So, was Don “Wink” Martindale happy to beat his former employer on Sunday, especially with a defensive effort that forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter, or was it just another game?
Depends on who you ask, apparently.
“Truth be told, Wink didn't really care. Wink cared about winning and Wink wanted to win this game, but it never went deeper than us, as a team and as players,” said Kayvon Thibodeaux. “So, Wink just made sure that he prepared us as much as he could and we went out there and executed.”
However…
“He was on top of the world; you’d be kidding yourself if you don't want to beat your former team in any aspect,” said safety Julian Love. “I know that he's done a great job of not putting that on us of not making this game bigger than it was, but for sure, it means a little more to him. He had an extra chip on his shoulder. He was all smiles after the game.”
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Head coach Brian Daboll said all the coordinators got game balls last week, so instead of giving another to Wink, he let the defensive coordinator break the team down after the game.
But, there’s no hiding how much it meant for some of the Giants defenders to go out there and win it for Wink in the end.
“I would say that I'm close with Wink, so yes, I want to win for win for him and succeed for this organization. This is my fourth year here, so everything is for the guy next to me because that's what it has to be,” said Love. “That's what good teams do; you play for the people next to you. I think this defense was really rallying around Wink and being resilient.”
Either way, it’s over now, and for the Giants, it’s onto the Jaguars. Daboll, when asked how it felt to be 5-1 knowing the Giants only won four games last season, simply said the plan is to “go into work tomorrow and get better.”
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Leonard Williams, who returned after a multi-week absence, said that’s exactly what Wink and the defense are going to do after an exciting finish and emotional “revenge” game for Martindale.
“The same way that we have to move on from a bad loss: we watch film, we correct mistakes, and correcting the mistakes is just a lot easier when you have the win,” Williams said. “It's always harder to correct mistakes after a loss. We just have to keep moving forward. We've done a good job of going to London, beating a good team out there. We had every excuse under the sun to say, 'oh we're tired, we were traveling,' all these other things, but this team is just staying on the mission and focusing on what's important.”
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