Tag: Carl Banks

Giants great Carl Banks listed among most underrated LBs of all-time

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero listed New York Giants great Carl Banks as one of the most underrated linebackers of all-time. And he’s right.

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NFL fans love their linebackers. From Sam Huff to Dick Butkus to Jack Lambert to Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis, linebackers have always topped the list as fan favorites.

We know who the greats were (just look at the list above to start) but there are so many others who roamed the gridiron the past century who don’t get the recognition they deserve.

So, who might be in that group of the most underrated?

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero recently provided his top five most underrated linebackers.

Not a bad list. Larry Grantham was kind of hidden playing for the New York Jets in the AFL and was a huge part of their success, including a victory in Super Bowl III. Grantham was one of just 20 players to play in all of the AFL’s 10 seasons.

James Farrior started his career with the Jets but then went on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers for over a decade. He was very reliable and productive but only was named to the Pro Bowl twice.

Otis Wilson was a key member of the 1985 Chicago Bears’ vaunted defense. He and Wilbur Marshall took a backseat to Mike Singletary but make no mistake, Wilson was a stud.

Mo Lewis played 13 seasons for the Jets and was regarded at one of the tops at his position for a good portion of that. He’s most famous for delivering the hit on Drew Bledsoe that ushered in the Tom Brady era.

That leads us to New York Giants great Carl Banks. He had the fortune/misfortune to play in the same unit as Taylor and another Hall of Famer, Harry Carson, but there were games (such as Super Bowl XXI) where he outshone both of them.

I’ve been around a lot longer than Pelissero, so my list would be a bit different but Banks would still be on it.

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Gary Myers: Giants legends Carl Banks, Tiki Barber should be in Hall of Fame

Long-time NFL journalist Gary Myers believes New York Giants greats Carl Banks and Tiki Barber should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Long-time NFL columnist and reporter, Gary Myers, is banging the drum for several former New York Giants greats to finally get their due.

Myers believes that both Carl Banks and Tiki Barber belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that Leonard Marshall deserves a spot in the Giants’ Ring of Honor.

We’ve personally been down this road with Barber but not so much with Banks. Barber was one of the best running backs of his era but he has his drawbacks. His career was basically on hold his first three seasons and then kicked into gear. He had three seasons where he amassed over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage and almost had a fourth (1,984 yards in 2002). His last three seasons were actually his best.

Barber retired after the 2006 season and that is where the rub begins. He left his career numbers on the borderline. Enough in my opinion to get him into Canton, but one more season would have put him over for sure. And that season would have been 2007 — the year the Giants won Super Bowl XLII. A Super Bowl ring would have also gone a long way with voters.

Banks also did not become a starter right away. He became a starter in Year 3 and was a formidable player once he did. The issue with Banks is he has just one All-Pro/Pro Bowl season (1987) to his credit and may not have been as good a player as the man he replaced — Brad Van Pelt, who went to five Pro Bowls playing on last place teams.

As for Marshall, we agree he belongs in the Ring of Honor. In fact, he’s on our list of the best players not to inducted in the Ring.

Here’s what I wrote on Giants Wire back in 2018:

Marshall will always be known as the guy who ended the 49ers’ “Three-Peat” when he blasted Joe Montana right out of Candlestick Park (and eventually out of San Francisco) in the 1990 NFL Championship Game. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Pro Bowler and a two-time second-team All-Pro. Marshall’s 79.5 sacks rank him third in franchise history in that stat behind Michael Strahan and Lawrence Taylor.

No question, Marshall should be in the Ring of Honor. He has also lived in the area and represented himself and the Giants in the community over the years. I expect him to be added in the next round of inductees, whenever that is.

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Carl Banks: Lawrence Taylor, not Tom Brady, the greatest of all-time

Retired New York Giants LB Carl Banks believes Lawrence Taylor is the greatest all-around player in NFL history, not Tom Brady.

Now that Tom Brady has officially retired, it’s time to place him in the pantheon of NFL greats. There is no question that he is greatest quarterback of the Super Bowl era, perhaps of all time.

