Tag: Deonte Banks

Deonte Banks thinks he could have made Jalen Hurts tackle but decided, ‘Nah’

New York Giants CB Deonte Banks says he could have made a tackle on Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts but decided, “Nah.”

There was a lot to unpack after the New York Giants were humiliated by Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon but one instance stood out because of the uncharacteristic nature of it.

It was the lack of effort and hustle on the part of cornerback Deonte Banks as he pursued a scrambling Jalen Hurts on the first play of the fourth quarter.

From Dan Duggan of The Athletic:

A lack of effort can never be excused. Especially not from second-year cornerback Deonte Banks, who already was called out by defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson for not hustling after giving up a 55-yard touchdown catch to Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb in Week 4.

Yet, there was Banks, jogging as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambled 16 yards for a first down on third-and-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter. This wasn’t the type of loafing that is only revealed after watching film. It was obvious immediately, as evidenced by Henderson’s outburst on the sideline in real time.

The Eagles were ahead, 21-3, at the time of the run. They would take a 28-3 lead at the end of that drive on a “brotherly shove” that sent Hurts into the end zone.

In reviewing the tape, I gave Banks the benefit of the doubt. Hurts was teetering along the sideline and a hit could have landed him a personal foul penalty. But after hearing his reaction to why acted the way he did, I’ve changed my thinking.

“I think I could have made it, but sometimes when you’re in that moment, you just think like, ‘Nah.’ But I think I could’ve made a tackle,” Banks said, per Duggan.

What? This is the NFL. There is no half-speed.

Banks, the Giants’ first-round pick in 2023, appears to have made a business decision. In a business where winning is the goal, it was a bad one.

Henderson did attempt to address the issue with Banks along the sideline, but the tape shows Banks blowing him off.

After the game, head coach Brian Daboll danced around the issue but as of Monday, he had not assessed it with Banks.

“I kind of saw Jalen (Hurts) scramble. Then I saw Jerome (Henderson) right away on the sideline, and I know they talked about it in between series. So, it’s something that yesterday I said had been addressed. We’ll address that privately and get that better,” he said.

Asked if the lack of effort was acceptable, Daboll said it was not.

“Obviously we want maximum effort on every play. So, again, we’ve addressed that. We’ll continue to address it, and we’ll make sure it’s better,” he said.

What form that discipline will take is still to be determined.

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Giants’ Deonte Banks owns lack of effort: ‘Let emotions get best of me’

New York Giants CB Deonte Banks once again owned his lack of effort, claiming emotions got the best of him against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Facing a third-and-7 early in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts shook New York Giants linebacker Matthew Adams and took off down the field.

As he reached the first-down marker, he casually cruised by Giants cornerback Deonte Banks, who could have made a play on Hurts. Or the ball.

Instead, Banks did neither.

On the sideline, defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson erupted. Before the play was even whistled dead, he was screaming at Banks.

It’s not the first time that situation has played itself out this season. In Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys, Banks had another no-effort moment that drew the public ire of Henderson.

Banks took ownership of his lacking effort against the Cowboys and did the same following Sunday’s 28-3 loss, but it came with a little something extra this time.

“I really just thought he was gonna slide or whatever, but it was a bad play by me, bad effort play by me. I think I could have made it,” Banks said, via the New York Daily News. “I play this game because I love this (expletive). Sometimes you get frustrated out there when (expletive) not going your way. That’s me just letting the emotions get the best of me.”

That was just one play for Banks, however. There were at least two others on the same drive where he showed a complete lack of effort.

Asked about Banks after the game, head coach Brian Daboll deflected.

“We’ll take a look at all that stuff and whatever we need to address, we’ll address. But, the guys are putting effort into it each and every week. We’re just, unfortunately, not getting the results and it’s a results business,” he told reporters.

“I’m not going to get into the sideline or coaching part of it. But, none of it was good enough today. I’ll leave it at that.”

Banks was one of two players (Tyler Nubin) who took 100 percent of the defensive snaps, although it could easily be argued that he didn’t play 100 percent of the actual game.

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Giants-Eagles Week 7: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

The New York Giants lost their Week 7 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Here are the snap counts on offense, defense and special teams.

