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New York Giants rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker is out on an island right now and not the kind of island Darrelle Revis was on, either.
Baker’s island is a deserted one. He’s more like Tom Hanks in the movie “Castaway,” left for dead with no help in sight.
The Giants’ defense is devoid of leadership at the moment as their lineup is stocked with rookies and younger players and the veterans on their team are struggling themselves, so their ability to lead has been compromised.
Baker is being asked to do things that go against the grain of his talent. When the Giants traded up to select Baker with the 30th overall selection, they were getting a quality press corner who used his stickiness and cover skills to shut down receivers.
The Giants’ defensive scheme under coordinator James Bettcher has Baker playing in zones and in soft coverage models where he’s 8-to-10 yards off the line of scrimmage instead of confronting wideouts within five yards.
If they are going to get the most out of this promising youngster, they must meet him halfway and get him some help. Former Giant great and current radio analyst Carl Banks agrees.
I sincerely believe he could use a tutor that's not in the building everyday someone that's "been there done that" Spaggs brought in Sam Madison and D Grant (both students of the game and that "system") to assist young DB's .. It could be worth it if JB has a guy in his rolodex https://t.co/jVlojt7uV1
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) November 13, 2019
Baker has admitted he is having issues grasping Bettcher’s defense and it is showing in his performance. He is ranked at the very bottom of the league at his position after giving up a slew of huge plays this season.
Then, there is the surrender factor. Baker is so screwed up, he appears to give up on some plays as if he’s given up trying to figure things out, which is what Lawrence Tynes was addressing in his tweet prior to Banks’ reply.
The worst part about this is that your teammates see it which is almost worse than the coach seeing it.Guys like this get zero and I mean zero respect in a locker room. He has time to fix it but if he doesnโt his teammates will cut him first then the organization will. https://t.co/hgkv3WsGw5
— ๐๐๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฃ๐๐จ (@lt4kicks) November 13, 2019
The Giants were hoping that veteran Janoris Jenkins would assist in grooming Baker, Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine and Julian Love, but he’s been dealing with his own issues. He was rumored to be on the trading block last month, so his mind was not on developing talent here.
Will the Giants reach back and hire that “tutor” for Baker and the others that Banks suggests or just continue on to shrug their shoulders each time the defense gets torched?
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