Tag: Don Martindale

Giants DC compares Derrick Henry to Jim Brown, says raise wasn’t enough

Giants defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale has seen first hand just how dominant Derrick Henry can be.

With his bruising running style and ability to take games over, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has often been compared to Hall of Famer and legendary running back, Jim Brown.

And it’s a comparison New York Giants defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale recently made when asked about Tennessee’s star back.

“I always get caught comparing people and everything else, but he is like our modern day Jim Brown, I think. He is just that much different than anybody else who is running the ball. It’s a challenge every time he touches it,” Martindale said.

Martindale also quipped that the raise the Titans gave Henry, which amounted to $2 million more in salary for him in 2022, wasn’t enough.

“There is a reason why they call Derrick Henry ‘The King.’ He’s on the Iron Throne,” Martindale said Wednesday. “They just gave him a raise to be the highest paid running back and I still don’t think they gave him enough.”

Martindale learned first hand just how great Henry can be from his days as the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator.

The King put up some big numbers on multiple occasions versus his defense, including in the 2019 Divisional Round game when Henry torched Baltimore for 195 rushing yards and a passing score.

“Thanks for reminding me,” Martindale said sarcastically when asked about Henry’s past performances against his defense.

While Martindale’s comments are certainly flattering, Henry knows things won’t be as pleasant on Sunday.

Tennessee and New York will meet at Nissan Stadium in Nashville in Week 1, with kickoff set for 3:25 p.m. CT.

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Giants’ Dexter Lawrence taking on responsibility to become a leader on defense

As a member of Clemson’s dominant 2018 defensive line, Lawrence is now becoming that same type of leader for the New York Giants.

Former Clemson defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence is entering his fourth season with the New York Giants, and with his reputation growing more toward veteran status, he is taking on more responsibility as a leader.

After playing under the same defensive coordinator for his first three seasons, Lawrence and the Giants’ defense are transitioning to Don Martindale’s scheme. Although the team is still learning, Lawrence believes his role under the new regime is more about becoming a teacher for the younger players.

“I don’t think I have a different role. It’s probably just more advanced maybe,” Lawrence said. “I’m becoming an older guy and have more responsibility to be a leader. You know, I put it on myself to help guys line up or get the strength call, the kind of things I do for myself and for everybody.

As for his play on the field, Lawrence acknowledged the importance of position flexibility after he played on the interior last season instead of his first two seasons when he played on the edge. As a defensive tackle last season, Lawrence finished with 54 total tackles and 2.5 sacks.

“I mean, everybody can do anything in this defense, which is good,” he said. “I can drop, I can rush off the edge, I can play linebacker, blitz, little things like that. We’re all learning how to manipulate the scheme.”

Although Lawrence is just now becoming one of the Giants’ defensive leaders, Clemson fans are no stranger to him leading his team to victory.

As a key member of Clemson’s 2018 National Championship defense, Lawrence finished his junior season with 44 tackles (7.5 for loss), three pass breakups and 1.5 sacks in 13 games. In his three-year career with the Tigers, he had a combined 162 tackles (20 for loss), 11 sacks, 43 quarterback pressures and five pass breakups.

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Giants DC Don Martindale talks about what he learned with Ravens in 2021 when overcoming injuries in secondary

Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale discussed what he learned in 2021 with the Ravens when overcoming injuries in the secondary

The Baltimore Ravens went through an injury-riddled season in 2021, finishing with a record of 8-9 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They got hit extremely hard with the injury bug in their secondary, with multiple star contributors missing massive amounts of time due to different kinds of ailments.

Then-Baltimore defensive coordinator Don Martindale had to find a lot of different way to adjust his scheme with so many players going in and out of the lineup due to injuries. Now the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, Martindale was asked about what he learned in 2021 by trying to overcome what seemed like finding a new cornerback every week. He smiled as he said that he learned to not go to “DoorDash” to find a backup cornerback

“Don’t go to DoorDash to find a backup corner.”

Martindale then gave a more in-depth answer, discussing the perspective that he has on the situation.

“I think that just everything’s in perspective. You have to have a flexible enough scheme that you can make some different changes. If you have a guy that hasn’t had much playing time or has been a backup or whatever, that you can make some different calls to help that player out…But I mean, football, this is a tough profession. You know, it’s just like I talk about corners all the time, offensive coordinators talk about wide receivers. Everybody is drafting wide receivers in the top part of the Draft. It’s great challenge.”

The former Baltimore defensive coordinator is known for his witty and funny answers during press conferences, and that aspect of him hasn’t changed after arriving in New York. It’s true that having to deal with the amount of injuries that the Ravens went through in 2021 is an extreme challenge, one that hopefully everyone in the organization at the time has taken valuable lessons from.