The New York Giants suffered their latest humiliation on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium as Saquon Barkley carved them to shreds in his return, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 28-3 victory.

The game wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

With co-owner John Mara and general manager Joe Schoen watching on, Barkley turned their nightmares into reality, out-gaining the Giants himself (187-119).

The game was so out of hand that head coach Brian Daboll waived the white flag early in the fourth quarter and all but forfeited, pulling most of his starters and sending in the reserves.

Things get no easier for the Giants in Week 8 as they go on the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

Here are the snap counts that contributed to the Giants’ Week 7 loss.

Offensive snaps: 58
Defensive snaps: 66
Special teams snaps: 32

Ironically, one of the two defenders to take 100 percent of the snaps was cornerback Deonte Banks. That’s noteworthy because although he was on the field for all 66 snaps, he didn’t actually play all 66 snaps.

Returning from a concussion, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers took a 93 percent snap share but was largely unproductive through no fault of his own. The offense was non-functional and long-developing plays down the field were over before the receivers could even come out of their breaks.

Meanwhile, wide receiver Jalin Hyatt took just three snaps and managed to suffer an injury on one of them. It’s been that kind of year for him.

Another remarkable stat is that linebacker Matthew Adams took just a single defense snap and was credited with a missed tackle.

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Giants’ Brian Daboll mum on effort of Deonte Banks, who quit in Week 7

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll refused to address the play of CB Deonte Banks against the Eagles after he appeared to quit on plays.

The New York Giants were embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-3, at home on Sunday afternoon but what may have been the most embarrassing moment was when cornerback Deonte Banks backed off on tackling Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Hurts took off out of the pocket on the first play of the fourth quarter and zipped up the right sideline. Banks was bearing down on Hurts but appeared to intentionally whiff as Hurts went on to gain more yards before going out of bounds.

Defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson, who publicly called out Banks for a lack of hustle earlier this season, screamed at the young cornerback from the sideline.

Two other times on the same drive, Banks appeared to shy away from engaging on a play.

Head coach Brian Daboll was questioned about Banks’ effort after the game but had little to offer.

“We’ll take a look at all that stuff and whatever we need to address, we’ll address. But, the guys are putting effort into it each and every week. We’re just, unfortunately, not getting the results and it’s a results business,” he told reporters.

When it was suggested that Banks’ actions needed to be addressed at the moment on the sidelines.

“I’m not going to get into the sideline or coaching part of it. But, none of it was good enough today,” Daboll said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

Losing has begun to seep into the psyche of this team. There may be very little Daboll can do at this point to turn things around. But that won’t prevent him from trying.

“No one was happy about the result,” said Daboll. “I think we have a strong group. You need to have a strong group in this league. There’s a lot of ups and downs. Unfortunately, we’ve had more downs. But, our guys will come back. We’ll regroup and we’ll do everything we possibly can do, like we do each week, to be at our best on Monday night.”

The Giants are now 2-5 on the season. If they lose to the Steelers next Monday night in Pittsburgh and drop to 2-6, it will be the seventh time in the past eight years that they will begin the season with two or fewer wins at the halfway mark.

Having players quit in plays certainly doesn’t help — not in results or in optics. Perhaps some discipline is in order.

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Giants assistant questions Deonte Banks’ effort vs. Cowboys: ‘He failed’

New York Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson calls out a lack of effort by CB Deonte Banks in Week 4: “He failed.”

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks had a less-than-stellar performance against the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday night.

Banks surrendered three receptions on three targets for 76 yards and one touchdown — a 55-yard catch-and-run courtesy of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who put Banks’ effort to shame.

“It was a bad finish by me,” Banks told reporters on Friday. “After I saw the film, I didn’t really feel it in the game. But I could have definitely finished more. I maybe could have even tackled him. But we’re passed it now.”

The lack of hustle drew the ire of long-time assistant coach Jerome Henderson, who interviewed to become Brian Daboll’s defensive coordinator during the offseason before the hiring of Shane Bowen.

The usually subdued Henderson was so frustrated by what he saw that he got loud with Banks.

“I’ve always been coachable. He don’t really do too much yelling, but I’ve been yelled at by a coach at a young age. So, I kind of learned that as a kid,” the second-year corner said.

