Shane Bowen Outlines Expectations for Giants Defense

New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen clearly knows what he wants his first edition of the Giants defense to look like.

“I’m hoping it’s going to be speed and aggressiveness,” Bowen told reporters during a video conference call Monday. Regardless of the scheme—everybody’s going to have a scheme, we’re going to have plenty of scheme—I want to make sure our guys are lined up, they know what to do, and they can play fast and aggressively.

"I want to maximize their abilities. I don’t want to paralyze them before the ball is even snapped by overthinking. They’re all here for a reason. God has blessed them with the skill set to be here. I want to make sure we can maximize that skill set, and they can maximize it. But hopefully, [it will be] fast and aggressive. You’ll see some violence from us and, ultimately, guys making plays.

The Giants certainly have some playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, such as defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, linebacker Bobby Okereke, outside linebackers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns, and cornerback Deonte Banks, jsut to name a few.

The problem is that in the past, the players might not have always been in the best position to consistently make plays, often due to the scheme or their role in any given play. For example, Thibodeaux, whose strength is hunting and moving forward, was sometimes asked to drop into coverage, which wasn't exactly his strength.

Bowen believes the defense should be simple, allowing guys to think less and react more.

"I hope (opponents) see us flying around, playing with speed and great effort. I think a physicality to our game, playing with violence, attacking the line of scrimmage, guys being fundamentally sound, not beating ourselves. … Ultimately, if guys fly around and we play physical, I feel like that makes up for a lot of stuff," he said.

While Bowen is not one to deploy the blitz as heavily as his predecessor, Wink Martindale, did, he isn't opposed to sending five or more at the quarterback if the situation presents itself. But otherwise, he is hoping that the team's front seven can do most of the heavy lifting as far as getting the quarterback off his mark, which would leave the back end of the defense to handle the coverage responsibilities.

"If you go back and look at my time in Tennessee, it's been a lot of front pressure, right? The front four, being coordinated with their rush lanes, working together, finding ways to affect the quarterback, and then using that to be multiple on the back end, right, where you're not delegating a piece upfront.

“But we have done the gamut. We have brought four, five, and six. We've done some of the zone pressure and overload stuff. So we have it all. I think as we get a feel for training camp and really based on how we are feeling with the front and some of these other guys, how they can impact as rushers from the second level, all that stuff comes into play."

Overall, Bowen is counting on the front seven to get after the passer and clog the rushing lanes, which has been a problem for the Giants' defense in the last two seasons.

"I hope it's a big strength for us. We've got guys up there. We've got resources up there. And I'm expecting big things from those guys, and we will demand big things from them," Bowen said of the team's defensive front.

"Hopefully, they can play off each other. I think they complement each other in terms of what they do well and in terms of rush coordination and things that come into play with that. But I'm going to have high standards for that group."

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