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There has been so much attention paid to all that is going on (the good, the bad and the ugly) on offense with bearded Daniel Jones and rookie Malik Nabers and the rebuilt line that sometimes the grind on the other side of the ball gets overshadowed.
For the Giants, it might be that to confound their many critics and find success this season, their defense has to lead the way.
Based on what was on display for two series in the preseason loss to the Texans in Houston, that starting unit needs work in the area that was of greatest concern coming into training camp.
Stopping the run was no problem at all, with Dameon Pierce gaining no traction (five yards on four rushing attempts).
That will be a greater point of emphasis this season, with Shane Bowen now in charge of the defense as the coordinator.
The much-anticipated pass rush did not get much of a liftoff, as C.J. Stroud (7 of 10, 88 yards) got rid of the ball quickly in the first quarter before taking a seat.
Brian Burns did not get a hit on Stroud but he did win his one-on-one pass rush encounters.
It was in the back end where things got sticky.
Deonte Banks, the top cornerback on the roster, slipped in coverage on a 24-yard pass completion for Nico Collins.
Tight end Dalton Schultz broke free for 26 yards before safety Jason Pinnock was able to run him down.
There was a 23-yard completion to Tank Dell on Nick McCloud that got wiped away by a holding penalty.
Stefon Diggs beat veteran newcomer Tre Herndon for nine yards on third down to pick up the first down. Herndon might not be on the final roster but Banks, Pinnock and McCloud will be.
The first-team defense did not give up any points but that is a bit misleading.
The Texans on their first possession moved 59 yards on 11 plays but went for it on fourth down from the Giants 6-yard line.
In a real game, that most likely would have been a field goal attempt. In this case, Stroud’s pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage by Dexter Lawrence to keep the Texans off the board.
Lawrence, by the way, looks like his usual beastly self this summer.
“I thought it was good,” middle linebacker Bobby Okereke said after the 28-10 loss, most likely the most extended playing time for the starting defense in the preseason. “I thought that first drive was a good testament of the camaraderie built, being able to battle, kind of look in everybody’s eyes and just seeing how resilient we were all the way down to the end. Did a good job in the run game to start, first couple of quarters, we just got to tighten up the explosive pass game and obviously our pass rush getting after the quarterback will help us a lot.”
The young defensive backs running against the likes of Diggs, Dell and Collins at the very least give those in the secondary a taste of what it will be like in the regular-season opener, when the Giants face the Vikings and Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison but not tight end T.J. Hockenson, who is dealing with a knee injury.
“Obviously we got a great challenge Week 1, so just getting those guys mentally matured, physically matured,” Okereke said.
Pinnock, a returning starter, will have a different sidekick at safety, with Xavier McKinney now with the Packers.
Third-year Dane Belton has been lining up alongside Pinnock this summer but that was mostly because rookie Tyler Nubin was out with a calf issue.
Nubin is back, making plays and appears headed for a starting role, sooner rather than later.
Pinnock is only 25 but figures to be one of the most experienced players in the defensive backfield, alongside Banks (23) and either Cor’Dale Flott (22) or McCloud (26) and rookie Dru Phillips (22) at cornerback and Belton (23) or Nubin (23) at safety.
Despite the mixed results, Pinnock thought it was beneficial to get the work in against the Texans.
“For our guys to feel some real speed against us and have it live with a young groove, that’s very important,” Pinnock said. “I think it was smooth, just playing simple football, just playing man, seeing if you could cover, see how good our coverage is when the opposing team knows it’s man and they know they got to get open. So we put ourselves in challenging situations, just ready to see what guys got. We got to be more situational-aware but, pretty good.”