Henderson didn’t coddle Banks publicly, either. He wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts with reporters before the team’s final practice of Week 5.

“Didn’t like it,” Henderson said, via the New York Post. “Liked nothing about it.

“When your man catches a ball, you have to break your legs — not literally, but figuratively — to get him on the ground. I thought there was room to do more. We expect it from him and he expects it from himself, but in that moment he failed.”

Rookie safety Tyler Nubin also took a bad angle to the ball carrier and the play ended up going for 33 yards over expected, per NextGen Stats. It was seven points that shouldn’t have been on the board.

The Giants lost, 20-15.

“I expect more from myself. So, it is what it is. It’s coaching,” Banks said.

Things get no easier for Banks this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks when he’s slated to go up against the much more physical DK Metcalf. Any lack of effort will be exposed, so expect Banks to come in motivated to right his wrong.

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Giants’ Shane Bowen offers honest evaluation of Deonte Banks

New York Giants DC Shane Bowen evaluates CB Deonte Banks, who he says has faced a “murderer’s row” of wide receivers this season.

New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks, a 2023 first-round pick, is being relied upon to anchor a young secondary as the team enters a new era under coordinator Shane Bowen.

Banks has gone through a gauntlet of some of the NFL’s top receivers over the first four weeks of the season and has basically held his own.

None of the studs Banks has been charged with shadowing (Justin Jefferson, Terry McLaurin, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb) have had a 100-yard receiving day.

But they’ve come close. Banks has allowed 16 of the 26 passes targeted at him to go for completions and has permitted a league-high four touchdowns.

“I think this league is a ‘murderer’s row’ every week,” Bowen told reporters on Thursday. “Every team has got number one receivers that are good players. So, every week you’re going to find that. . . This week they got three really talented receivers.”

Bowen is referring to the Seattle Seahawks’ trio of D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba. Banks and the other Giants’ defensive backs will have their hands full with that group.

With a group like that, it’s no wonder Seattle, behind quarterback Geno Smith, is throwing the ball on 65 percent of the offensive plays.

Bowen believes that Banks is still a work in progress. Iron sharpens iron. Some of his stats have been ugly but to the naked eye, he appears to be rounding into a top NFL corner.

Of the top 25 defensive backs targeted over the first four weeks, Banks has the lowest coverage grade (47.5) per Pro Football Focus. The Giants are not concerned.

“I think he’s done a good job. He’s challenged,” said Bowen. “We’ve got to work on the finish piece. He’s been in good positions down the field for the most part. Again, those 50-50 balls, some of them are really good throws, really good catches, and other times we’ve got to do a better job finding the ball, locating it, being able to play through the hands, understanding what situation you’re in as that ball is in the air down the field.

“The low red, slant stuff, we’ve got to force the hard throw. We’ve got to eliminate those in-breakers, force the hard throw. They’re going to have their phase. They’re going to have their back shoulders. A big part of what they do this week is going to show up. But understand the leverage. Take away the easy throws. Make them throw the hard ones. The lesser of the two evils in terms of completion percentage and how those things play out.”

This week will be even more of a challenge. With slot man Dru Phillips and veteran cover corner Adoree’ Jackson still hurting, it will be on Banks to hold the fort.

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Giants vs. Seahawks: 3 causes for concern in Week 5

The New York Giants square off in a Sunday afternoon battle against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5. Here are three reasons for concern.

The New York Giants will head on the road in Week 5 for the third time in the last four games as they take on the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

The Giants are coming off a mini-bye week as they played last Thursday when they dropped their first matchup against the Dallas Cowboys this season, falling to 1-3 and 0-2 against NFC East opponents.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are on short rest after suffering their first loss of the season on Monday Night Football in blowout fashion against the Detroit Lions.

With the Giants going on the road in one of the hardest stadiums to play in, they are a near-touchdown underdogs ahead of Sunday.

With the Giants searching for their second win of the season, here are three causes for concern.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Recent history

Believe it or not, this will be the third straight year the Giants will play the Seahawks. The Giants lost each of the last two matchups by double digits.

The Seahawks intercepted Daniel Jones twice and had pressure on him all game long in last year’s matchup and the Giants were only able to put up three points in the game.

