The New York Giants have a special defense, no matter how you look at it. Entering the season, their defensive unit was supposed to be a weak point, led by new coordinator Patrick Graham. As a Yale graduate and one of the smartest coaches in the NFL, Graham joined a staff composed of veterans and a newbie in Joe Judge as the team’s head coach.
Ultimately, the defense was composed of new free agents and young players who hadn’t established themselves at the NFL level yet. But players are only as good as their scheme, and Patrick instituted a system that extracted strengths from his players and left the weaknesses behind.
Just wanted to say, the Giants hit a HOME RUN with DC Patrick Graham…
A great man, teacher, and leader for his players. He takes ALL responsibility for the losses and gives away ALL the credit to his players when they succeed.
Truly a standup individual, we are lucky to have.
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) November 12, 2020
Having played above their weight class this season through nine weeks, the Giants now feel their defense is a strong point, keeping them in games on a weekly basis while the offense struggles to replicate the same success.
However, Graham still takes losses personally, as we saw after the Giants’ loss in the waning moments against the Philadelphia Eagles several weeks ago.
After the contest, Graham stayed on the sidelines with his head down, soaking in the blame and realizing that his playcalling didn’t get the job done. Similarly, week nine’s content against Washington came down to the wire, but Patrick made all the right calls, giving safety Logan Ryan a chance to secure the game with an interception. His decision brought Big Blue to 2-7 and kept them in the NFC East race.
“I felt I let the team down. It was like a teacher letting his students down, they work so hard for Joe (Judge) and I made the wrong calls.”
The New York Giants know things are looking up:
There is one thing that can be said about the Giants this season, they are committed and disciplined to playing at a high-level. Whether they win or lose, this team is clearly trending upward, something that couldn’t be said the past few seasons with Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur leading the ranks.
“When we have success, it’s the players. It’s them and if we’re not successful, it’s because there is something I can do better. The success is because of the players.â€
If there’s anything we can extract from this season so far, it is that Patrick Graham was one of the best hires the organization made this past off-season.
Of course, we can lavish about Judge and some of the minor coaches, but Graham has undoubtedly left his mark on the franchise on and off of the field. The players respect him immensely and play hard for him. They know that the future of this team is positive, and they want to be a part of it.