In Collins & Jenkins, Big Blue boasts
THE GIANTS have some glittery names on offense, from Odell Beckham Jr. to Eli Manning to Victor Cruz. Yet their remade defense is probably the better Big Blue unit so far, thanks in part to strong play by an emerging secondary star and the man they call “Jackrabbit.”
“I think the defense has shown signs of being a pretty good defense,” GM Jerry Reese said. “Some things we need to do to be more consistent, but I do see some signs of a really good defense out there.”
Reese credited up-and-coming safety Landon Collins, named the defensive player of the week for his last game, with holding “things together for us a little while” in the secondary. “We had some injuries back there,” Reese said. “I think at one point we had five guys out. He’s been a main guy back there holding us together. He’s played well. I’m happy for him.”
The Giants splurged on the free agent market during the off-season to improve a porous defense that ranked 32nd in yards per game and 30th in scoring last year, adding cornerback Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins, tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison, defensive end Olivier Vernon and linebacker Keenan Robinson.
Asked to assess the new guys, Reese replied, “Jackrabbit has played the best probably of the group, just stat-wise. Everybody is playing hard. I think Snacks is playing hard in there. OV is playing hard even though he’s playing with a (wrist) injury. He’s playing really hard in there. Keenan Robinson is also playing well.”
Coming out of their bye week, the 4-3 Giants are two games back of Dallas in the NFC East and play the visiting Eagles Sunday at MetLife Stadium. It’s a key division game and the Giant defense will be tested by rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who Collins says “has a great arm . ... Great vision down the field and can make things happen.”
While Big Blue’s big-name offense is averaging only 19 points — 7.3 fewer than last season — the defensive stats have improved, at least so far. The Giants are ranked 17th in yards allowed per game (361) and 10th in scoring defense (20.1 points per game). Last season, they allowed 420.3 yards per game and 27.6 points per game. Still, the Giants have only 11 sacks, which is tied for 27th in the NFL. Only Oakland has fewer.
“I always say this about sacks — sacks are a little bit overrated,” Reese said. “You want to get sacks but you just want to push the quarterback off his launch point. We’ve been able to do that a little bit better. I think the last game we got the quarterback off his spot a little better than we have been doing. ... We’re hoping to continue to do that. Sacks can come in bunches. I think we’ve done a decent job getting the quarterback off his spot.”
Collins, meanwhile, said he is “still hearing about” his dazzling pick-six against the Rams in London in the Giants’ most recent game. No wonder. He intercepted Case Keenum twice and returned one of them 44 yards for a touchdown. He actually ran 84 yards on the play, according to NFL.com’s “Next Gen Stats,” after he reversed field and broke several tackles.