Bobby Okereke on the Giants' defense: We need to do our jobs

Through two games, there appears to be something amiss with the Giants' defense.

Asked about that, linebacker Bobby Okereke said the defense has to tackle better, and that surely is true.

He added, “We need to shore up our run fits, and just have more discipline doing our job. Talking about me specifically, (I was) kind of three quarters doing my job, a quarter trying to do someone else's job, trying to make a play, and that trickles down. I think everybody just needs to focus on doing their job.”

Clearly, Okereke thinks he was trying to do too much.

“I think mindset-wise, yeah,” he said. “I think my focus just wasn’t 100% on doing my job. And if it was, I think we would have had a better result” against the Commanders.

A free agent in 2023, Okereke left the Colts and signed a $40 million contract with the Giants. He played every defensive snap in 2023.

Now, he appeared to sound something of an alarm as it pertains to the defense.

“Yeah, I think it’s the mindset and attitude of guys in the building (that matter),” he said. “We're pointing the thumb, not the finger. Everyone has their own individual responsibility. It's 11 guys on a field at a time. So, especially on defense, our focus is everyone doing their job to the best of their ability. If we do that, we'll like the result.”

The Giants' defense allowed the Commanders to run for 215 yards, an average of 6.2 yards per carry.

Washington’s 425 total yards were the most for a Giants opponent since Philadelphia gained 465 yards last Dec. 25. And the Commanders' 215 rushing yards were the highest total for a Giants foe since Miami ran for 222 yards on Oct. 8, 2023.

Part of the issue might be the drastic departure from Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy scheme to adjusting to Shane Bowen’s defense. Before taking the coordinator gig with the Giants, Bowen was the defensive coordinator of the Titans.

The schemes of Bowen and Martindale are “pretty different,” Okereke said.

“Under Wink’s style, we blitzed a lot. We ran a 'Bear' front,” Okereke said. “We ran a five-man front at times. This is a little different. We’re playing quarters. But the same fundamentals of football show up, playing fast and physical and doing your job.”

Growing pains might be a problem. Asked if that can be fixed during a season, Okereke said, “One hundred percent.”

“And I think if you have the correct perspective and mindset, of making the corrections week to week, you’ll get better and you’ll like where you are later in the season,” Okereke said. “So, that’s where our focus is. We made some corrections from Week 1 to Week 2. We’re not where we need to be, so we’ll make the corrections from Week 2 to Week 3 and we’ll get a better result.”

Kicker Joseph signed

The Giants have filled their kicker position, signing Greg Joseph from the Lions practice squad.

Joseph has kicked previously for the Vikings, Browns and Titans. He will replace the injured Graham Gano, who was placed on the IR, meaning he'll miss at least four games with his injured hamstring.

Joseph, 30, set the Vikings’ franchise record for longest field goal when he drilled a 61-yarder as time expired to beat the Giants on Dec. 24, 2022. He has converted 82% of his field goal attempts and 90% of his extra-point tries.

O-line & white line

The Giants' offensive line appears to have taken a step forward under coach Carmen Bricillo. Said tackle Andrew Thomas: “I think teams take on the personality of their coach, but I think the best teams lead themselves. Obviously, the coaches put us in positions to make plays, but it’s really up to us. They don’t cross the white line, so it's up to us to have the mentality to be dominant, physical, and execute.”

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.