Giants captain opens up about how the team really feels about defensive coordinator Shane Bowen
New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke shared how the defense feels about defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.
The New York Giants fan base is beyond fed up with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen after his recent fourth-quarter mismanagement. In their Week 7 loss to the Denver Broncos, New York gave up 33 points and blew a 19-point lead, ultimately costing them the game.
One would expect Bowen to be fired after his second game of poor late-game play-calling, but head coach Brian Daboll backed him yesterday when speaking to the media. Surprisingly, one of the Giants’ captains, Bobby Okereke, also emphasised that the defense still believes in Bowen.
“100 percent. We’re all hands on deck. We’re all bought in,” Okereke told the media. “Everyone’s got to look at the man in the mirror. It’s easier to point the finger, but from a team perspective, it’s better to point the thumb and figure out what I can do better as an individual. So, that’s what we’re all about to do. And we’re excited for this upcoming opportunity.”
Bobby Okereke backs Shane Bowen
After Sunday’s loss, defensive leaders Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns appeared baffled by how the fourth quarter unfolded. Their tone was extremely telling when asked about the play call that set up the game-winning field goal.
Additionally, we had Burns on camera erupting over the decision to drop eight players into coverage while walking back to the locker room.
Okereke was asked about the play call by Bowen and provided an honest answer about the decision and what went wrong.
“You got two free guys kind of sitting there looking for the in breakers,” Okereke stated. “You got everybody outside leverage. You got me, man on the back and the backs chipping. So, obviously, they’re trying to neutralize our pass rush. And I think, like I said, this is a maturation process for our team. So just going to grow and understanding how they’re trying to attack us in a two-minute situation like that, based off the time.”
Following that explanation, Okereke was asked about the stunning similarity in the loss to the Cowboys, when Jake Ferguson caught a pass up the middle of the field through a massive coverage gap. He doubled down on the defense’s commitment to Bowen.
“We have great trust and conviction in Shane. I thought he put us in a great situation to execute in that situation,” Okereke told reporters. “Just us as players, obviously in the fourth quarter, just got to have that aggressive mindset to be more detailed and just understand how they’re going to attack us in those critical situations because it’s, it’s one play here or there that that’ll turn the tide of the game.”
This final quote from Okereke is the most important and the most telling. He spoke about what transpired in the fourth quarter that led to the loss.
“It just comes down to execution and detail in the third and fourth quarters. At that point in time, the physicality is still there in the game, but guys are fatigued,” Okereke stated. “So, it’s really catching the ball here, staying onsides here, eliminating a penalty here, executing a call here. So, like I said, we’re all taking our individual responsibility. We all had our hand in the pot, and we’re excited to make the corrections this coming week.”
This is the main issue I have been harping on the most over the last few weeks. Okereke spoke on not executing, a theme that has appeared in many post-loss media availability. While Okereke is correct that they are not effectively executing and need to improve, a layer is being missed.
Coaches are responsible for how effectively their teams accomplish their assignments. Forget play-calling and situational decision-making for just a second.
How a team prepares before games and how hard the preseason practice translates to what happens on the field. If Okereke is saying they need to execute better, the coaching staff, specifically Daboll, must be more detail-oriented in everything they do.
Alas, there is no time to fix this now. Multiple years of failing to prepare effectively have created the mess of a team on the field right now.
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