Greg Newsome II tied the New York Giants' place near the top of the league in takeaways to how the defense is built in practice, and to a front seven that is forcing quarterbacks into the secondary's hands.
Speaking after the Giants improved to 3-1 with a win over the Arizona Cardinals, the cornerback said the habit is installed before team periods ever start.
"Yeah, I think it attributes to a lot of things. First, our coaches. Just how we structure practice. We're always doing takeaway things before we get into team activities and things like that," Newsome told reporters on Tuesday. "Obviously, I think our d-line, our front seven, the guys that are blitzing. I think they're doing a great job of just pressuring the quarterback, affecting the quarterback, and just giving
us a chance to make plays out there. It's a credit to a lot of things."
He was also asked about a pass defense that has looked tighter since the Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, not only in interceptions but in the elimination of explosive plays. Newsome pointed to daily work and to defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson.
"Yeah, just the way we practice. Like I said, just trying to be consistent as best as we can. Every single day we work on fundamentals, we work on our eyes, and we just try to stay consistent," Newsome said. "Dennard has all trust in us to play sticky, tight coverage, so shout out to him as well. But I think it's just the way we practice. We practice until everything is perfect, so I think we've been doing a great job at practice, and it's showing on Sundays."
That coverage, he said, depends on what happens in front of it. When the front seven stops the run and keeps offenses off schedule, the secondary is no longer guessing.
"I think it's super important. Like I said, shout out to the guys up front. Them stopping the run makes teams one-dimensional. It helps us out on the back end. It helps the linebackers not have to bite up on play fakes and things like that," Newsome said. "I think with them doing such a great job up there with the front seven, it definitely helps our job, and just getting them on passing downs, allowing our guys to go up there and attack, so I think they've been doing an amazing job."
The clearest example came against Arizona, when the Giants defensed 14 passes, a total the franchise had not reached in well over a decade. Newsome did not treat the number as a secondary achievement.
"I think that says, once again, the front seven. Guys are hunting. Guys are giving us chances to get our hands on footballs. It's also great in the secondary that we're playing tight coverage. We're getting our heads around and just trying to find the football," Newsome said. "But, like I said, once again, it's rush and coverage working together, so without those guys up front, we wouldn't have 14. Shout out to those guys up front."
The sequence has been the same one Newsome described: Pressure and run fits up front, tight coverage behind it, and takeaway drills that start before the team period. His own interception against the Cardinals, which came after Arvell Reese disrupted Jacoby Brissett, fit that description.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Greg Newsome II credits practice structure for Giants' secondary success
