The Giants will be tasked with stopping Geno Smith and the Seahawks on Monday night in a game that already feels like a must win, and Keith says it’s time for some leaders to step on the defensive side.
“Who is the alpha? Who is the leader? Who is the guy on the Giants defense?” Keith said. “They named 10 captains this year. Out of those 10 captains, I think there are some pretenders, and one guy who isn’t pretending, who is who he is: Dexter Lawrence. He’s the guy, but there’s only so much he can do.
“Xavier McKinney had a post where people were sleeping on him or something like that…but Xavier McKinney is suspect. Tackling, picking the ball off, and just leading by example as well. He is a captain. He was a top draft pick…he wasn’t being much of a leader in the bye week last year with the ATV accident.
“Let your pads do the talking. Let your play do the talking.”
The Giants allowed 40 points to the Cowboys in Week 1, and 30 to the 49ers last week. Their lone win came in a dramatic 31-28 victory thanks to a record comeback in the second half, but the team had dug itself a 20-0 halftime hole. Keith wants to see more from the Big Blue defense, and for a leader to emerge and motivate the unit to fix all the missed tackles that were on display against San Francisco.
“They need someone to step up, get mad, and make a play,” Keith said. “The other captains on defense are Bobby Okereke, his first year with the team, I think he’s come up missing a bunch too, and all we heard about him was that he was a tackling machine and would change their defense. Waiting to see it.”