In 2022, the New York Giants will look different on both sides of the ball. They have new coordinators for the offense and the defense, and on the defensive side chose to bring in a veteran name. Under their new hire, Don ‘Wink’ Martindale, we should expect to see the defense take a much less conservative approach.
That’s the expectation based on Martindale’s career history, but also based on his words after joining the team. In his first interview after joining the Giants, he confirmed that his defenses aren’t set up to play safe.
“I’m not built that way. We’re not built that way. We like to attack… and pressure breaks pipes on these offenses as well,” Martindale told Giants.com. “I just don’t want to sit back and say, ‘OK, let’s see what you’ve got.’ I want them to sit back and see what we have.”
According to Martindale, his defense will continue to attack the passer here in New York.
“A lot of the times that we had free runners in the past, it’s just been on four-man pass rushes. Now, it’s different guys coming, but I think that’s our trademark. We know how to attack protections, and I’m looking forward to doing the same thing here.”
As well respected as Patrick Graham was as the Giants defensive coordinator, the change to Martindale may be a good thing in disguise. In recent years, pressure has been frequently named as one of the weak areas for the Giants.
In 2022, though, that trend could change. A number of mock drafts have had the Giants taking a pass rusher in the first round, and clearly, the man in charge of the defense is making blitzing a priority.