the movement stuff can get a little loose at times where you create some space that hopefully you don’t always want in the run game.
“But there’s flashes. I think just the consistency with our technique, fundamentals, attacking the line of scrimmage, being disruptive when we can, all those things we’ve got to continue to work on and build.”
Bowen has been pleased about not giving up explosive runs.
“The one thing I’ve been encouraged about, like the longest run happened late in the game and it was 15 yards,” Bowen said. “And again, it should have been five if we execute properly. But we really, knock on wood, we’ve been able to minimize some of the big ones when like the 10 to 12, 15-yarder at times is going to happen. But we’ve got to make sure we keep them there and not get up to 20 pluses and some of those.”
Here are more takeaways from Bowen’s media availability on Monday.
Competition for CB2
Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott have split reps at cornerback with the first team all summer. They also also taken turns missing time with injuries.
Banks played nearly half of the preseason opener against the Bills with Flott unavailable. With Banks sitting out vs. the Jets, Flott started and took advantage of the opportunity by knocking a pass away from Jets star wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
“I’ve been pleased with both those guys throughout camp when they’ve been able to be out there,” Bowen said. “I feel like both of them have made some plays.
“It was good to see Flott on that third down, break up that pass Saturday night.”
So, who has the inside track at winning the job?
“It’s an ongoing thing,” Bowen said. “I do feel like they’re both, the competition is making them both better. I do. I think there’s been production there that we didn’t necessarily see as much this time last year from both those guys.”
Muasau pushing for snaps?
Could second-year linebacker Darius Muasau, a sixth-round pick in 2024, take snaps away from Bobby Okereke or Micah McFadden this season?
Maybe.
“I think he’s another guy that has had a really good camp. He’s got a knack for finding the football.,” Bowen said. “Got a lot of confidence in him just like I do (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke) and (inside linebacker) Micah (McFadden).
“So, I’m not opposed at all to him getting in there and playing some snaps for us defensively. Trust him. I think he’s productive when he’s in there. So really encouraged with that group and where they’re at and the training camp they’ve had.”