Dexter Lawrence on Giants defense's biggest flaw: 'Bad tackling'
Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders is tackled by Dexter Lawrence II and Rakeem Nunez-Roches of the Giants during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium on Sunday in Landover, Md. Credit: Getty Images/Greg Fiume
Dexter Lawrence was not happy.
The Giants are 0-2 and the defense is not playing up to the expectation of Lawrence, the most accomplished player on the team.
“Personally, I’m [ticked] because I hate losing with a passion,” the defensive lineman said. “I take that hard, losing. I really don’t like it.”
The defense was on the field for a long time Sunday against the Commanders, with Washington holding a commanding edge in time of possession: 37:32 minutes to 22:28 for the Giants.
“We didn’t do well tackling,” Lawrence said. “We didn’t stop the run well. And the penalties on third down [hurt]. We won a lot of first and second downs, but those third downs really got us.”
The worst part?
“Bad tackling,” Lawrence said.
The defense will have to fix that to give the team a chance.
Asked what he wants to see Sunday at Cleveland from his teammates, Lawrence said, “Better tackling. Great communication. And just guys doing their one-eleventh.”
The defense has held its first two opponents, the Vikings and Commanders, to 0-for-6 in the red zone. That has been a positive, Lawrence said, adding, “but it's not a positive getting down there six times [in two games.]”
Early in the week, inside linebacker Bobby Okereke voiced concern that he was having to do his job and the job of others on the field.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen did not quibble Thursday with that assessment.
“That’s across the unit,” Bowen said. “I don't think that's just Bobby. We got to make sure all 11 guys are focused on doing their job because [if they don’t[, it turns into a chain reaction.”
Bowen said sometimes an offense doesn’t find the weak link in a defense. Through two games, the Vikings and Commanders seemed to not only identify the weak link but exploit it.
Bowen said he has emphasized this to his defense: “We all got to do our job. Every single play, we got to do our job. We got to focus. There'll be times where they make plays where they don't. And it's the old adage, if you make it, I'll probably say good job and I'll coach you and say, ‘Next time it's probably not going to work out that way.’ Let's see if we can coach the action and not necessarily the result of what happened because a lot of times there's good plays that happen and we don't necessarily do it the right way. And the next time we don't do it the right way, it isn’t going to be so good for us.”
The defense has benefitted from solid contributions from two rookies, safety Tyler Nubin and cornerback Dru Phillips.
For the second consecutive game, Nubin played every defensive snap and finished with five tackles. He joined Okereke and cornerback Deonte Banks as the only players to be on the field for every defensive snap through the first two games. Phillips has been on the field for 92% of the defensive snaps through two games.
Kicker update
Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said kicker Greg Joseph, added to the roster on Wednesday, and Jude McAtamney, who is on the practice squad, will compete for the starting kicker spot and play on Sunday in place of the injured Graham Gano. Said Ghobrial: “It's going be good competition. Obviously, what Greg [Joseph] brings to the table is a veteran guy that's kicked in multiple stadiums and that has had a good percentage throughout his career. And Jude has shown a very promising preseason and has obviously done a good job in the offseason and training camp and all his opportunities in practice.”
Injury report
Safety/linebacker Isaiah Simmons did not practice on Thursday because of personal reasons. Coach Brian Daboll said he is not concerned about Simmons’ availability for Sunday. Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) and rookie inside linebacker Darius Muasau (knee) were limited. Cornerback Nick McCloud (knee) did not practice. For Cleveland, defensive end Myles Garrett, the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, missed his second straight day of practice with a foot injury. Tight end David Njoku (ankle) did not practice.
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.
