Giants DC Shane Bowen’s latest comments on what’s holding back the defense will infuriate New York fans

New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen attempted to explain what is going wrong.

Joe DeLeone — NFL News Writer
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New York Giants fans have been hoping to get answers for what is going wrong with the team’s defense this season. After an offseason of committing resources through free agency and the NFL Draft to make the defense a top unit, the way they’ve played has been extremely underwhelming.

There have been many possible sources for the frustration. The starting point has been the team’s porous run defense, which is allowing 148.9 yards per game on the ground. Last week was the worst it’s been all year. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, they allowed 267 yards.

When speaking to the media today, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen sounded redundant and lost while trying to explain what’s going wrong.

“I think specifically on Sunday, it was probably one of our worst tackling games,” Bowen told reporters, “I think tackling showed up. I think just making sure we’re defined in where we’re at in terms of gap control … It’s not one group, it’s not one guy, it’s not the players, it’s everybody. All of us together in this thing and things we have to get fixed as we go here.”

Shane Bowen tries to explain defensive issues

The Giants’ defense has shown spurts of defensive dominance this season. From the second half of Week 6 against the Eagles to the fourth quarter of Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, they managed to allow zero points. That elite play was erased by the meltdown in the fourth quarter against Denver and the lame performance against the Eagles in Week 8. Bowen continued to dance around the issue today, even after being asked multiple times about the state of the defense.

“It’s disappointing, it’s frustrating,” Bowen told the media, “I think just with our guys, making sure we’re getting back to who we are, right? And what we want to be about and don’t let one thing snowball on us and keep playing, keep finding solutions, keep working on the practice field. And I’m confident that we’re going to do that this week.”

It won’t be easy to suddenly find success this week, facing one of the best running backs in the NFL, Christian McCaffrey. This season, McCaffrey has 1,049 total yards and six total touchdowns. Ironically, the 49ers are 30th in rush yards per game in the NFL, but that ranking doesn’t tell the whole story of how they generate success.

Additionally, today Bowen was asked what the defense’s identity needs to be going forward if they want to get back on track.

“I want to be about effort, finish, physicality, speed, flying around to the football, back to
the play style. Let’s make it more about the play style. We have to get the fundamentals fixed. We have to make sure we’re looking at the right guy. We have to have the right technique in man coverage, all that type of stuff. But let’s make sure we don’t lose sight of the play style and what that is.”

It’s a bit troubling that fundamentals are being discussed eight games into the season, and that the proper technique and refined details needed to have been instilled in the preseason. It is also troubling that fundamentals are the same problem every week, and Bowen is discussing them as if a fix can suddenly be found this week.

The Giants will need to be ready for a serious challenge on Sunday against San Francisco’s offense. Otherwise, it could be another brutal day.

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