Monday night was Charlie Bullen’s first as New York Giants interim defensive coordinator after interim head coach Mike Kafka fired Shane Bowen. There were some noticeable differences in how Bullen called the game
The Giants’ defense surrendered 395 yards during a 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots, with star quarterback Drake Maye accounting for 282 through the air. From a results standpoint, it was more of the same for New York’s defense, even with the return of cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety
Tyler Nubin. Still, Bullen’s play-calling provided the unit with a noticeably fresher look.
The Giants’ defense had its third-highest blitz rate (34%); New York’s defense averages a 24% blitz rate on the season. The blitzing wasn’t purely out of desperation, either. Bullen dialed up early blitzes in the first quarter that we’ll go over soon. Bullen also featured creative double green-dog blitzes with the linebackers penetrating the same gap, with the initial back absorbing the running back’s protection.
Bullen wasn’t shy about crowding the line of scrimmage before bailing defenders into coverage. The creativity was evident, and the attempt was commendable, but Maye and the Patriots weren’t fooled. More broadly, the Giants’ defense lacks the talent and physicality to compete consistently.
Outside of the defensive front, Dru Phillips remains the only Giants defender who consistently brings real violence to the point of contact — a telling indictment of the roster. With the Giants now eliminated from playoff contention, the focus shifts to evaluation and the broader decisions that will shape the team’s future.
Bullen attempted to dictate early:
The Giants align in a Cover-4 look presnap against 11 personnel. Josh McDaniels ultimately won the chess match of 12 personnel deployment against the Giants’ base package, which we saw throughout the game. Still, Bullen sent this fire zone blitz with Cover-3 rotation to match the Patriots, with cornerback Dru Phillips (22) — from a condensed offensive look — as the extra defender. Both Phillips and Brian Burns (0) pressure Drake Maye, and the quarterback had to bail the pocket and throw the football away. This was just six plays into the game. Bullen stayed aggressive three plays later:
On second-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Bullen sent a Cover-0 blitz at Maye, and the Giants’ man coverage accounted for the receivers well. Both Zaire Barnes (46) and Dane Belton (24) attacked the B-Gaps with wide rushes from Burns and Tomon Fox (45). Bobby Okereke (58) did a fantastic job cheating toward his assignment — TreVeyon Henderson (32) — right before the snap to help disguise the blitz and then execute the play that Maye attempted to exploit. Bullen didn’t stop there with the aggression; here’s the next play:
The Giants sent the house on third-and-goal at the 4-yard line with Phillips being in good enough position to force a field goal attempt on the next play. This was a quality red zone stand by the Giants’ defense — one where New York dialed up the pressure in a scoreless game. Bullen attempted to be wise with his blitzes throughout the game; here’s one on second-and-12 late in the second quarter:
Bowen wasn’t allergic to simulated pressure, but he also didn’t use it nearly as often as he did with the Tennessee Titans. Bullen dialed up a handful against New England, including this one above with Abdul Carter (51) as the extra rusher. Okereke did well to try to sell his blitz to shift protection right before the snap. But the goal was to get Carter isolated against backup guard Ben Brown (77). It worked, and Brown was flagged for a hold. Another well-timed call by Bullen.
However, Maye would hit Kayshon Boutte for 13 yards on the second-and-22, which set up this third-and-9:
Bullen crowded the line of scrimmage and bailed to a five-man pressure with a weak-side twist by Carter around Darius Alexander (91). The Patriots easily picked up the pressure, and Maye saw the one-on-one with Adebo (21) against rookie Kyle Williams (18). Adebo’s feet were stuck in the sand, and he lost badly to Williams’ outside release. Jevon Holland (8) was tight to the line of scrimmage and could not make up the ground, but he was middle-of-the-field-closed anyway. Even though the Giants were toasted on the play, I do appreciate the pre- and post-snap looks and the deception. Adebo MUST do a better job on this play.
We see a similar deceptive look from Bullen’s defense on this third-and-6 late in the first half. New England aligned in a 3×1 set, and Dane Belton (top of screen) rotated post-snap to undercut the No. 3, Stefon Diggs (8), with Okereke walling him off in the short area of the field. Holland rotated to the deep half over the three receiver side, and Cor’Dale Flott (28) and Dru Phillips (22) handled the two other routes on the three receiver side. Carter was able to get quick pressure, and Adebo did a solid job against tight end Hunter Henry (85). Again, I appreciate the rotation and the disguise pre-to-post-snap, and the defense forced another field goal in the red zone.
Later in the game, the Giants sacked Drake Maye on this Cover-1 five-man pressure with Okereke green-dogging behind Barnes’ blitz. Barnes engaged Henderson and occupied him, removing him as a receiving threat and allowing Okereke to pressure Maye. Barnes eventually gets through Henderson and sacks Maye with help from Okereke and Dexter Lawrence (97).
As we saw earlier on the Williams’ touchdown, blitzing was not always successful. We unfortunately witnessed that fact with 26 seconds left in the first half:
New York attempted a cross-dog blitz, with Okereke and Tyler Nubin (27) crossing paths behind the pressure of Lawrence to penetrate and harass the interior of the offensive line. Maye had five Giants chasing him, but he bought time and found Rhamondre Stevenson (38) for a significant 36-yard gain to set up another field goal attempt. This is the type of play that the Giants’ defense has recently been known to surrender.
Bullen wasn’t just creative against the pass, but also against the run, incorporating the safeties into the run fit from a variety of different alignments, with specific paths that stressed the Patriots’ blocking.
The Giants do a great job bringing Nubin down late with Abdul Carter aligned wide of the injured left side of the Patriots’ line of scrimmage. Carter slants inward, removing the tackle and guard and isolating Nubin against wide receiver Demario Douglas (3). Nubin easily defeats the block and tackles Henderson for a loss. This play followed two consecutive 10+ yard rushes by the Patriots (13 and 11-yard gains), so it was good to see the X’s and O’s bail the Giants’ defense out from getting thrashed for a third consecutive time.
The Giants did something similar with Burns and Belton in the third quarter. Belton is untouched into the pocket, and he makes a big tackle for a loss.
Final thoughts
The Giants’ defense is still the Giants’ defense — you can only put so much lipstick on a pig. Still, there were positives to Bullen’s game plan and play calling. His aggression was welcomed, he had disguised looks, and some timely calls to throw off one of the better offenses in the league. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but there were bright spots.