But is Brady the greatest player in the century-plus-long history of the National Football League? That’s a slippery slope.

As one who has been ardently following the NFL since the Lombardi Green Bay Packers were a dynasty, I can tell you Brady stands alongside the greats of the game.

But for fans of the New York Giants, Brady’s sparkle isn’t as bright. The Giants ruined his perfect season in 2007 with a shocking Super Bowl win and then, to prove it was no fluke, did it again four years later.

As a player, Brady was spectacular, prolific and clutch but to Giant players and fans he is not the greatest player they’ve seen.

That distinction belongs to Lawrence Taylor. After 40 years, I have yet to see anyone make the same impact on the game. Taylor’s former teammate Carl Banks, a fellow linebacker with the Giants during their 1980s championship runs, agrees.

One can make the case that Brady played so long in the league and had so much success because he didn’t have to face the likes of Taylor. The last decade has been dedicated to protecting quarterbacks. Back in Taylor’s day, there were few protections and very opaque rules when it came to hitting the passer.

Everything went. Ask Joe Theismann, Ron Jaworski, Neil Lomax, Jim Everett, Troy Aikman and others who took vicious hits from Taylor. Even Joe Montana crumbled under the the Giants’ rush (as did Brady in two Super Bowls against a more modernized pass rush).

So, let’s put things in perspective and not let the narrative get away from us on this. LT remains the greatest all-around player in league history.

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NY Giants legend Carl Banks compares the Kyrie Irving and Aaron Rodgers situations

Two-time Super Bowl champion Carl Banks sounds off on Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving has been granted his request to play again, but he’s only limited to play in road games once he clears health and safety protocol. As his team holds it down for him in his absence, questions on if his position on getting vaccinated to be eligible to play in all games has come about. In an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports, New York Giants legend Carl Banks compared the situation to Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.

“I think for both of those players, the opinions of the fans are in a large part based on the drama that comes with those players,” said Banks. “Kyrie Irving is a different guy. He operates to a different melody sometimes. His position is HIS position. The team’s position which I have no issue with either; when the owners say are you all in or all out… and we’re not going to split the difference here because he’s looking at this as a team sport. Aaron Rodgers situation?… He got up and basically lied about his vaccination status by semantics and there’s always something with him.

Both guys are incredibly talented; I don’t know if Kyrie (Irving) plays the victim card like, Woe is me; I know we’ve seen this a little bit with Aaron where Aaron gets upset when people criticize him. I think with Kyrie he doesn’t overtly show that he’s affected by criticism because he has the courage of his convictions. I think in Aaron Rodgers’ case he needs it to keep the chip on his shoulder, but he’s incredibly talented. But you know, their criticisms are based on the drama that surrounds them and a lot of it they create; some unintentionally and some intentionally.”

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Giants great Carl Banks shreds team’s tackling, run defense

Giants great Carl Banks didn’t mince words when talking about the team’s tackling and run defense.

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The New York Giants’ defense has struggled so far in 2021, with the unit ranking in the bottom five of the NFL in total yards and rushing yards allowed — but there’s more to the unit’s struggles than that.

The Giants have also had issues in the pass-rush with just eight sacks, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL, and the tackling has been terrible, to put it nicely.

But Giants great Carl Banks isn’t putting it nicely. As is the case with all Giants fans, he’s fed up with what he has watched on the field this season.

“It’s bad. You can’t be this bad of a tackling team. Not with the players you have,” Banks said on his podcast. “This is awful. You can’t sit there and say: ‘Well, the backs that we’re facing have all been great.’ No, they’ve been great against you.”

Banks is also frustrated with the fact that players are not trying to make an impact when they go unblocked on some plays, which makes things much easier for opposing offenses.

“If I’m not blocked on the backside, I’m sprinting down the line of scrimmage to knock the (expletive) out of somebody,” Banks explained. “The running back doesn’t see you. You haven’t been accounted for. And it’s like they sprint down there just to kinda put two-hand touch on them.

