When the New York Giants settled on Blake Martinez on a three-year, $30 million deal this offseason, most were concerned about his coverage abilities and lack of athleticism when stopping the run.
However, Martinez jumped on a conference call Monday to detail the negatives we have all seen — the inability to match up in man-coverage, missed tackles at times, and more. His statistics tell a specific story, but the scheme itself portrays a narrative that nobody was looking at.
Martinez described how he was playing in “match cover” zone, which essentially is zone coverage that’s supposed to look like man. That’s a significant reason he looked porous against the pass, but if you look at the film, most of his catches allowed were in front of him and contained plays.
The Packers and Blake were on a “different wave length” regarding the importance of an inside linebacker. That’s the primary reason he chose the Giants in free agency. He specifically stated the Giants “were kind of a no-brainer for me.”
#NYG LB Blake Martinez said he and #Packers were on "different wave length" when it came to his value in free agency. Said GB doesn't value ILB the way some other teams do.
— Kim Jones (@KimJonesSports) March 30, 2020
One of the primary concerns regarding Martinez is his lack of impact plays. His one forced fumble and one interception last year don’t amount to much, but his reason for that makes sense.
Blake Martinez says the public misconception of him is that he doesn't make impact plays. He says that his role in the GB D was to be a "clean-up" guy, the only LB on the field, with no gap responsibilities. Basically play off the other guys and go make the leftover plays.
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) March 30, 2020
Martinez was acting as the Packers’ clean up defender, stopping big gains from progressing and mitigating second-level breakaways. It seems as though Blake wants to become more of a playmaker and physical defender with Big Blue, which would change the way he’s used entirely.
General manager Dave Gettleman signed him to be their MIKE linebacker, stopping the run and soaking up tackles. However, DC Patrick Graham is planning to implement a diverse defensive scheme, which could allow the former Packer to take a more risky approach in shooting gaps and lining up in man coverage against tight ends. While I still hold some concern when it comes to coverage, Martinez’s reasons for the negatives we have noticed in his game provide some solace in his signing.