How Shane Bowen’s Giants defense will differ from Wink Martindale’s
There has been so much verbiage and conversation about what the Giants will not be on defense in 2024.
They did not exactly surface as a dominating unit the past two years, but there was an established identity — created by coordinator Wink Martindale’s relentless inclination and dependency on creating discomfort with pressure packages filled with blitz after blitz.
That will not be the Giants’ calling card now that Shane Bowen is in charge of the defense.
All spring, that has been an acknowledged change as Bowen implemented the system he utilized the past three seasons with the Titans.
So much, that when the Giants reconvene July 23 for training camp, it would not be such a shock to see Bowen distribute “Less Aggressive’’ T-shirts to the guys who get paid to play on defense.
One look at Bowen’s expression when this scenario was broached to him made it clear there will be no such shirts printed up.
“Yeah, I think there is a fine line between being schematically aggressive and being play-style aggressive,’’ Bowen said, quite succinctly. “Like, the play style ain’t going to change. We’re going to be physical, we’re going to be tough. We’ve got a high standard for that.
“We turn the tape on, we want teams to see us flying around, hitting people, not turning down contact, being decisive in our decisions, being aggressive with our breaks. There is a lot of aggressiveness outside of scheme as it relates to defensive football. Then with the scheme, we’ll see. Still a work in progress.’’
If you find a defensive coordinator who embraces a “less aggressive’’ label, check the employment status of that coordinator.
They all preach the need for their unit to inflict its will on the opponent, and Bowen is in lockstep with that thinking.
It is how he plans to unleash it that will look much different than before.
Martindale wanted to create chaos. Bowen is looking for more controlled mayhem.
“Wink kind of wanted you to play hard and fast,’’ inside linebacker Bobby Okereke said. “You know, just play physical, downhill, figure it out. Here, it’s a process of elimination. If this guy goes vertical, you check two. If two does this, you check three. You kind of put it in buckets, and that’s the process of decision-making.’’
Bowen, 37, first worked with Mike Vrabel in 2012 on Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State.
Vrabel later entrusted Bowen to run the Titans’ defense, using a system that traces its roots to Vrabel — and further back with Dean Pees and Bill Belichick.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll did not previously work with Bowen, but he did work with Pees and Belichick and is highly familiar with that brand of defense from his extensive time in New England.
The Titans in 2023 under Bowen blitzed just 22 percent of the time.
Martindale’s Giants blitzed 45 percent of the time.
Bowen last season had his defense in Cover 4 — essentially a four-deep zone — 23 percent of the defensive snaps.
This will be a big change for the returning defensive backs, who will be asked to play less man coverage.
“Probably playing not as aggressive,’’ second-year cornerback Deonte Banks said. “It’s still aggressive, but just not as aggressive. I guess a little bit more zone. I guess you could say that.’’
Banks did say, “I really still have the same responsibility. I’m still pressing, still up close on the guy. It doesn’t really change that much.’’
The more Banks learns and works in the system, the more he may notice the changes are significant.
Bowen said he will demand that the defensive backs adapt to new marching orders “just in terms of vision and eyes and where they’re looking.’’
Bowen will ask his four defensive linemen to generate pressure on the opposing quarterback using their own physical force and talents.
The expectation is Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns on the outside and Dexter Lawrence on the interior will be able to get the job done.
If they cannot do it, then Bowen will call for pressure in the form of blitzes.
Bowen is not much into calling it his defense, and he likely will be much less of a high-profile personality with the media and around the team facility as the colorful Martindale was in his two years with the Giants, before an argument with Daboll the day after the 2023 season ended resulted in Martindale’s departure (he is currently the defensive coordinator at Michigan).
Bowen has a system, to be sure, but that is only a starting point and not a defining point.
“Ultimately, scheme for me is finding what fits our players best, right?’’ Bowen said. “We got to do a good job as a coaching staff figuring that out as we go, as we’ve been through the spring and we can evaluate, and as we get into training camp, continuing that evaluation. Something that never really stops as we go throughout the season.’’
