Martinez feels ready to be ‘calming factor’ for Giants’ defense
The Giants signed Blake Martinez five months ago, but it wasn’t until last week that the linebacker actually had a chance to interact with his new teammates in person.
On-field workouts finally commenced after an offseason where meetings were held virtually because of COVID-19.
Martinez feels ready to embrace his role as the new veteran leader in the middle of the Giants’ defense.
“Overall, for me it’s just being able to allow those guys to understand that I’m going to be on top of everything from checks, making sure people are lined up in the right position, that I am that calming factor,” Martinez said on a Zoom call. “For me, I take every single day to keep chipping at that. Whether it’s walk-throughs, talking in meetings, guys start to recognize this guy knows what going on, this guy is going to allow me to not have any freak moments. If things are moving fast, he’s the guy that I can turn to and calm myself down.”
Martinez considers himself a rock — someone who never gets too flustered and remains calm. On one hand, that’s exactly what the Giants’ relatively young defense needs as it undergoes an abbreviated transition period with a new coaching staff.
But the Giants also need Martinez, at 26 years old and entering his fifth NFL season, to harness his skill set and reach a higher level as a play-maker.
Martinez spent the first four years of his career in Green Bay, where he started every game from 2017-19 and last season finished second in the NFL with 155 tackles. Tackles can be a misleading stat, though, as he received the worst Pro Football Focus grade of his career largely because he frequently was a step behind in run support.
PFF rated Martinez as the eighth-best coverage linebacker in 2018 and sixth-best linebacker in run defense in 2017, so the key is piecing everything together.
Perhaps a new scheme and reuniting with Patrick Graham, the Giants’ defensive coordinator who was Martinez’s linebackers coach in 2018, can push Martinez to stardom.
“We have a great relationship,” Martinez said of Graham. “We grew it my third year in Green Bay and it makes it a lot easier to walk into his office anytime. Any concerns I have, or certain questions I have, I can go straight to him and we chat just like anybody else.”
Martinez doesn’t have that same familiarity with Giants players, especially because there were no minicamps or organized team activities during the spring.
Since he’s been learning a new defense on top of those logistical hurdles, Martinez feels even more urgency to lead as he enters the first season of a three-year, $30 million contract.
“Everything right now, challenges pop up every single day,” Martinez said. “The playbook aspect is just nailing down things and doing whatever is necessary. We have an hour break right now, so instead of spending the whole hour chatting, OK, let’s spend 30 minutes watching film or going through certain installs and things like that.”