The lead character in the hit Apple TV show Ted Lasso — an American football coach who finds himself coaching a Premier League soccer team in England — always coined odd phrases to his players to both center and motivate them.
On Thursday, at the New York Giants’ OTA session (which was canceled due to poor air quality), defensive coordinator Wink Martindale expounded on Lasso’s wisdom when talking about the team’s top draft pick, cornerback Deonte Banks.
“I think it’s important to have a cornerback like that in anybody’s defense,” Martindale said in response to being asked his opinion of having Banks in the fold.
“He’s very instinctive. What’s Ted Lasso say? He lives life like a goldfish. He’s got a short memory when things don’t go right. He’s tough-minded, he’s physical, he can tackle and on top of that, he can run. So, we’re excited about it. He’s getting into the groove. There’re still some rookie mistakes, which you expect that, especially this early, but we’re really excited. I was obviously really excited that we got him. It was like winning a scratch-off ticket.”
A few minutes later, Martindale was asked what his expectations of Banks were for this season.
“The expectation is that he plays football,” said Martindale. “Like I said, I brought up the Ted Lasso quote, that’s the way he is. He’s a smart kid that is grounded and he doesn’t make it bigger than what it is. I’m sure that they’re going to catch an eight-yard out on him and everybody’s going to be up in arms, but that happens to every corner. We’ll be okay. I think the expectation is to go in there and play and play well.”
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