Giants coordinator rips poor effort of ‘traitors’

Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson was not happy with the effort some of his players showed in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.

He made that quite clear Thursday.

“We’ve got to come downhill, and we’ve got to tackle,” Wilson said. “Last week was one of our worst tackling games, for whatever reason. A few plays got out, especially in the pass game, because of missed tackles.

“And I wasn’t happy with our effort running to the ball. We put some stuff on tape that was not characteristic of a New York Giant defense. It’s unacceptable, and it will be changed.”

So how does Wilson deal with this?

“Well, you confront it,” he said. “When you’re in the meeting room, you show those plays. I look at guys that don’t run to the ball, and I call them traitors — because they’re traitors to the defense. And when you have a traitor to the defense, you either have to make adjustments to get him off the field — or they have to correct their behaviors.

“Last week, we did not on every play run to the ball, and it was unacceptable. The guys know it. This week, when you see them out there, they will be flying around 100 mph with their hair on fire.

“If your effort is bad, if you have a lack of toughness, it gets pointed out. When you have behaviors that are unacceptable, we’re not going to accept it. And if you don’t change the behaviors, we have to change the players.”

As the Giants fell 34-27 to New Orleans last week, they trailed 34-10 until seven minutes remained in the game.

Though Wilson didn’t name any names on Thursday, it’s clear that safeties Jason Pinnock and Jevon Holland could have done more while pursuing Alvin Kamara on his 31-yard catch-and-run touchdown, which broke a 10-10 tie early in the third quarter. The Saints led the rest of the way.

On that play, Tremaine Edmunds, Jihad Ward (who has since been cut) and Dru Phillips also appeared to show lackluster effort.

Holland suffered a concussion in that game and didn’t practice Wednesday, so he might not play this week.

All told, the Giants allowed 319 yards (not a ton) against the Saints, though they gave up 175 on the ground. A week earlier, Washington hung 202 rushing yards on the Giants during a dramatic tie.

Entering Sunday’s game at the Texans (who have an excellent defense), the Giants’ defense is ninth in Pro Football Focus’ ratings, including 10th against the run, 17th in pass rush and 11th in coverage.

Stopping the run more capably was a big-time focus for Wilson coming into this season, his first year in East Rutherford.

Wilson has done a solid job, all things considered, especially since he lost his best player — outside linebacker Brian Burns — to a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 against the Titans.

In terms of total yardage allowed, the Giants have gotten truly gashed in just one game, as the Rams hung 481 on them in Week 2.

During their other non-Saints games, the Giants have allowed 244 (Cowboys), 262 (Titans), 270 (Cardinals) and 378 (Commanders in overtime). So that Washington game surely didn’t fully please Wilson.

Meanwhile, the Texans head into Sunday sixth in PFF’s offensive ratings — a noteworthy test for Wilson’s group, as the Giants turn to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who does not figure to light up the scoreboard.

For Sunday’s game featuring the Giants and the Texans, the over/under is currently sitting at 42.5 total points on Polymarket. Also, visit our guide to the best sportsbook promos to shop for competitive odds.

At 3-2-1, the Giants remain alone atop the NFC East. The division is there for the taking — maybe even with a 7-9-1 record. But they are 10.5-point underdogs in Houston, as McCarthy makes his Giants starting debut.

So coach John Harbaugh’s team will need a big lift — and much better effort — from Wilson’s defense.

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