In his first season with the Giants, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is making it very clear how he feels with his defense’s recent performance after he aired out his grievances to the media on Thursday for his team’s lack of hustle on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Wilson slammed his players and called them “traitors” for not racing towards the ball in a 34-27 loss that wasn’t close until New York’s comeback attempt in the fourth quarter thanks to the insertion of J.J. McCarthy.
“I wasn't happy with our effort running to the ball,” Wilson said. “We put some stuff on tape that was not characteristic of a New York Giant defense, and it's unacceptable, and it will be changed.”
When asked how he deals with something like that, Wilson said it must be confronted; not just within the defensive meetings, but in front of the entire team.
In fact, he believes things have been straightened out and the product on the field will look a lot different next time around when the Giants take on the Houston Texans this Sunday.
“When you're in the meeting room, you show those plays,” Wilson said. “I look at guys that don't run to the ball, and I call them traitors because they're traitors to the defense. At the end of the day, when you have a traitor to the defense, you either have to make adjustments to get them off the field, you have to get somebody else on the field, or they have to correct their behaviors.
“Last week was one of those things where we did not on every play run to the ball, and it was unacceptable. The guys know it, and this week when you see them out there, they will be flying around 100 miles per hour with their hair on fire.”
The lack of effort was the final straw for Wilson whose defense hasn’t been good this season. Over the last three games, New York has allowed 24 points, 27 points and 34 points. In a Week 2 loss against the Los Angeles Rams, the Giants allowed 28 points.
Now they’ll face off against a Texans squad that has scored 26 or more points in their last three games and has put up 30 or more points three times with quarterback C.J. Stroud leading the way.
If New York isn’t careful, Sunday's game can turn into a track meet.
“I think they're doing a good job of getting the ball out of his hands,” Wilson said in regards to Stroud. “When you look at Stroud, he's very decisive right now on where he's going. He's reading the defense way better than he has in the past.
“I have a track record of going against him. Right now, he knows where he's going. He's playing with confidence… He's putting them in spots for them to pierce and get up the field. They're moving the ball at a high clip right now.”
Wilson spent the previous two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans who are in the AFC South with the Texans and saw them twice a year. Hopefully he can lean on that experience to give the Giants a leg up.
However, what will make things slightly different and a little more challenging for Wilson and the defense is the return of wide receiver Tank Dell from injured reserve after more than a year on the shelf, as well as the recent addition of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. who was traded by the Arizona Cardinals and is getting more acclimated in Houston with his former college quarterback.
Both players, along with top option Nico Collins, have the ability to burn New York, who is running low on the cornerback position, on big plays which happened a few times against New Orleans.
“It's 11 on one when you play defense,” Wilson said. “It's 11 guys humming to the ball, and when you don't do that, you don't erase plays. We had a few plays that got out on us because if everybody's hunting, it's probably not a touchdown. You get them down on the ground, it's not an explosive play. You eliminate explosive plays with energy and effort. That's how you eliminate it.”
Speaking of cornerbacks, Paulson Adebo, who has been on IR since Week 1, was back at practice on Thursday after returning for the first time on Wednesday and Wilson is happy to have him back.
“I just love having the young man back out there, man,” Wilson said. “His energy, his personality, back asking questions. We'll see how all that shakes out in terms of who plays or not, but he's been a very good player in the National Football League, and if he gets his opportunity to play, we expect him to play well.”
The only cornerback without an injury designation right now is Deonte Banks as Greg Newsome III (concussion) did not practice on Thursday while Adebo (knee) was limited. After being limited on Wednesday, Colton Hood (concussion) was a full participant on Thursday. Meanwhile, safeties Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin were limited.
With so many injuries and uncertainties in the secondary for Sunday, Wilson is emphasizing a group effort to pick up the slack.
“It's a collective approach,” he said. “If you're on the field, everybody’s got to play to a certain standard. Technique and fundamentals, the way you play, how hard we play, everybody has to do that no matter who's out there. Right now, the guys we have, we believe in them. We just all need to play better. We all need to play better at the same time and not have fall-offs.”