The New York Giants have a new way of doing things this season. There is a new head coach in Joe Judge and a brand new coaching staff, sans wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, assistant defensive back coach Anthony Blevins and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.
The Giants have brought in a leadership team that includes former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator and Patrick Graham, who will be the assistant head coach and coordinator of the defense.
This is Graham’s second stint with the Giants. His first was a few years back as Ben McAdoo’s defensive line coach. He was let go after the 2018 season and headed for Green Bay to become the Packers’ linebackers coach. In 2019, Graham went to Miami to become the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator under head coach Brian Flores.
Graham was pretty much operating under the guidance of Flores, the former defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, last year and is now taking his own style to the Giants. The Yale graduate want his players to play a more heads-up brand of football.
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham on value of smarts: "You want guys who have good football awareness." He wants players who can process multiple things at the same time.
— Dan Salomone (@NYGsalomone) August 25, 2020
Pat Graham mentioned that the dolphins defense he ran last year was more of Brian Flores’ vision. So will be interesting to see how Graham’s vision differs.
— Patricia Traina (@Patricia_Traina) August 25, 2020
Graham’s defensive strategy is still not fully known. The Giants’ base defense looks to be a 3-4 alignment but in practices they have displayed multiple looks and sub packages.
One player Graham mentioned is second-year safety Julian Love, who is battling for a starting role with rookie Xavier McKinney. Love appears to be the type of player that Graham is seeking to execute his game plan and scheme.
Graham on Julian Love—"The thing about Love is he's a smart football player, he sees and dissects things on the field and uses his skill set to make it happen"
Hey, Love is a Golden Domer.
— The Giant Insider Newspaper & Podcast (@GiantInsider) August 25, 2020
Graham told reporters on Tuesday that McKinney and another rookie, Darnay Holmes, were “serious about their craft.” Those two players are going to be counted on by the Giants this season with several players (DeAndre Baker, Sam Beal) not in camp this summer.
Graham wants his defense to understand the game better, such as down and distance and be able to anticipate the offense’s movements.
Patrick Graham is explaining part his defensive philosophy. If it's third-and-7, does it matter more what he calls or is it better to know who the ball is going to? You just try to get players ready for those moments.
— Dan Salomone (@NYGsalomone) August 25, 2020
But first things first. Graham wants all of his players to be steeped in playing fundamental “NFL Football.” Until they can prove they can do that, the Giants’ defense could end up being more of the same. In the interim, he has them playing all over the place to get a better understanding.
#Giants #Graham – all the guys are competing for spots…i don't know who or how many are going to be out there….they are all learning multiple spots….the more you can do, the more you can be used out there
— GiantsWFAN (@giantswfan) August 25, 2020
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