Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux makes bold statement about DC Shane Bowen that will divide New York fans
The New York Giants defense has been inconsistent under Shane Bowen, but are they turning the corner?
New York Giants fans are incredibly frustrated with the lack of defensive consistency since Shane Bowen took over as the defensive coordinator. Despite having a loaded roster, the defense has not lived up to its potential as a top-ten unit.
Last Thursday’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles was the latest example of how dominant the Giants’ defense and pass rush can be. More importantly, it reflected how the defense can spark momentum that sets the tone towards a win.
One of the Giants’ key defensive leaders, Kayvon Thibodeaux, stuck up for his coach when speaking to the media today.
“I think that Bowen has been elevating and changing and evolving on how he calls different games,” Thibodeaux told reporters, “and his growth as well as our players and understanding what works and what doesn’t work, what we like, how to do different plays or schemes that will kind of help our skill sets.”
Kayvon Thibodeaux defends Shane Bowen
This season, the New York Giants sit at the bottom of the NFL in multiple key defensive stats. They’re 27th in points allowed per game, 20th in points per game allowed, 22nd in rush yards per game allowed, and 26th in pass yards per game allowed.
The lack of defensive dominance has been highly frustrating for fans, given that the defensive line includes Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Abdul Carter, and Thibodeaux. Not to mention a first-round investment in Deonte Banks and free agent additions of Jevon Holland, Paulson Adebo, and Bobby Okereke. Most fan bases would kill for a defensive talent base like that and would be stunned if they were in the bottom quarter of the league in most defensive stats.
With that being said, Thursday’s win and their victory over the Los Angeles Chargers were examples of what the defense can be if it plays more physically and aggressively. Against the Eagles, they only allowed 73 rushing yards and generated two turnovers. Thibodeaux attributes the turnaround to the defense committing to playing together and staying true to Bowen’s instructions.
“I would say it’s a collective. I would say there’s no individual. There’s no kind of one man show. I think Bowen does a great job of hearing out the players,” Thibodeaux stated, “I think the players do a great job of making sure they do what Bowen asked of us. So, I would say just continuing to gel together and to continue to just keep the main thing, the main thing, and go out there and execute.”
Another factor in the Giants’ best defensive performances has been the deep rotation of defensive line talent that teams cannot effectively account for. Thibodeaux broke down what makes it such a simple advantage.
“A team can’t slide the same way every time, right? They got to kind of figure out who to stop,” Thibodeaux told the media, “And I think the tough part about being an offensive line is that you usually want to leave the one on one for the weakest guy, right? … So being able to whoever gets that one on one, being able to win that and show up and make the play, you know, has been good for us.”
The potential for the Giants to win games through their defense is absolutely a reality. If that reality comes to fruition this season under Bowen or next year under a new coaching staff remains to be seen.
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