patrick graham

New York Giants: Pass rusher Markus Golden reports to camp

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New York Jets, Markus Golden

The New York Giants placed the unrestricted free agent tender on edge Markus Golden on April 27. On July 22 the deadline passed for Golden to sign with another NFL team, meaning he could only suit up for the Giants this season.

According to Art Stapleton of The Record, Golden has reported to the team’s training camp to begin his entry process.

Stapleton tweets out the timeline for Golden to return to the field, which includes testing and quarantining for COVID-19.

Golden will make roughly $4.2 million this season.

Golden enters his second season with the Giants. He inked a one-year deal with the Giants last offseason and led the team in sacks (10). Golden started 16 games while totaling 72 combined tackles, 27 quarterback hits and one fumble returned for a touchdown.

Giants new edge rotation

Golden, 29, joins an edge rotation with some new faces, as well as some returning players on rookie deals.

The Giants signed former Green Bay Packers pass rusher Kyler Fackrell to a one-year, $4.6 million deal in free agency. Fackrell is a season removed from recording 10.5 sacks. General manager Dave Gettleman selected two edge players on day three of the 2020 NFL Draft: Penn State’s Cam Brown (183) and Minnesota’s Carter Coughlin (218).

Third-year player Lorenzo Carter and second-year player Oshane Ximines will return for the 2020 season. The two outside linebackers recorded a combined 70 tackles and nine sacks last season.

The Giants defense will be administered by new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, previously of the Miami Dolphins. Graham was the Giants defensive line coach from 2016-17. Graham is expected to assume play-calling duties under new head coach Joe Judge.

Golden was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 58th selection in the 2015 NFL Draft out of the University of Missouri. Across 62 NFL games, 40 of which have been starts, Golden has totaled 191 combined tackles, 29 sacks and 69 quarterback hits.

New York Giants: Rag-Tag Team Of Pass-Rushers Could Be Dangerous In 2020

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The New York Giants‘ defense does not have a single top-tier pass-rusher. Instead, the Giants have a rag-tag group of pass-rushers and a blitz-heavy defensive scheme to generate pressure. The Dolphins Blitzed on 35% of their snaps in 2019 with Patrick Graham running the defense. The Giants are expected to run a similar defensive scheme in 2020.

New York will use its scheme to make up for its lack of EDGE talent. The Gmen do have a few talented pass-rushers on their roster, but not a proven singular game-changing pass-rusher. But the Giants might not need that. The group of underrated pass-rushers that the Giants have assembled could be dangerous for opposing offenses this season.

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New York Giants: James Bradberry The Defense’s X-Factor

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New York Giants, James Bradberry

Over the past two years, the New York Giants have made it a priority to strengthen their secondary. The Giants drafted three defensive backs in the 2019 NFL Draft and three more in the 2020 NFL Draft. On top of that, New York made a splash signing on a cornerback in the 2020 free agency period.

This offseason the New York Giants signed cornerback James Bradberry to a three-year, $43.5 million deal. Bradberry is a 26-year-old corner out of Samford who spent his first four seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Brabderry’s next three NFL seasons are slated to be played with the Giants. Over the course of his time with the Gmen, James Bradberry will be the X-factor of the team’s defense.

Why James Bradberry Is So Important

The New York Giants have a brand new coaching staff heading into the 2020 NFL season. New head coach Joe Judge hired Patrick Graham to be his defensive coordinator. The Giants will have a brand new defensive scheme to learn and implement this season:

Graham had a great defensive scheme in place. The two major play calls of the Miami defense were blitzing and man to man coverage. Graham was very clever with his blitzing packages, using a variety of linebacker and defensive back blitzes. In Miami, Graham would also send in delayed blitzes to really disturb an offense. This was not just done in between the gaps; the blitzes came from different spots on the field. The Dolphins Blitzed on 35% of their snaps, 41% on third down (which was the third-most in the league). The Dolphins ran man to man coverage 50% of the time in the 2019 season and would often show blitz and drop back into coverage. This was a great strategy in the Graham defense, keeping opposing offenses on their toes because of the constant blitzing formations. – Jack Quartararo of ESM

How successful the Giants are in executing this new man-coverage-heavy defensive scheme largely depends upon James Bradberry. As the team’s new number one cornerback, Bradberry’s performance in man-coverage will largely determine the success of the team’s secondary.

