Pressure is on to create rush
THE PRESSURE is on James Bettcher to create pressure.
Given the roster assembled in his first year as the Giants’ defensive coordinator, figure Bettcher is going to have to overcome what appears to be a lack of firepower with smarts, scheme and swift development of youngsters who will have to exceed expectations.
It does not take a detailed study to determine the Giants’ pass rush begins with Olivier Vernon, and that could be problematic, considering his track record as a solid but not overly-prolific accumulator of sacks.
Vernon has 15 sacks in his two seasons with the Giants and 44 in his sixyear NFL career. After Vernon, it is negligible, as far as proven pass-rush prowess. Consider the other six projected starters in Bettcher’s 3-4 front have a total of 16.5 career sacks, indicative of how much work Bettcher has in front of him to ensure the Giants are able to mount sufficient heat on the opposing quarterback.
“Our players win games in this league,’’ Bettcher said Wednesday after a minicamp practice.
Yes, they do, but coaches and coordinators win games as well, and Bettcher is going to have to manufacture pressure, which is something fairly new in these parts. The best Giants defenses in their two most recent Super Bowl triumphs relied heavily on skilled defensive ends able to turn up the heat by winning their individual matchups.
The Giants, under head coach Pat Shurmur, are refortified on offense, with most of the financial and draft resources earmarked to give Eli Manning more protection (Nate Solder) and more lethal weapons (Saquon Barkley). The only impact move on defense was the trade with the Rams to acquire inside linebacker Alec Ogletree, who will make the defensive calls and probably lead the team in tackles. Ogletree, though, is not a pass-rusher, with 5.5 career sacks in five seasons.
So it is imperative Vernon stay healthy — he missed four games in 2017 — and quickly adapt to his new outside linebacker role, where he will line up in a two-point stance. His running mate on the line last season, Jason PierrePaul, led the Giants with 8.5 sacks, but was traded to the Buccaneers. Replacing those sacks will not be easy.
“O.V. we know is a dynamic guy, a guy that can rush from different angles, a guy that you can move around and put in different matchups,’’ Bettcher said. “He’s embraced everything we’ve done to this point.
“Some of the other guys I think can give us some impact would be guys that have a chance to win one-on-one matchups, or are guys we can bring from different angles, and at times, if we have to, change who the fourth rusher is, at times maybe bring five or six, whatever we would need to do.’’
Bettcher is going to need to do plenty. Damon “Snacks’’ Harrison is a premier run-stopper, but he has just 5.5 career sacks. As for the other presumptive starters on the line, Dalvin Tomlinson had one sack in 16 starts as a rookie, and B.J. Hill, a third-round pick, is a rookie who had eight sacks in four years at N.C. State.
“One of the things when we drafted B.J. that was part of us selecting him, we thought he has the potential to be a three-down player,’’ Bettcher said, “Dalvin’s the same type of player, has some slipperiness to him, has the ability to get on edges.’’
This can be viewed as wishful thinking.
Bettcher had Kareem Martin with the Cardinals and thus he knows Martin’s contribution will primarily not be as a pass-rusher (he has 4.5 sacks in 56 games). It is essential Lorenzo Carter, another third-round pick, contribute immediately with pressure as a longarmed outside linebacker. If the Giants do not hit on Carter — a big factor in Georgia’s defense in 2017 — they are in trouble.
Working against this defense for more than a month, Eli Manning recognizes Bettcher’s intent is to harass.
“They try and pressure the QB and bring five guys,’’ Manning said. “Disrupt the QB and not let him sit in the pocket.’’
Harrison called Bettcher “a good dude.’’ Cornerback Janoris Jenkins said, “I love him. He understands the game. He’s an aggressive play-caller. He understands the way his guys play.”
In his three years running the defense in Arizona, Bettcher produced 36 sacks, 48 and, last season, 37, with Chandler Jones getting 17 by himself. The Giants do not possess that sort of dynamism.
“If we’re gonna be any good as a pressure team, we’re gonna have to win some of those one-on-ones inside,’’ Bettcher said.
The onus is on him to create those matchups then hope his players can deliver.