New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s game plan is not only fluid but open to suggestions.
That’s a good thing for Big Blue’s defense, as multiple requests to ramp up the pressure from head coach Brian Daboll and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence helped the Giants preserve an upset 34-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium.
“We have to be aggressive,” Daboll said. “I told Shane to be aggressive. Don’t hold anything in your holster. Go after them.”
It worked. The Giants sacked Jalen Hurts three times and coaxed a rare interception from the Eagles’ star quarterback in the fourth quarter, well into Giants territory — Cor’Dale Flott jumping a comeback route to help ice Big Blue’s second win of the season.
“It starts with just open communication and trust with the coaches and the players,” edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux said on Monday. “I think that we have that in this building and facility. But I think that Bowen has been elevating and changing and evolving on how he calls different games and his growth, as well as our players, and understanding what works and what doesn’t work, what we like, how to do different plays or schemes that will kind of help our skill sets.”
The Giants are by no means a playoff-ready team yet, but there are strengths to play toward while changing the culture of last season’s rotten 3-14 campaign. The pass rush is one of them.
Lawrence is one of the best nose tackles in the game, and the trio of edge rushers featuring Thibodeaux, rookie phenom Abdul Carter, and Brian Burns, who ranks third in the league lead with seven sacks, is certainly one of them.
“It’s a collective. I would say there’s no individual,” Thibodeaux said. “There’s no kind of one-man show. I think Bowen does a great job of hearing out the players. I think the players do a great job of making sure they do what Bowen asked of us. So, I would say just continuing to gel together and to continue to just keep the main thing, the main thing, and go out there and execute.”
