There are no names on this no-name defense who instill fear in the hearts of the opposing quarterback. Jason Pierre-Paul isn’t out of mind, just out of sight. The 2015 Giants defense is littered with no-names and new names and even old names, and it is crying out for a nickname.
“ ‘The Replacements.’ That’s what we are, we’re ‘The Replacements,’ because [we] basically mostly have just stepped in to replace other people that were in here at one point in time or another,” defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins said.
What we have Sunday night at MetLife Stadium is a battle of The Replacements, because the Jim Tomsula 49ers have had to replace Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, Patrick Willis, Ray McDonald and Chris Borland on his defense.
Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who replaced Perry Fewell, has had to replace JPP and Antrel Rolle and Jon Beason at the start of the season, and now Devon Kennard, Robert Ayers and George Selvie for Sunday night.
Who are these guys?
Mark Herzlich, Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Kerry Wynn, Uani ’Unga, J.T. Thomas, Brandon Meriweather, Landon Collins, Jasper Brinkley, Jay Bromley, Craig Dahl, Jonathan Casillas, Cooper Taylor.
The Replacements.
“I actually do like that,” defensive end Damontre Moore said. “I think that’s real fitting. For the last few years, a lot of people have been questioning our defense. It seems like every year they keep saying that we lose our main key guys — from Justin Tuck to Antrel Rolle to JPP to Mathias Kiwanuka. We’re always losing major contributors, especially within these last few years. A lot of the guys, they came in, are kind of unsung heroes from ’Unga to Kerry to young guys coming up. … I think it’s a good thing.”
The quest to nail down a nickname for a defense that once featured The Big Blue Wrecking Crew intensified Friday afternoon.
“You can’t say the No-Name Defense, because that’s actually a name of a defense, you know,” Thomas said, referring to the 1972 Dolphins unit that anchored the only undefeated season in NFL history. “And I don’t mind too much what people decide to call us, it’s gonna be about us being able to stay focused and committed to getting better each and every time we step on the field, whether it’s in practice or a game setting.”
The Replacements?
“Nah, I don’t like the way that rolls off the tongue,” Thomas said, and laughed. “We’ll let the fans kind of determine that. We’ll stay focused on the things that we can control. I’m just excited that guys are taking it upon themselves to really develop an identity for our defense.”
They are No. 1 against the run (69.8 yards per game). Defiant Giants. The pass defense remains a work in progress.
“We’re a true defense,” Thomas said. “All 11 guys working together to get the job done. With us losing guys to injury and other unfortunate events, I think everyone individually has taken their game to another level. That’s not to mention that we’re led by a great group of coaches.”
Relentless is the word you hear more than any other from the Giants defenders, because it is the word Spagnuolo pounds into their heads relentlessly. Casillas was asked his definition of relentless.
“Just outright grit every play, and no matter what, you’re determined to get the other team off the field,” he said. “ I mean, it’s like kick-ass, man, and everybody’s flying around and hitting stuff.”
Relentless has company.
“Fearless,” Bromley said. “We get that from our coach. Spagnuolo’s fearless. It doesn’t matter, we don’t care about how good your receivers are, we don’t care about how good your running back is, how great your offensive line is — we don’t really care. We’re gonna show up on Sundays, and we’re gonna do our best to punch you in the mouth. We know that we’re gonna get punched in the mouth at some point during the game, and we know that we can bounce back from it.”
“Angry,” Moore said. “I feel like we got something to prove.”
Spagnuolo no longer has an army of pass rushers. Just an army of Big Blue ants instead.
“When you run to the ball, you want to make the tackle, but you realize that you don’t have [to be] so hesitant because you got 10 guys running to the ball behind you so if you do miss a tackle, you got somebody hitting him after you miss it,” Wynn said.
The Replacements?
“I hate it. The Replacements? Hell no. I don’t like that at all,” Casillas said. “First of all, it’s been used, it’s not original. Some guys like myself may be a no-name guy, but I’m not no replacement.”
Bromley was asked for a nickname for the defense. He gave it some thought and said: “Giant Crush, maybe.”
The Replacements?
“It sounds like a movie I’ve seen or something like that,” he said, and laughed, referring to the 2000 film starring Keanu Reeves of the same name. “Everybody gets replaced. I don’t know if that has a great ring to it.”
He gave it more thought.
“Blue Stoppers?” Bromley said. “We stop people, so it’s the Blue Stoppers, I guess.”