Giants sign Darrian Beavers to rookie contract

The New York Giants have signed their sixth-round pick, LB Darrian Beavers, to his rookie contract.

The New York Giants have signed sixth-round draft pick, linebacker Darrian Beavers, to a four-year deal.

Beavers, a linebacker from the College Football Playoffs Cincinnati team, signed a four-year deal worth $3.866 million including a $206,536 signing bonus.

The Giants believe that they got an absolute steal in Beavers in the sixth round. For many, Beavers was a top-10 linebacker in the draft and a top-120 prospect but the Giants were able to get him with the 186th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Beavers had a phenomenal collegiate career totaling 230 tackles (27.5 for a loss), 13.5 sacks, and three interceptions over five seasons. Most recently, in 2021, he recorded 98 tackles (11 for a loss), 4.0 sacks, and one interception while helping to lead Cincinnati to a top-10 defense in college football and to a College Football Playoff matchup with Alabama.

More than his elite college production, Beavers poises as a perfect scheme fit for the Giants. With new defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale, New York will be wanting to blitz their linebackers often and will need big strong guys to man the center of their defense. Beavers stands at 6-foot-4, 237 pounds, and is a nightmare blitzing the quarterback as can be seen from his 13.5 career sacks.

Overall, the Giants were in desperate need of some linebacker depth outside of Blake Martinez, and now with the signing of Beavers and drafting Micah McFadden, they should be able to have a nice rotation of guys at that position.

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Giants defense won’t play it safe under Don Martindale: ‘We like to attack’

Don Martindale says he’s “not built” to play it safe on defense, promising the New York Giants will bring the heat on every single play.

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The New York Giants will have a new defensive coordinator in 2022 after Patrick Graham departed for the Las Vegas Raiders and Don Martindale was brought in to replace him.

Martindale, of course, is known for being an exceptionally aggressive defensive play-caller. His defenses traditionally blitz more than any others, which is unique for today’s NFL.

During a recent sit-down interview with Bob Popa, Martindale elaborated on his defensive approach and guaranteed it will remain the same in East Rutherford.

“Everybody says right away, ‘pressure.’ But pressure can be viewed in many forms. A lot of the times that we had free runners in the past, it’s just been on four-man pass rushes. Now it’s been different guys coming,” Martindale said. “But I think that’s our trademark — we know how to attack protections and I’m looking forward to doing the same thing here.

“In today’s football, because of the rule changes and everything else, a lot of people just want to play it safe. I’m not built that way. We’re not built that way. We like to attack. . . Pressure breaks pipes on these offenses. I just don’t want to sit back and say, ‘okay, let’s see what you’ve got.’ I want them to sit back and see what we have.”

Martindale, whose defensive philosophy was shaped by the likes of Skip and Lou Holtz, Buddy Ryan, Al Davis and Ozzie Newsome, is admittedly quite fond of the Giants. He views them as a legendary franchise and wants to restore pride — particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

“It’s been a great experience with an iconic franchise. We’re so excited to be here. Looking forward to going to work,” Martindale said.

“This is a great organization with great fans and I already know it.”

Meanwhile, Martindale has already begun his deep dive into the Giants’ defensive roster and is encouraged by what he has to work with — especially safety Xavier McKinney.

“You have to see where you think your weak link is,” Martindale said. “It’s never as bad as it seems, it’s never as good as it seems. People would be surprised with what we can do with what we have already.”

And Martindale’s final message to Giants fans? Get ready for some throwback defense.

“You’re going to be excited coming to the game to watch the defense as well as the offense. It’s going to be (the) attacking-style, old-school Giants football you’ve seen in the past,” he said.

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Giants make Mike Kafka, Don Martindale and Thomas McGaughey hires official

The New York Giants officially announced the hire of three coordinators on Friday: Mike Kafka, Don Martindale and Thomas McGaughey.

Usually new head coaches in the NFL bring in the players and coaches that helped them along the way during their career.

Recently hired New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is taking a different approach. He’s adding the best candidates he can find for his coordinator roles.

This week, the Giants announced that Thomas McGaughey will be retuning as the special teams coordinator and that they’re bringing in Mike Kafka and Don “Wink” Martindale to run the offense and defense, respectively.

Daboll, oddly, has never worked with any of the three men he’s entrusting in these roles. In fact, he has hardly any relationship at all with them.

“I’ve known them, but I wouldn’t say a relationship,” Daboll said on Friday. “I’ve known them throughout the years just being in the league.”

What Daboll has done with these roles is hire the best people available. He was, however, specific in what he wanted in his top lieutenants.

“What we were looking for was intelligence, good communicators, good teachers that understood and were experts in their respective areas, and good teammates,” Daboll said.