“But if you’re running down the line of scrimmage and you’re not in full sprint to hit that running back, you’re not helping your defense. Then when you sprint down there and you don’t lay that guy out, you don’t get a good shot on him, you’re not helping your defense.”

Banks named Oshane Ximines, Azeez Ojulari and Lorenzo Carter specifically, while also giving them some advice.

“That’s my message to Ojulari, Carter and Ximines: Be that other guy when they aren’t counting on you to be that other guy,” Banks said. “Because once they have to account for you, then you just made two or three other guys better.”

The two-time Super Bowl champ had one final, blunt message for the Giants:

“Get off your ass and let’s go. There’s too many games left for you guys to be this (expletive) bad.”

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Giants, Jason Garrett determined to grind things out with Saquon Barkley

New York Giants OC Jason Garrett is content with Saquon Barkley’s 3.4 yards per carry average because he’s eating up “dirty yards.”

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New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who is averaging a career-low 3.4 yards per carry this season, came under fire this week by team legend Carl Banks.

While appearing on WFAN, Banks said the Giants “need to have a blunt conversation” with Barkley about his dancing at the line of scrimmage. Banks added that Barkley needs to abandon all the East-West running and focus on going more North-South.

“Carl Banks is well-respected, and I appreciate everything he did for the organization,” Barkley told reporters on Thursday. “As a fan of football, when someone like that speaks or says something, you definitely take that into account. But at the end of the day, like I said, (I’ve) just got to keep focusing on myself, keep focusing on this team and keep coming in every single day and working to get better.”

Although Barkley gave a nod to Banks, it doesn’t sound like he or the coaches intend to change anything.

“I had a conversation with my running backs coach (Burton Burns), and he said that I’ve been doing a really good job of sticking and taking what the defense is giving me, taking the dirty runs,” Barkley added.

Barkley’s 3.4 yards per carry is right in Jason Garrett’s wheelhouse. He’s determined to gain 10 yards every three plays, extending drives and grinding things out despite the elimination of explosive plays.

“We talk a lot about dirty runs, four and five-yard runs that nobody talks about, but they’ll put you in a manageable second-down and third-down situation. It’s important for us to be able to do that,” Garrett said. “He did that in the game the other day — there were a lot of three, four, five, six, seven-yard runs that nobody talks about that were positive runs.”

While the Giants and Garrett focus heavily on those three- and four-yard runs, they insist they don’t want to eliminate Barkley’s big-play potential.

“I think the biggest thing with Saqoun, is you don’t want to take the Saqoun out of Saquon,” Garrett added. “Absolutely we want to be physical, we want to be downhill, he’s a part of that, but at the same time you don’t want to take Saquon out of Saquon.”

This is just another exposed flaw in Garrett’s offensive system. Not only is it archaic and outdated, it puts an already suspect offensive line at risk with a running back dancing around behind them. Barkley is a big-play threat but he needs to reach the second level faster in order to start breaking some off.

Dirty runs of five yards are fine, but averaging 3.4 yards per carry in today’s NFL while serving as the focal point of a struggling offense is not.

Blake Martinez embraces Giants history, wants to be next Carl Banks

Blake Martinez has expressed a healthy respect for New York Giants history and legends like Carl Banks.

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In Monday night’s season opener for the New York Giants, there was certainly plenty left to be desired. There was also plenty to feel good about following the 26-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For instance, veteran linebacker Blake Martinez made an impressive debut with the team.

Martinez, of course, inked a three-year deal with the Giants in the offseason to come over from the Green Bay Packers. Considering the tackle total for Martinez over the last three years, some might argue that the Giants got a bargain when they got agreed to a deal worth roughly $10M annually.

After his impressive debut on Monday night, Martinez interacted with a Giants great via twitter.

Carl Banks is a member of the Giants’ Ring of Honor and won two Super Bowls with the Giants during his playing career. Now, Banks can be heard on the radio broadcasts of Giants games.

