“Every game is a learning experience. We had some injuries, but I thought we started off the game pretty well, but it kind of wore down and some of our mistakes got exposed. We didn’t play well enough and didn’t execute at a high enough level. Defensively we have to execute better, and figure out what’s not going well and work on that. We had some stuff where we weren’t in position to make plays and didn’t do our jobs.”
Everyone has been wondering what has gone wrong with the Giants’ defensive unit this season, and the above was Logan Ryan’s explanation of what happened in Dallas, at least, when he joined Moose & Maggie for his bi-weekly appearance on the WFAN Giants Report.
As for the season in its entirety, well, Ryan noted that the 2020 Giants also struggled, but execution is the name of the game across the board.
“I just think it’s a combo of a little of everything, but it comes down to execution, and 11 has to be working as one,” he said. “We’re trying to get everyone gelling. We played better in New Orleans, but I don’t think we executed well enough in a hostile environment to beat Dallas. We have to execute better and put guys in better positions to do their jobs better. We’re not making excuses or running from that.”
Tackling isn’t as big of an issue as it seems, Ryan says – “it could be better, but there will always be missed tackles and dynamic players,” he said – but it has to be “a collective effort.”
“The swarm will make up for it,” Ryan said. “I mean, (Kadarius Toney) probably made more Cowboys miss alone than they did to us, but things happen. You have to get guys to the ground and it’s a collective effort.”
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That collective is without stud middle linebacker Blake Martinez, out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the loss to Atlanta, but it’s also unfair to pin any linebacker deficiencies squarely on Tae Crowder, the new middle linebacker.
“Tae stepped in for Blake and had the best game of his career, and we won in New Orleans,” Ryan reminded. “Hats off to Dallas, we didn’t play lights out. Tae is doing a great job of what’s asked of him; I don’t think you can expect him to be Blake Martinez because no one is, but it has to get done a different way.”
The same goes for criticism about highly-paid corner Adoree Jackson possibly being too passive and leaving receivers too big of a cushion.
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“One thing about cornerbacks: you have to be a different breed,” Ryan said. “Like a pitcher, they’re out on an island, and if they get beat on one play, everyone roasts them. He gets paid a lot of money and has earned a lot of respect in this league, and when the result isn’t good, that’s what you get. But you have to let them play how they play, because for him, that’s generated a lot more successes than failures over his career.”
To be fair to all, it wasn’t until Week 6 last year that the Giants won their first game, so even if they lose this Sunday, they’re at worst in the same spot as 2020 – and that goes for their togetherness, too.
“We’re together, and we had a rough start to last season and came together then too,” Ryan said. “They did a good job putting good character in that locker room, so that’s not something that needs to be questioned.
Questioning scheme or tackling, I can see that, but everyone here is on the same page and wants a better outcome, and it starts with making the process better.”
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