The Giants just saw what a dynamic rookie defender can do to wreck a game when they were introduced last week to Aidan Hutchinson of the Lions.
On Thursday, the Giants will be reminded of what a dominant defender can do to destroy an offensive game plan when they try to deal with the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a contender for Defensive Player of the Year this season.
The Giants are waiting for Kayvon Thibodeaux to join in the mayhem. He is in the second half of a solid rookie season, a starter at outside linebacker for a defense that has, for the most part, kept the team in games and, at times, carried the load for a sluggish offense. Thibodeaux has earned praise from teammates and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale for his commitment, maturity, work ethic and selfless play on the field. Put it all together and it bodes well for his future.
What is missing is the “wow’’ factor that comes from game-breaking plays, hits that create turnovers, shifts in momentum and exclamation points on a résumé. Though he has made two splash plays late in the fourth quarter to help the Giants secure victories — deflecting an Aaron Rodgers pass in London and storming in on Lamar Jackson for his first (and only) sack to subdue the Ravens — Thibodeaux has one sack, zero tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery overall in eight games.
Drafted three spots ahead of Thibodeaux, Hutchinson has 5.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits in 10 games. Travon Walker, taken No. 1 overall by the Jaguars, has 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits in 10 games.
Though the Lions’ defense has struggled, Aidan Hutchinson has put up impressive stats and proved to be a disruptive force.Robert SaboPro Football Focus has Thibodeaux graded as the No. 61 edge rusher in the league. Hutchinson is No. 41, and Walker is No. 72.
Hutchinson has been the best of the bunch. The athletic ability and awareness he put on display as he dropped into coverage on Sunday and baited Daniel Jones into his first interception in 153 pass attempts (and then returning the turnover 20 yards to set up a Lions touchdown) was special.
“That was a zone pressure there, and it’s one of those where you’re trying to hit the interior of the offensive line a little bit and if you change up then you’re always assuming Hutch is going to come more than he’s not,’’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “So, it was a shot to go up the middle and then get him out there, which he just becomes that kind of fly and hook player. … You don’t always think about if he’s going to get a pick, but you want him in the right window. He’s exactly where he needed to be, and the quarterback kind of thought he could get it over him, and that’s a heck of a play by him.’’
A Giants rookie struggling to accumulate sacks is nothing new. Michael Strahan had one sack in 1993. The same for Osi Umenyiora in 2003 and Justin Tuck in 2005. The difference from those other Giants who emerged as top-notch pass rushers (and, in Strahan’s case, a Hall of Famer) is Thibodeaux was a high-first-round pick. An immediate impact was anticipated. Not so for Strahan (a second-round pick) or Umenyiora (second round) or Tuck (third round).
It is not as if Thibodeaux doesn’t contribute. He does his best to set the edge against the run (though he remains a work in progress as a run defender). Martindale said Thibodeaux is “doing the selfless work’’ that opens up opportunities for other players.
Though Kayvon Thibodeaux has only one sack this season, Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale credits the rookie for opening up space for teammates.AP“You have a guy running free to the quarterback, playing a single high safety,’’ Martindale said. “Well, [Thibodeaux] has to do the right pattern to get that guy free, and that’s what pleases me about the guy himself. I know everybody wants to say, ‘Sacks, sacks, sacks’ to him after games whenever you do the media with him, but if there’s 1,000 plays run and we’re happy with him in 950 of them, it’s better than the guy that has 12 sacks, plays 600 plays and can’t play the run, can’t do this, can’t do that. I just think the kid is playing great. It’s just like takeaways or anything else, the sacks will come.’’
There is no doubt Thibodeaux has the first step and elusiveness to make him a successful pass rusher, but thus far his moves have not translated successfully at the NFL level. Too often, he is swallowed up by a bigger offensive tackle and fails to push into the pocket. It has not helped that there is little in the way of pressure being applied from the Giants’ other edge. Azeez Ojulari has played in just two games this season because of hamstring and calf issues, limiting him to one sack after he led the team with eight as a rookie in 2021. Oshane Ximines has two sacks in eight games (and has a higher PFF grade than Thibodeaux does).
The push on defense has come from interior defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence (five sacks) and Leonard Williams (1.5 sacks). The edge players have barely been in attendance at the party.
