There’s a lot that the New York Giants could learn from the Alabama Crimson Tide. As the Giants declined through the second half of the 2010s to enter the new decade in a rebuilding phase, Alabama has been one of the most dominant college programs in the country during the same span. Alabama is known for winning not because of a few exceptional players, but because of reliable systems. And coaches who know those systems have been hired many times by other schools looking to replicate the same success.
The Giants did that, in a way, when they hired Joe Judge. While Judge was with the Patriots when he was hired by the Giants, he also has past experience as a special teams assistant at Alabama from 2009 to 2011. It’s likely that the Giants considered that when they made the hire, and it looks like that decision might already be paying off.
According to Dalvin Tomlinson, the new defense headed by coordinator Patrick Graham reminds him of his days at Alabama.
“The technique kind of reminds me of my Alabama days. You can only pick up so much on virtual meetings and things like that so I feel like I’ve picked up the playbook pretty well over the virtual meetings,” Tomlinson said to Sirius XM NFL Radio.
But Tomlinson is still feeling the effects of the virtual offseason just like anyone else. “The experience of just being on the football field and going through drills and things like that can’t really be replaced. Just going against another person on the field every day makes you a whole better player.”
“Your technique has to be precise. If you take one wrong step, it could be a bad play and bad down for you and the whole defense. So working on and critiquing your technique day in and day out is pretty crucial. You have to drill it in day in and day out even when you’re not even practicing,” Tomlinson continued further, referring to playing on the defensive line.
Tomlinson is projected to be the starter at nose tackle by ESPN, which puts plenty of pressure on him to improve his technique in the way that he spoke about. Training camp is the first chance we’ll get to see Tomlinson and the others back in action on the field, and if everything goes to plan, that will be as soon as late July.