New York Giants second-year cornerback Deonte Banks was hoping he could get his season on track after getting benched in Week 8 halfway through the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Banks came into Sunday’s game against Washington aiming to shadow the Commanders’ top wide receiver, Terry McLaurin, who he had success against in the first meeting in Week 2.
But it wasn’t Banks whose study paid off in the second meeting, it was McLaurin’s. The former Ohio State standout beat Banks twice for touchdowns.
Banks has now allowed six touchdowns in the Giants’ first nine games this season and has permitted 10 overall in his 23-game NFL career.
"I've just got to be better there."
Deonte Banks talks about the two touchdowns Terry McLaurin scored against him tonight: pic.twitter.com/jQQKqc9VwI
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) November 3, 2024
The book is now out on Banks and McLaurin shed some light on what he saw in film study this past week.
“I knew Banks likes to really slow play routes in the red zone. He likes to kind of, no pun intended, bank inside, meaning he takes inside leverage,” McLaurin said, via Sports Illustrated. “I knew he was playing a little head-up on that route and so I watched the Cleveland game when Amari Cooper kind of rocked him a little bit. That was more of a true slant and mine was kind of more of a one-step slant, but the same principles apply.”
Cooper also had two touchdowns against Banks in the Giants’ Week 3 win. McLaurin appears to have picked up on Banks’ tendencies and was ready when the time came.
“He’s not really aggressive in the red zone for whatever reason and so I knew if I came off a little urgently, he would probably try to get hands-on quickly and that could make a really bang, bang play,” McLaurin said. “So I came off really slow, I was telling Jay (Daniels), I’m going to slow play it whether it was a fade or a slam, I’m going to slow play him and just have him kind of relax on the snap. Then the suddenness of the outside stick to win inside, and like I said, he threw the ball low and away and only I had a chance to get it.”
Banks has been criticized by coaches and teammates for his lax play at times and Sunday’s performance is just another instance of the former first-round pick’s difficulties in transitioning into the NFL.
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