“It’s a young room,” Williams said. “There’s been a lot of injuries going on in that room as well. We haven’t had [Azeez] for the majority of the year.
“I know how it was being a young player, sometimes it takes awhile to adapt and adjust to new NFL speed and schemes and all types of stuff like that. We’re still confident in those guys and confident that they’re going to come along. For the most part, I feel like we’ve been doing a good enough job with them.’’
After being named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, Micah Parsons has 10 sacks through 10 games this season.APWith all the injuries in the defensive backfield, applying increased pressure up front is going to be even more imperative for the Giants to deal with what comes next. The duel with the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in Arlington, Texas, is the first of four consecutive NFC East games. If they hope to get past that, they will need a plan for Parsons, who is third in the NFL with 10 sacks. As a rookie last season, Parsons, the 12th overall pick in the 2021 draft, had 13 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and 30 quarterback hits. Thibodeaux will not come close to approaching that production in his rookie year.
“I can’t say nothing but positives about how he’s playing,’’ Martindale said of Thibodeaux. “How he’s chasing after the football like a veteran, studying like a veteran, leading like a veteran. So I’m really glad he’s a Giant.’’
And while the rest of the organization has little reason to be disappointed with Thibodeaux, they cannot be overwhelmed with what he has done, either. He has seven games to turn his rookie season into something special.
Happy holiday
Thursday will mark the 16th time the Giants have played on Thanksgiving. All 16 games have been played on the road. They are 7-5-3 on the holiday — their most recent victory came back in 1982, when they beat the Lions, 13-7, inside the Silverdome in Detroit. That game is best remembered for Lawrence Taylor’s 97-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The last time the Giants played on Thanksgiving was in 2017, when they lost in Washington, 20-10. In 2009, they were part of the NFL’s first primetime Thanksgiving game, losing in Denver, 26-6, with two field goals by Lawrence Tynes the extent of the Giants’ scoring that night.
Lawrence Taylor was still leading the defense the last time the Giants won on Thanksgiving Day.Getty ImagesThe only previous game the Giants played on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys was in 1992, when they were thrashed in Dallas, 30-3.
The most frequent opponent for the Giants on Thanksgiving? Why, the Brooklyn Dodgers, of course, having played in that borough six times on Turkey Day. The next most frequent? The Staten Island Stapletons, who tussled with the Giants four times.
Asked and answered
Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:
Everyone loves to kick back on the couch and flip on the “Thursday Night Football” game. What do the players think about taking the field four days after finishing off a game the previous Sunday?
They hate it. If it were up to NFL players, there would be no games on Thursday nights. Their bodies take so much punishment, and they are conditioned to need all seven days to heal from the various aches and pains that result from every game day. Any player who experiences a slight tweak or strain is hard-pressed to recover and make it back four days later. There is no time to get on the field for a real practice — and players are too beat up to don full pads — so practices are limited to walk-throughs and meetings leading up to a Thursday night game. Coaches get little or no sleep, having to complete a game plan for the next game immediately after putting the previous game to bed. And for the team traveling to play, Thursday night is especially onerous in having to pack up and leave home on Wednesday. The TV ratings are important and the games sometimes are sensational, but the strain it puts on the bodies of the players make these Thursday night affairs a real challenge.
What is the deal with Jamie Gillan? He does not seem to be getting the job done as the punter.
Giants punter Jamie Gillian has been an entertaining presence, but not always an accurate one.APCorrect. Gillan is a charismatic guy with long hair, a delightful accent and a cool nickname — “the Scottish Hammer.” We are also seeing why the Browns decided not to bring him back after three seasons in Cleveland. Gillian can certainly hammer the ball with his powerful left leg, but he needs work on his touch and placement. He is like a power hitter who cannot spray singles around the field. He is inconsistent dropping the ball inside the 20-yard line, and on Sunday, he hit a poor punt that floated only 25 yards to give the Lions good field position.
Coach Brian Daboll almost never goes public with criticism of his players, but he did say, “Jamie’s had a couple that I know he’d like to have back, but he’s working at it. We just need to do a little bit better in that area.” Gillan, only 25, signed a one-year contract with the Giants, but he’ll need to show more consistency down the stretch if he hopes to return in 2023.