James Bradberry Stats and Highlights

In Carolina, Bradberry was used as a true number one cornerback. He followed the opposing team’s best wide receivers and shadowed them for the majority of games. In the NFC South, Brabderry went up against some of the best wide receiver competition in the entire league. Here’s how he fared:

James Brabderry consistently got the better of his opponents in 2019. In the Giants’ new man-coverage defensive scheme, he will shadow the likes of Amari Cooper and Terry McLaurin. Will he continue to be the top dog in 2020?

New York Giants: Patrick Graham is bringing one significant change to the Giants’ defense

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New York Giants, Patrick Graham

The New York Giants are going into 2020 with an entirely new approach, set forth by the new coaching staff they have constructed. New head coach Joe Judge will implement a more fundamentalistic style of coaching and play. His players will refine their technique and increase their tackling efficiency with live drills during practice. With the coronavirus pandemic, there will be plenty of restrictions.

However, the systematic methods the coaching staff will use will change drastically with the new regimen in place. On defense, the Giants hired Patrick Graham to lead their unit. He formally acted as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and the linebackers coach for the Green Bay Packers in 2018. He has experience with Judge in New England many years ago.

On offense, the Giants hired former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. He will likely implement a strong 12-personnel system that relies heavily on running the football and a strong offensive line.

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I want to take a look into Graham’s scheme and how his defense will differ from James Bettcher’s in 2020:

The biggest change will be in coverage, as Graham plays man and press predominantly on defense. Bettcher relied heavily on a zone scheme that forced his cornerbacks into unusual play. Janoris Jenkins historically man marks players, and DeAndre baker is best pressing at the line of scrimmage. The former Giants DC did not allow them to play to their strengths, and Graham will shake that style up significantly.

Only one team played more cover 1 than the Dolphins last year under Graham, and that was the Matt Patricia lead, Detroit Lions, per PFF.

The Dolphins used cover 1 on 491 of their 1116 defensive snaps. The Giants and Patriots lagged closely behind with the fourth-most. Clearly, that is a comfortable scheme for Judge. He brought Patrick in to replicate a similar style to New England with his own twist.

The New York Giants will be blitzing…a lot

Another interesting and exciting fact is the Dolphins blitzed on 35.1% of their snaps last year, which ranked seventh in frequency. The Giants blitzed on just 30%, which was just a tad above the league average. We should expect to see the safeties frequently activated in rushing the passer and delayed blitzes to keep opposing quarterbacks on their feet.

Lastly, Graham rotates between a 3-4 and 4-3 base defense, creating mismatches and adapting to different styles of offensive play. His defense will be a lot more versatile and intricate than Bettcher’s, which could take some time for the defenders to get used to.

New York Giants: What Should Be Expected Of Lorenzo Carter in 2020?

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New York Giants, Lorenzo Carter

The New York Giants have a major weak spot on defense. The Giants have invested heavily to build up their defensive line and their secondary. They have even invested to improve their linebacker corps. However, the edge rusher position has not been prioritized as much.

The Giants have drafted a couple of mid-round edge rushers and shopped in the bargain-bin during free agency. This could be because of the Giants’ defensive scheme. New defensive coordinator Patrick Graham runs a blitz-heavy defense that generates pressure through the scheme, rather than through the players.

The defensive scheme could explain the lack of a top-tier edge rusher on the Giants’ roster. But of the edge rushers on the Giants, what can we expect? In particular, what should be expected of their 2018 third-round draft pick Lorenzo Carter?