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Seahawks passing attack

The Seahawks have a couple of nice receivers, including DK Metcalf. Metcalf is one of the league’s best wideouts and has developed a great rapport with quarterback Geno Smith.

The Seahawks rank first in the NFL in passing yards per game.

Giants cornerback Deonte Banks is in the midst of a sophomore slump. Things will not get any easier on Sunday when facing off against Metcalf & Co.

Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Will Malik Nabers play?

As of Wednesday, Malik Nabers remains in concussion protocol. With the Giants’ offense running through Nabers, head coach Brian Daboll will have to figure out another way to move the ball down the field on Sunday if Nabers is unable to play.

The Giants are still holding out hope that Nabers will suit up given the extended rest following their game last Thursday night.

Even if Nabers plays, you can bet Seattle will pay extra attention to him.

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Giants vs. Cowboys: 3 causes for concern in Week 4

The New York Giants square off in a Thursday night battle against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. Here are three reasons for concern.

The New York Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 4 of the NFL season.

The Giants are fresh off their first win of the year this past Sunday in Cleveland. Meanwhile, Dallas just dropped their second game in a row, so both teams will enter Thursday’s divisional matchup with an identical 1-2 record.

Despite the game being at MetLife Stadium, the Giants have opened up as home underdogs against their rivals. This will be the first of the two matchups between the two teams this season, the second one coming on Thanksgiving Day.

The game certainly picked up a little more steam with the Giants winning on Sunday and coming in at 1-2 instead of 0-3.

With the division rivals facing off on Thursday, here are three causes for concern.

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Trevon Diggs

Trevon Diggs is a ballhawk who has a knack for forcing turnovers against the Giants. In Diggs’ last five games against the Giants, he has three interceptions and a forced fumble.

With the Giants going to Malik Nabers early and often, the Cowboys are likely going to try and get a takeaway off of Nabers. New York will have to be careful and Head Coach Brian Daboll may have to get creative in getting Nabers the ball without risking a turnover.

Daniel Jones had a good day on the stat book in Week 3 against the Browns. However, he had an interception on the team’s first offensive play of the game that was called back due to a penalty, and two other balls that easily could have been picked off — one being Nabers’ most impressive catch of the day, stealing the ball from the defender’s hands.

The Giants must protect the ball on Thursday at all costs.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Giants secondary

The Giants came into the season with a belief in Deonte Banks as a strong No. 1 cornerback after an impressive rookie season.

Banks was torched by Amari Cooper and looked lost on the field on Sunday. And the Cowboys rank first in the league in passing yards per game.

The road will not get any easier on Thursday as CeeDee Lamb will visit MetLife Stadium. Lamb plays well against the Giants and Banks will have to step up to slow him down.

Lamb has seen at least nine targets in four of his last five games against the Giants and with the Cowboys’ running game not what it used to be, he will likely see a heavy workload on Thursday.

Nic Antaya/Getty Images

Special Teams

The Giants have had issues on special teams the last few weeks. In Week 2, they lost their kicker, Graham Gano, on the first play of the game.

With Gano on IR, the Giants signed Greg Joseph to fill in. Joseph naturally continued the Giants special teams woes on Sunday by missing a kick with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, which would have made it a two-possession game.

Head coach Brian Daboll was noncommittal on Joseph being the kicker in Week 4 on Monday despite the game just a few days away.

The Giants have also had their fair share of issues at both kick returner and punt returner over the last two weeks, including a fumble on the opening kickoff this past Sunday which quickly put Big Blue behind in the game Sunday.

The Giants will need to clean up the special teams miscues going into Thursday.

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Giants’ Deonte Banks on facing Justin Jefferson: ‘This is what I was drafted for’

New York Giants CB Deonte Banks is ready to square off against Vikings WR Justin Jefferson on Sunday: “This is what I was drafted for.”

The New York Giants will host the Minnesota Vikings in their 2024 regular season opener this Sunday and that means they will have to deal with All-World wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Here’s a quick snapshot of just exactly who Jefferson is for those who may have forgotten:

Last season, in just 10 games, Jefferson had 68 receptions for 1,074 yards with five touchdowns. In the process, he became the fifth player in NFL history with 1,000-plus receiving yards in each of their first four seasons.