Martinez’s aspirations of trying to be as good as Banks aside, the beginning to his Giants career is off to an impressive start.

The Giants knew they were not only getting a good player when they agreed to the deal with Martinez, but a great person as well. Last year, Martinez represented the Packers as Green Bay’s candidate for Walter Payton Man of the Year, an extremely prestigious award.

A tackling-machine linebacker like Martinez is something the Giants have been lacking for years. If this is a sign of things to come for Martinez’s time with Big Blue, Giants fans should be very excited for their new captain.

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8 best Giants not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The New York Giants have many players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but here’s a look at the best eight who do not reside in Canton.

The New York Giants have scores of players who have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio but there are others that fans soul love to see bestowed with the honor.

Here are eight players who are either eligible or past their eligibility that I feel should have (and still may) been considered for the Hall.

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Greg Larson, center (1961-73)

Larson played 13 seasons for the Giants with his career beginning in the final years of the Giants’ golden era of the 1950s and 60s. He would play in 179 games as a Giant and was a mainstay at center from 1963 until his retirement in 1973, missing just three games over that period.

Larson was widely unsung due to the Giants’ nosedive as a franchise under Allie Sherman in the 1960s, but he did manage to make the Pro Bowl in 1968.

I’m not quite sure if he is Hall of Fame-worthy, but I’m sure he’s as good, if not better, than some of the centers who have been enshrined in Canton.

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Former New York Giant Carl Banks defends Deandre Baker after rocky NFL start

Former New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks said former Georgia football corner Deandre Baker is capable after mediocre rookie year.

Former New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks, now a Giants radio commentator and analyst, defended former Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker recently.

Banks said on Twitter that the Giants 2019 first-round pick is capable, but he has to show willingness to learn coming off a rough rookie year.

The former Georgia corner was a dominant defensive presence for the Bulldogs in his time in Athens. In 2018 at Georgia, Baker was a All-American and Jim Thorpe Award winner. (given to the country’s top defensive back)

Baker’s performance at UGA hasn’t exactly translated to the NFL yet. In his first year, Baker had seven touchdowns scored against him where he was the closest defender on the field. A big contrast to his four years at Georgia where he only allowed one touchdown. However, after a rocky start to his rookie season, Baker picked it up and began playing like we knew he could.

Via the New York Post:

“To whom much is given much is expected,” Banks said. “If he wasn’t held accountable and he didn’t have a structure by which he should have been held accountable from play to play, series to series, then you can expect that.’’

With the Giants hire of new head coach Joe Judge from the Patriots, Baker should have plenty of opportunities to improve and prove himself as a first-round pick moving forward.

 

Carl Banks would be on board with Giants drafting Isaiah Simmons

Carl Banks would fully support the New York Giants if they opted to draft Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons.

The last time the New York Giants took a linebacker with a top 5 pick, Ronald Reagan was campaigning to be re-elected. That was in 1984 when they took Michigan State’s Carl Banks with the third overall selection in the NFL Draft.

Back then, the draft was nothing like it would come to be. It was held in a ballroom at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City with little pomp and circumstance and was televised on a fledgling cable network called ESPN that most of America did not subscribe to at the time.

Since then, the Giants have largely ignored the position in the high rounds of the draft, opting to pick up veteran linebackers in free agency and through trades.

This year, they could break that trend with the fourth overall selection should they decide to put their chips on Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons.

Banks, who is currently serves as a radio analyst for team, would enjoy breaking down Simmons’ game every week.

“If they pick an offensive lineman, I will completely understand the logic, and be all for the move,” Banks told The Post’s Steve Serby. “Selfishly, if they take Simmons, I would be excited that they have such a skill set on the roster.”

Simmons has been a lightning rod of sorts this offseason after bolstering his brand with solid performances in the college football playoffs followed by a jaw-dropping performance at the NFL Combine.

Many scouts are ambivalent about how his game will equate to the NFL. At Clemson, Simmons played linebacker but also was used in the secondary. Some believe his talent will shine through no matter where he lines ups. Others are not so sure.

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