During an incredibly transparent press conference on Tuesday, New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale discussed a wide array of topics. Among them was the inside linebacker battle, who is leading the charge at cornerback and second-year linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Martindale’s seemingly casual comments about Thibodeaux raised an eyebrow.
“I expect him to be at the top of everything,” Martindale said. “I’ve talked to him about his practice. I think that he heard me clearly. I talked to him in front of the entire defense. So, Kayvon is going to be fine,
“I do a ‘keep it real’ with everybody on where they’re at and why they’re there, because the last thing I want as a coach is for a player to drive in this parking lot and not know where they stand, especially this time of year. Because I think that we build our relationships, we build our foundation on trust and honesty. I tell them what I think and where they stand, and where the competition is, where the line is. I talk about all that.”
Was Martindale implying that Thibodeaux hadn’t been practicing up to the standard that’s been set for him? That’s certainly how some interpreted those comments.
Whether it was a “get it together” moment or just an attempt at motivation in front of the team, the message was received loud and clear. And Thibodeaux took absolutely no offense to it whatsoever.
“I mean, it wasn’t anything negative,” Thibodeaux told reporters on Wednesday. “It wasn’t necessarily in a sense like ‘oh’ but I mean it’s understanding that people; for a coach talking to for example, a great player and a coach talking to a player that he sees potential in, it’s going to be different. So, him wanting to let me know that he feels I can be a Pro Bowler this year, he feels I can kind of take the league by storm, and me knowing that him saying it, really doesn’t mean much, right? It’s about what I go do every day, and that’s kind of the conversation that we had, that I am the only one who can get me to the places that I want to be.
“He’s just preaching to the choir. I am a guy who kind of preaches that stuff to myself, and I am a guy who tries to lead in that standpoint. So, yeah, we are talking the same language as always and just continuing to get better. I think that’s the point of camp. It’s easy when you get to practice 15, 16, 17, it starts to get complacent, it gets repetitive. Just continuing to stay fresh, continuing all that grind.”
After Martindale spoke to Thibodeaux in front of the team, the second-year edge rusher responded with two strong joint practices against the Detroit Lions where he forced a couple of fumbles and recovered one. His response brought a smile to Wink’s face.
Although it was Thibodeaux who got singled out at that moment, other players also responded to it, including veteran defensive lineman Leonard Williams.
“As a player, I have never wanted a coach to be a yes man. That’s the coach’s job is to push us and get the best potential out of us as they can,” Williams said. “Sometimes it takes that little extra push and fire under us to get us going and honestly, going on nine years of playing, I have never had a coach keep it real like that before and I think the guys respect it, honestly. Sometimes in camp guys are trying to make the team and stuff like that and they don’t really know how the coaches see them or where they fit on the roster and stuff like that. In those keep it real meetings, he goes down every single player. It’s not just Kayvon, or not just me, or not just anybody. He addresses every single individual and lets you know exactly how he feels, and I think the guys respect it.”
Martindale’s brutally honest approach eliminates any uncertainty. Every single player knows where they stand, what’s expected of them, in what areas they’re strong, and in what areas they need to improve.
“I am going into year nine and that’s the first time that I have seen that,” Williams added. “It eliminates a lot of wondering, a lot of chattering, meaning sometimes guys will go into the locker room and be like, ‘I don’t know how coach feels about me’ or ‘I don’t know how this guy sees me here’ or stuff like that. He does these pretty often and he does them throughout the season, he does them anytime it’s necessary. I think it’s valuable for the defense and valuable for the team.”
For those on the outside of the building who saw this moment as a potential negative, they were wrong. It had the exact opposite impact on the defense and that’s precisely what Martindale was going for.
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