In addition, Jefferson needs 885 yards this season to pass Torry Holt for the most yards by a player in their first five seasons. If he gains more than 101 yards this Sunday against the Giants, he will pass the great Lance Alworth as the fastest player to 6,000 career receiving yards.

Oh, and Jefferson had 12 catches for 133 yards and a score in his last meeting with the Giants on Christmas Eve in 2022.

“You better know where he’s lined up,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said this week. “He can hurt you in all three areas of the field. Catch and run, intermediate, vertical, double moves. They’ll use him in a variety of spots.”

The Giants will counter by assigning their top man, second-year cornerback Deonte Banks, to Jefferson on Sunday.

“I love the fact it’s right into it,” Banks told the New York Post. “Just take it head on. This is what they drafted me for, this is what I came here to do. This is what I want. I wouldn’t want it (any) other way, really.

“He’s elite, so he does a lot of things real well… He’s great at contested catches. He’s great at it.”

True. This is why the Giants drafted Banks with the 24th overall pick in last year’s NFL draft. He is now the Giants’ anchor at cornerback.

They added Dru Phillips in this year’s draft, but his specialty is inside. The other barrier corner spot is still very much being contested. The Giants are still trying to figure out whether it will be Cor’Dale Flott or Nick McCloud. They re-signed veteran Adoree’ Jackson this week just in case neither steps up.

Banks is ready to take the mantle for the Giants at corner. He played fairly well as a rookie last year but admits it was more of a “warm-up” year for him.

“It was OK. It was an OK year,” he said. “But that was just a warm-up year for me. I was just getting warm into the league, just trying to find my place.”

Banks is more confident this time around. He needs to be with the army of talented receivers in this league he’ll have to face.

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Giants vs. Vikings: 3 causes for concern in Week 1

The New York Giants square off in a Sunday afternoon battle against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. Here are three reasons for concern.

The New York Giants will host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday to kick off the 2024 regular season. The Giants will hope to get off to a good start against a Vikings team that, like the Giants, have low expectations this season.

The last time these two teams met was in the Wild Card round in the playoffs two years ago where quarterback Daniel Jones had arguably the best game of his career.

The Giants will be kicking off the celebration of their 100th season and sporting their “Century Red” uniforms on Sunday — the only time they will be wearing these uniforms this season.

With both teams hoping to start off the season with a win, here are three causes for concern for the Giants.

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Overlooking their Opponent

The Giants have a history, especially in recent memory, of playing up or down to their competition. Even though the Vikings are coming in short-handed due to injury, the Giants are still currently home underdogs in this game.

After the Giants learned they would be going up against Sam Darnold in Week 1, their chances of winning the opener certainly went up in the eyes of Giants fans. However, with the Vikings having one of the league’s best receivers who can change a game by himself, the Giants cannot overlook their opponent on Sunday.

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The Vikings air attack

The Minnesota Vikings come into Week 1 looking much different than they had hoped. With rookie J.J. McCarthy out for the season, veteran Sam Darnold will be under center throwing to the best receiver he has ever played with.

Justin Jefferson is arguably the best receiver in the entire NFL. He is a problem no matter what cornerback he is going up against and Deonte Banks will certainly have his hands full in the first game of his sophomore season.

The Vikings also have Jordan Addison, who had a great rookie season eclipsing 900 yards and reeling in 10 touchdowns. With the Giants already thin at the cornerback position, even after signing Adoree’ Jackson, the Vikings receivers present a big test in Week 1.

Tim Warner/Getty Images

The Vikings run stoppers

The Vikings played against the run very well in 2023, ranking sixth in opponent yards per game and third in opponent yards per rush. The Giants are sporting a brand new offense this year and although they will likely run their offense through rookie Malik Nabers And if they cannot get the run game going, it is going to make Big Blue look very predictable.

With Devin Singletary making his Giants debut behind a heavily reworked offensive line, the tough run-stopping opponent certainly causes a concern for the Giants.

Head coach Brian Daboll will be calling plays this season on offense and better have a plan for how he plans to attack the strong Vikings’ run stoppers.

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