Sophomore Regression

Lorenzo Carter was a solid player during his 2018 rookie season. The former Georgia Bulldog looked promising in his limited playing time. Carter played just 40% of the team’s defensive snaps. When he was on the field, though, Carter was impressive. In 441 snaps, Lorenzo Carter totaled 4 sacks, 19 pressures, and 43 combined tackles.

Lorenzo Carter followed up his rookie with only 4.5 sacks in 723 snaps in 2019 (65%). His pressure rate of 59% plummeted to 29% as a sophomore as he posted only 23 pressures. Giants fans anticipated a breakout season from Carter in 2019 after a promising display as a rookie. Fans believed an expanded role would lead to better production. Carter’s expanded role did not lead to a better season, though.

An Improvement In Year Three?

After a disappointing 2019 season, what will 2020 have in store for Lorenzo Carter? With the key addition of Kyler Fackrell and the impressive play of Oshane Ximines in 2019, Carter could see his role decrease. The Giants might now view Carter as a specific rotational pass-rusher. He performed well in 2018 on 40% of the defense’s snaps, so the Giants could play him in that capacity in 2019 and hope that he plays better in a more refined pass-rushing role.

The Giants could also look to change Carter’s role entirely. Lorenzo has proven to be pretty good in coverage for an edge rusher. His lanky build and excellent athleticism allow Carter to cover ground and create problems in coverage.

Lorenzo Carter was actually more of a coverage linebacker in college, but he was also an efficient pass-rusher at Georgia. This is similar to Vikings’ star linebacker Anthony Barr. Barr is a weakside linebacker that is also an efficient pass-rusher, but his athleticism and versatility allow him to play in coverage. The Giants could look to use Lorenzo Carter in a similar fashion and see if he continues to thrive in coverage as a linebacker.

New York Giants: Where Will The Pass-Rush Come From In 2020?

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New York Giants, Patrick Graham

The New York Giants‘ defense has struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks in recent seasons. The Giants lack a top edge rusher on their current roster. Markus Golden was a solid contributor in 2019, totaling 10 sacks, but he is not guaranteed to remain with the Giants in 2020. Now, with a new defensive scheme being installed and a new group of defenders added, where will the pass-rush come from in 2020?

Patrick Graham’s Defensive Scheme

The majority of the pass-rush will come from new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s scheme. Patrick Graham runs a blitz-heavy, man-to-man defense:

“Graham had a great defensive scheme in place. The two major play calls of the Miami defense were blitzing and man to man coverage. Graham was very clever with his blitzing packages, using a variety of linebacker and defensive back blitzes. In Miami, Graham would also send in delayed blitzes to really disturb an offense. This was not just done in between the gaps; the blitzes came from different spots on the field. The Dolphins Blitzed on 35% of their snaps, 41% on third down (which was the third-most in the league). The Dolphins ran man to man coverage 50% of the time in the 2019 season and would often show blitz and drop back into coverage. This was a great strategy in the Graham defense, keeping opposing offenses on their toes because of the constant blitzing formations.” – Jack Quartararo of Empire Sports Media

With an emphasis on blitzing, Patrick Graham will scheme together the Giants’ pass rush. The Giants’ defense will run many complex blitzes to get after opposing quarterbacks. But who will be executing these blitzes for the Giants?

The Personnel

The Giants do not have a top-tier edge rusher. None of the players on the team’s roster are expected to dominate opposing offensive lines and rack up 15 sacks in a season. However, the team has added some underrated players. These players fit perfectly into Patrick Graham’s scheme and will help him generate a pass rush.

Kyler Fackrell, the former Green Bay Packers edge rusher, was one of the Giants’ key additions in the 2020 offseason. In 2018, with a career-high in snaps, Kyler Fackrell recorded career-highs with 10.5 sacks, 42 combined tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 18 pressures. In 2019, though, Fackrell saw a huge decrease in playing time, being on the field for only 40% of the team’s snaps. Maybe reuniting with Graham and seeing an increase in playing time will lead to another 10+ sack season from Kyler Fackrell.