Most Giants fans are relieved that McGaughey is returning. He has been one the top in his field the past decade and has done a fine job for Big Blue the past few seasons under both Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge.

Martindale headed one of the NFL’s top defenses in Baltimore and has a reputation for units that have success getting to the quarterback.

Kafka comes from Kansas City and along with Daboll, are expected to revitalize the Giants’ 31st-ranked offense. Kafka coached Patrick Mahomes while Daboll mentored Josh Allen, two of the very best quarterbacks in the NFL these days.

“I think everything we do on offense will be a collaboration,” he said. “I think we’ve hired good coaches, put together a good staff and now – I can’t compare either one of those quarterbacks or what they’ve done with the job that we have to do. We have a lot of work in front of us, and we look forward to building the New York Giants offense.”

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Giants to hire Don Martindale as defensive coordinator: 7 things to know

The New York Giants are expected to hire Don “Wink” Martindale, so here are seven things to know about the defensive coordinator.

The New York Giants are expected to name Don “Wink” Martindale their new defensive coordinator on new head coach Brian Daboll’s staff.

Who is Wink Martindale? Here are seven quick things to know.

Could Rob Ryan, Bryan Cox join Giants’ coaching staff?

Could Rob Ryan and Bryan Cox join Don Martindale’s defensive coaching staff with the New York Giants?

The New York Giants are moving at a rapid pace now, compiling Brian Daboll’s coaching staff one piece at a time.

Under Daboll will be coordinators Mike Kafka, Don “Wink” Martindale and Thomas McGaughey. From there, the staff will spread out like a spiderweb, including several returning assistants and several new ones.

But the Giants aren’t done just yet. There are still more assistant hires to make and with Martindale now in tow, a few names may be more interesting than others. Case in point: Rob Ryan, Bryan Cox and Drew Wilkins.

Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports that both Ryan and Cox are “expected” to join the Giants, while Wilkins is also garnering serious consideration.

Ryan, the son of Buddy Ryan and twin brother of Rex Ryan, is certainly the most interesting name of the bunch. His coaching career dates back to 1987 with his most recent role coming as inside linebackers coach of the Baltimore Ravens under the aforementioned Martindale.

Prior to his season with the Ravens, Ryan spent a year with the Washington Football Team in 2019 but has otherwise been away from the game since 2016.

In addition to Washington and Baltimore, Ryan has also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals (1994-1995), New England Patriots (2000-2003), Oakland Raiders (2004-2008), Cleveland Browns (2009-2010), Dallas Cowboys (2011-2012), New Orleans Saints (2013-2015) and Buffalo Bills (2016). In most of those roles, Ryan served as defensive coordinator.

Cox, who was a quality player before he turned to coaching, has been out of the league since 2017. He coached the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive line from 2014-2016 and spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dolphins, Browns and New York Jets prior to that.

Wilkins, meanwhile, spent the past 12 seasons with the Ravens, most recently serving as their outside linebackers coach. He was informed last week that he would not be retained in Baltimore.

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Multiple former Ravens assistant coaches could follow Don Martindale to Giants

There could be multiple former Ravens assistant coaches that could follow Giants defensive coordinator to the Big Apple

A few weeks ago, the Baltimore Ravens hired former University of Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald for the same position. The move came on the heels of Baltimore parting ways with former defensive coordinator Don Martindale in a move that surprised many.

Martindale is a very talented coach and has an incredible football mind, it wasn’t expected that he’d stay on the market long. That was indeed the case as the New York Giants hired him to be their defensive coordinator. After the news broke, it was reported that multiple former Ravens assistant coaches could follow Martindale to the Big Apple in former inside linebackers coach Rob Ryan and former outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins.

Ryan spent one year with Baltimore, working with players such as Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison to help improve their games as best as he could. Wilkins is regarded as up and coming, and spent 12 years with the Baltimore organization, including two as the outside linebackers coach. Both are considered close to Martindale, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see both follow the Ravens’ former defensive play caller to New York.

Former Ravens DC Don Martindale finds new NFL home

Former Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale has found a new NFL home

The Baltimore Ravens parted ways with former defensive coordinator Don Martindale a few weeks ago, signaling a major change within their coaching staff. They replaced him with former University of Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, a move which many are excited about.

Martindale is a very talented coordinator, and he didn’t stay on the market for long, as the New York Giants will be hiring him to be their defensive coordinator under new head coach Brian Daboll after Patrick Graham left the team for the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Martindale was let go after four years as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, having success over his tenure. However, it seems like the Ravens wanted to go in a new direction, so that led to Martindale being available for the Giants to pick up. He will take over a talented group of players in New York, and his squad will face off against Baltimore during the 2022 season.