New York Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said the defense blitzed more against the Arizona Cardinals because of how the game felt, not because of a fixed plan to replace Brian Burns.
Wilson was asked whether the increase was an adjustment, a game-plan choice, or a reaction to not getting home often enough. He tied it to the coverage behind the rush.
"Yeah, it was a little bit of feel of the game," Wilson told reporters on Thursday. "You know, the guys on the back end were very comfortable covering their receivers. And we played a little bit man-to-man early in the game, and there wasn't a lot of separation.
"So, I just kept trying to feed it. And we hit the quarterback a few times, got him off the spot. And then the guys told me, it was
like, 'Coach, keep calling it.' And Greg Newsome and (Deonte Banks) were like, 'We can cover them man-to-man,' and I just kept calling it for them. But every week's different. Like every game plan is different. Every quarterback, every offense is different. You know, we'll see how it goes this week."
Burns, who had 16.5 sacks last season, is out. Wilson was asked how much the Giants might have to lean on pressure because of that. He did not treat the blitz as a standing answer.
"Yeah, it'll be a mixture of both," Wilson said. "I think that we've always had pressures in our system. You know, like I say, the first two games this season, we played quarterbacks that feast off of pressure, knowing where to go. I think it's always matchup dependent. It's how the guys are playing. It's rhythm of the game. It's feel of the game. It's the ability to adjust during the game. We always have pressures up. So, we'll use them when we have to and be smart and educated about it."
The Cardinals game produced the look. Wilson left the next one open.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Dennard Wilson explains Giants' higher blitz rate without Brian Burns