The Giants’ new addition in their secondary, safety Xavier McKinney, will also help boost the defense’s pass rush. According to Pro Football Focus, Xavier recorded 21 pressures across 71 pass-rushing snaps in the last two years. He also totaled 3 sacks in each of his last two seasons. McKinney is an excellent pass-rusher from the safety position, making him a perfect fit in Patrick Graham’s blitz-heavy system.

In 2020, the New York Giants will have to implore a pass-rush by committee. The scheme will need to generate pressure to make up for the lack of a top-tier edge rusher on the team. Luckily for Patrick Graham, he has a group of underrated pass rushers at multiple positions that will help him get the job done.

New York Giants: Julian Love talks offseason, how he wants to be a ‘factor’

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New York Giants, Julian Love

Like the rest of the NFL, the New York Giants are in the midst of a virtual offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, defensive back Julian Love feels the offseason is going well.

In an appearance on the “Giants Huddle” podcast, Love said the Giants have worked trivia about their teammates and the New Jersey area into the mix.

“There’s an importance on getting to know the area because we’re the New York Giants and we encompass a lot of demographics, a lot of people, a lot of areas geographically as well,” Love said. “So part of it could be know the New Jersey area, know different areas of New York in trivia and geographic ways, and then there is get to know your teammates. It could be where somebody is from, what high school they went to, their picture and name this person – coaches as well. Everybody is involved into who could pop up on the trivia. So that’s a conversation starter with that person going forward. You learn such interesting [backstories] on people. I think you learn more doing that than you do in person with each other in a way.”

“That implementation has been awesome. I really enjoyed each day hopping online to meet with people and meet with teammates and to see what the new challenge is for that day. Communication has been flowing, very fluid and open. I think that’s important right now to build that camaraderie, which we’re not able to because we’re not in the facility together.”

Love feels he has been able to grasp new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s playbook.

“It’s tough at first, but they’ve done a great job setting up film, setting up meetings, certain PowerPoints,” Love said. “Some coaches might step back in the camera and demonstrate something, which is kind of funny. But I think it’s gone well. None of us can control what is happening right now and why we’re in this virtual setting, but all we can do is our very best to learn as much as possible in this setting. And I think we’ve done a great job so far. Everything is very easy, they put it in front of you, a lot of guys are asking a lot of questions, and I think that’s a start of building something great.”

Love finds that applying pressure is pivotal to one’s growth.

“I like to say I’m always confident in my abilities and learning playbooks and being intelligent, just learning to grow – and I am,” Love said. “I’m excited for all that, but then you’ve got to have that element of pressure behind you to be able to grow and get better. I think that’s kind of what I’ve always done every year of football no matter what level I’m at, no matter what I accomplished the year before. You’ve got to feel that element of pressure in order to grow.”

Love expresses how he wants to be a “factor” for the Giants.

“I want to just be a factor,” Love said. “I want to contribute in a positive way and do whatever I have to do to do that. Last year – I don’t want to talk about last year too much – but I tried to be there in any way I could [by] knowing the playbook, knowing different things I could do to see the field and just try to help. And it’s not for, ‘Oh, I want to play, I want to play.’ No, I want to help. I want to build on this. So my personal goal is just to be ready for that.”

The Giants selected Love with the 108th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was inserted into the starting lineup when safety Jabrill Peppers suffered an injury in a Week 12 matchup against the Chicago Bears. Love started five games, totaling 37 combined tackles, five tackles for loss and one interception.

New York Giants: Why Blake Martinez Could Improve Drastically In Big Blue

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New York Giants, Blake Martinez

The New York Giants made a splash in free agency this offseason signing a couple of key defenders. The Gmen signed cornerback James Bradberry and linebacker Blake Martinez to expensive contracts. People were mostly pleased with the work Dave Gettleman and company did in free agency, however, there were some mixed reviews.

