It’s going to be a reunion of sorts for free agent inside linebacker Blake Martinez once he finally gets to East Rutherford as a member of the 2020 New York Giants defense.
Martinez, signed to a three-year, $30.75 million contract by Big Blue two weeks ago to shore up the middle of their defense, told reporters on a conference call Monday that he’s looking forward to playing under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, his old linebackers coach in Green Bay.
“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.”
Martinez will be joined on the defense by another former Packer, outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell, who the Giants are hoping will return to his double-digit sack form like Markus Golden did last season.
“I reached out to him and we were both excited we are going to be teammates again,” said Martinez. “He’s an amazing player and I think there is a lot of things that he hasn’t been able to show because of certain kind of depth chart things, certain roles he was placed into. Obviously, he had a 10-sack season two years ago. This last year he was a role player that stepped in and did a lot of great things. I think he is one of the best zone coverage linebackers in the NFL in my opinion. What he has been able to do for us and what he’s been asked to do, he’s done a phenomenal job and I know he is going to be a great asset to this team and show people a lot of great things this year.”
The Giants are betting the two Packers can forge the same positive synergy they did under Graham in Green Bay. Although he hasn’t met any of his other teammates yet, Martinez is stoked about being a part of a team on the rise.
“I think they have a group that is extremely talented smart guys, great players all across the board on offense and defense,” he said. “It’s going to be cool to grow that group together. For me, going from last year or I guess two years ago when we were 6-9-1 to all of the sudden going 13-3. Seeing the little things you had to change and adapt to and incorporate within a given week, a given offseason, within a different training camp that just allowed the defense to mesh in a certain way that allowed us to be so successful last year. I think I can incorporate those things into this defense and this team and I think it will be an awesome thing that we are going to do throughout this next season.”
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