Giants star Dexter Lawrence didn’t hold back when firing back at New York legend Carl Banks after critical comments
New York Giants star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence responded to Carl Banks’ comments from Monday.
Dexter Lawrence just made it clear that he’s not going to feed into any negativity about his play, no matter who says it.
Following the Giants’ poor defensive performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8, Lawrence was caught in the crosshairs of legendary former player Carl Banks. On his podcast this week, Bleav in Giants, Banks said bluntly that opponents don’t respect him anymore. Today, Lawrence responded when speaking to the media after practice.
“He’s delusional,” Lawrence told reporters.
Dexter Lawrence responds to Carl Banks
Banks has always been an outspoken former player. He’s used his platform as the team’s radio analyst and his podcast to defend the team on various issues or call out what’s not working.
On his Monday episode of Bleav in Giants, Banks went all in on Lawrence, attributing the Giants’ inability to stop the run to opponents not feeling as threatened by Lawrence.
“The pre-injury Dexter is not there in their heads,” Banks said on Monday, “They don’t respect you. And there’s a difference. You’re on the field. They’re blocking you with a nine-year backup center. You’re not making a difference. The old Dexter would.”
The criticism is warranted considering Lawrence’s lack of production and the defenses running all over New York. Through eight games, the defense is 30th in rush yards allowed per game, last in yards per carry allowed, and last in EPA/rush allowed. Additionally, Lawrence only has 20 tackles, 1 TFL, and 0.5 sacks.
While some players may take words from former Super Bowl winning players seriously, Lawrence is not. He was incredibly dismissive of what Banks had to say.
“Those are strong words. But, that’s how he feel? [Explative] it,” Lawrence told the media.
Lawrence went as far as to say he doesn’t understand where Banks is forming his narrative from and that his focus is on the team.
“I don’t really know what he’s watching. He can say what he wants. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, trying to help us get a win … I hope people start trying to disrespect me.”
It’s understandable that Lawrence feels disrespected by Banks’ comments and doesn’t want to waste his energy reacting to him. However, if there is a former player who understands what it takes to win consistently at a high level, it’s Banks, who won two Super Bowls with the franchise. Bank’s criticism of Lawrence was cutting, but it isn’t inaccurate considering the level of domination opposing teams have in running the ball.
Run defense starts with the performance of the interior defensive line play. A top nose tackle like Lawrence should contribute to the defense being in the top half of the league and not at the bottom of most rushing metrics.
Hopefully, Lawrence uses this as motivation because the Giants desperately need a boost right now.
New York Giants News
‘Nobody respects you anymore’ – Giants legend delivers harsh truth star DT Dexter Lawrence needs to hear
New York Giants legend Carl Banks did not mince words when talking about Dexter Lawrence.