In particular, some were critical of the Martinez signing. Blake Martinez was one of many linebackers available in a very talented free-agent class. The Giants signed Martinez to a three-year contract worth $30.75 million. Comparatively, Cory Littleton signed a three-year contract worth $35.25 million. Many viewed this to be a marginally more expensive signing for a significantly better player. That might be true when comparing the two linebackers’ 2019 seasons. But upon further examination, there is reason to believe Blake Martinez will be a better player in 2020.

A Disappointing 2019

2019 was a terrible performance by Blake Martinez in pass coverage. His completion percentage allowed rose to 83.8%, allowing opponents to complete 62 passes on 74 targets for 570 yards and 2 touchdowns. This makes Martinez a serious liability in pass coverage on the Giants’ defense.

Additionally, Blake Martinez missed 18 tackles in 2019. This was a missed tackle rate of 10.4%. This number needs to go down in 2020, but there is a reason to believe it will. The role Martinez played in the Packers’ defense last season could be the reason for the higher percentage of mixed tackles. But in the Giants’ defensive scheme, his role will be much different.

Why He Should Bounce Back In 2020

Blake Martinez is well aware of the criticisms people have regarding his performance last season. He gave this response:

Blake Martinez says the public misconception of him is that he doesn’t make impact plays. He says that his role in the GB D was to be a “clean-up” guy, the only LB on the field, with no gap responsibilities. Basically play off the other guys and go make the leftover plays. – Tom Rock of Newsday

What Martinez said is highly important. His role in the Packers’ defense changed drastically last season. Martinez is at his best when filling gap responsibilities. In 2019, he did not have gap responsibilities and was not able to make plays in run defense himself.

The Packers changed their coaching staff from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, the linebackers coach and run game coordinator was Patrick Graham. Graham is now the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. He and Martinez are very familiar with each other and Graham was able to get the best out of Martinez in 2018.

Blake Martinez racked up 144 combined tackles in 2018 along with 10 tackles for loss. But Martinez was also an excellent pass-rusher, a role he was basically taken out of in Green Bay’s 2019 defense. In 2018, Martinez blitzed 61 times, recording 11 pressures, 5 hurries, and 5 sacks. The Packers only brought Blake on 24 blitzes in 2019, but he was still efficient. He recorded 5 pressures, 2 hurries, and 3 sacks on his 24 blitz attempts this past season. Reuniting with Patrick Graham and returning to a blitz-heavy scheme, expect to see Blake Martinez brought on a number of blitzes in 2020.

New York Giants: New EDGE Kyler Fackrell Will Be A Huge Boost To The Team’s Pass Rush

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New York Giants, Kyler Fackrell

The New York Giants‘ defense has struggled to rush quarterbacks in recent years. The team has not had a premier edge rusher in quite some time and has missed out on the top prospects in recent drafts, such as Josh Allen and Chase Young.

A primary pass-rusher is arguably the Giants’ biggest need. However, not having that top-tier rusher might not be necessary for the 2020 New York Giants. Patrick Graham, the new defensive coordinator, is known for running an aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme that generates a fair amount of pressure. On top of that, the Giants have a solid stable of edge rushers at their disposal, the best of which being Kyler Fackrell who will provide the Giants with a huge boost to their pass rush.

Kyler Fackrell and Patrick Graham

The New York Giants signed edge rusher Kyler Fackrell to a one-year contract worth $4.6 million this offseason. Fackrell is 28 years old and has spent his entire career with the Green Bay Packers. Kyler’s time in Green Bay give him a connection to Giants’ defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

Patrick Graham worked with the Green Bay Packers in 2018 as their linebackers coach & run game coordinator. During that 2018 season, Fackrell and Graham got to know each other very well:

“We had that year together and we became super close, he was my inside linebacker coach,” Martinez said. “For me, what made me so excited to work with him this year and the following years is how smart he is. I think he is probably the smartest coach I’ve ever been around. The preparation he puts in every week, his intensity, just how much he cares about the game of football. It just allowed me to go in every Sunday or Monday or Thursday games fully prepared. I never felt like I didn’t know what play was going to happen next.” – Kyler Fackrell on Giants Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham

That 2018 season was not only special because Fackrell worked with Patrick Graham. That 2018 season was also special because it was the best season of Kyler Fackrell’s career so far. While working with Graham in 2018, Fackrell played 59% of the Packers’ defensive snaps, a career-high. Kyler also started in 7 games and played in all 16. In 2019, though, Fackrell saw a huge decrease in playing time, being on the field for only 40% of the team’s snaps.

Why Kyler Fackrell Will Bounce Back In 2020

That decrease in playing time was caused by the Packers’ big free-agency additions. Green Bay signed both Preston Smith and Zadarious Smith, two highly-talented edge rushers that pushed Kyler Fackrell down the depth chart.

Kyler Fackrell will be atop the Giants’ depth chart in 2020. He will once again be coached by Patrick Graham and he will see an increase in snaps. In that 2018 season with a career-high in snaps, Kyler Fackrell recorded career-highs with 10.5 sacks, 42 combined tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 18 pressures. In addition to that, according to his former Packers and now current Giants teammate Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell is “one of the best zone coverage linebackers in the NFL.”

The Giants found a special, underrated talent in free agency this offseason. Kyler Fackrell is a player who has struggled to see the field, but never due to any injuries. The Packers simply did not utilize Fackrell’s skillset and they certainly did not value it more than the skillset of the Smiths.

The New York Giants will have no choice but to utilize Kyler Fackrell as their primary pass-rusher in 2020. Maybe reuniting with Graham and seeing an increase in playing time will lead to another 10+ sack season from Kyler Fackrell.

New York Giants: Xavier McKinney Will Boost Defense’s Pass-Rush

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New York Giants, Xavier McKinney

The New York Giants are going to make use of a pass-rush by a committee in 2020. The team does not possess an elite edge rusher or game-breaking pass-rusher to make a consistent impact. Rather, New York has some solid rotational rushers and an aggressive, blitz-heavy defensive scheme.

Safeties are not normally thought of as pass-rushers. A safety’s job typically consists of pass coverage and run defense. However, safeties are used occasionally in blitzes. Xavier McKinney is a player that should be used in blitzes often as he has proven to be an excellent pass-rusher from the safety position.

Xavier McKinney As A Blitzer

The Giants’ second-round draft pick, Xavier McKinney, is a talented, versatile safety out of Alabama. McKinney was projected to be a first-round draft pick and the Giants were extremely fortunate to land him in round two.

In his collegiate career, McKinney lined up all over the Alabama defense. Xavier played 323 snaps in the box, 227 in the slot, and 271 deep (PFF). McKinney’s versatile skill set allows him to thrive in coverage and run defense wherever he lines up on the field.

In this clip, McKinney lines up as an edge rusher and gets a clutch strip-sack on 2020’s number one overall pick, Joe Burrow:

This was one of many impressive pass-rushes by Xavier McKinney in college. According to Pro Football Focus, Xavier recorded 21 pressures across 71 pass-rushing snaps in the last two years. He also totaled 3 sacks in each of his last two seasons. This is especially important for the Giants because of the defensive scheme they will be running.

Newly hired defensive coordinator Patrick Graham runs an aggressive defensive scheme filled with blitzes. In 2019, the Dolphins Blitzed on 35% of their snaps, 41% on third down (which was the third-most in the league). Knowing that Xavier McKinney as such an efficient pass-rusher, Patrick Graham will likely send his rookie safety on blitzes early and often in 2020.