Giants Super Bowl champions Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora often had to only look at each other to know what the other was going to do. Thanks to years spent playing along the same defensive line, the practice field and all the conversations in meetings, they knew each other’s tendencies — not to mention those of opposing offensive linemen.
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Say Tuck knew Umenyiora was going to speed rush and Strahan was planning to bull rush on a particular play; he’d think about how he could best fit in — not only to get himself a sack but also how he might be able to help one of his teammates get to the quarterback.
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“We were able to kind of know that from each other because of the years we got to play with each other,” Tuck said. “All that stuff goes into consideration when you think about the overarching reasons why we were successful.”
That familiarity and reliability are things rookie pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux is starting to discover when it comes to his core four, which includes fellow outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence.
Kayvon Thibodeaux on the defensive line coming together
Full video:
— GiantsTV (@GiantsTV) December 21, 2022
“It kind of feels like that dream team that you know you hear about, and it’s like you’re waiting to play together, and you know we’re here, we’ve seen each other. But when we get on the field, it’s like not just talk,” Thibodeaux said this week. “It’s like how you feel, like the confidence level of, ‘I know that I can look, and he got my back when I go rush.’ I can go play because I know that someone else is great enough to recover if I don’t make the play.”
The Giants’ fearsome front has emerged as the team’s strongest unit this season, with Lawrence earning his first career Pro Bowl nod this week. Injuries have delayed total domination — the group has hardly played together. But the four finally played a full game Sunday against the Commanders, wreaking havoc on quarterback Taylor Heinicke and his offensive line. Even with their injuries, the productivity of the quartet has been a driving force behind the Giants’ 8-5-1 start under first-year coach Brian Daboll.
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Having top-tier pass rushers as building blocks to set a foundation for success is certainly a path recognizable to Giants fans.
SEXY DEXY is headed to the Pro Bowl 😄
— New York Giants (@Giants) December 22, 2022
Even current players, who were teenagers or younger (feel old yet?) when the Giants won the 2007 Super Bowl, remember and recognize that D-line as one of the best in recent memory.
Ojulari was just 8 years old during the title run and didn’t watch it live, but he still admires the way Tuck (10 sacks that season) played together with Strahan (nine sacks), Umenyiora (13 sacks) and others like Fred Robbins (5.5 sacks) and Mathias Kiwanuka (4.5 sacks).
“As a group together, they made a hell of a run, and they just worked perfect together,” Ojulari said. “It’s insane what they did.”
What they did was lead the league in sacks (53) and finish second in QB hits (103) and tackles for loss (97). Of course, they also went on to help limit the then-undefeated Patriots, with one of the best offenses of all time, to 14 points in the Super Bowl. Quarterback Eli Manning, along with receivers David Tyree and Plaxico Burress, rallied the Giants offense late, but that defensive line kept the game close, sacking Brady five times — twice more than in any previous game that season.
Tuck played with the Giants through 2013, winning another Super Bowl in the 2011 season as part of yet another strong defensive line. Of course, the Giants boasting a championship-level pass rush goes back even further than the past two decades.
“The reason why those ’86, ’90 teams were so good was because of Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and the like, right?” Tuck said. “I think we have to get back to that. Especially playing in the NFC East, if you don’t have great O-line and D-line play, you’re lagging behind. That’s just the style of football you’re going to have to play in these games in December and January. That’s just how we’ve always won championships around here.”
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With that in mind, Tuck was excited with the early moves — Thibodeaux’s selection and the hiring of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale — by the new front office helmed by general manager Joe Schoen. Both he and Daboll are products of Buffalo, where the Bills offer a blueprint for a successful rebuilding process with their emphasis on the defensive line and pass rush. This season, Buffalo made headlines by bringing in star Von Miller, but the team has invested beyond big-name additions. After selecting quarterback Josh Allen in 2018, the Bills’ top draft picks from 2019 to 2021 were defensive lineman, both ends and tackles.
In their first draft with the Giants, Schoen and Daboll worked similarly, selecting Thibodeaux with the No. 5 pick before taking right tackle Evan Neal at No. 7.
Defensively, Thibodeaux joined second-year outside linebacker Ojulari along with veterans Williams and Lawrence to give the Giants a talented front.
It’s early in the rebuild process, and there are more moves to be made — and a lot more to prove — before the Giants defense can be talked about in the same breath as the great teams of yesteryear. But there’s also little doubt the Giants appear to be getting close to outfitting a top-tier pass rush unit.
Regarding the defensive line, NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger noted the team’s lack of young, quality depth behind Williams and Lawrence, who often plays more than 90 percent of snaps at defensive tackle. Baldinger suggested adding a run-stuffing 3-technique to help bear some of Lawrence’s burden. Regardless of that, he knows the future is bright.
“I mean, this is how you want to build your team,” Baldinger said. “You want to build it from the inside out. … You want to build it in the trenches.”
Lawrence is the only one of the four to play every game this season, as the others dealt with varying injuries. He’s amid a monster season, becoming the first Giants defensive lineman to receive a Pro Bowl nomination since Jason Pierre-Paul was selected to his second Pro Bowl in 2012.
Dexter Lawrence vs a backup center 👀
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) December 22, 2022
Baldinger and Tuck both praised the impact Lawrence has had, noting he’s become a much-improved pass rusher. Baldinger said his conditioning looks better, and he pushes the pocket, beating most centers easily, along with double teams. Tuck has seen Lawrence as an initiator of the rush.
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“Dexter solidifies a lot of things in the middle of our defense that gives those opportunities to rush the passer,” Tuck said.
With Lawrence driving the defense — Martindale has likened him to a “Rolls Royce” — the core four all played together Sunday against the Commanders. It was only the second game that’s happened this season, and they only briefly played together in Week 13 before Williams exited with a neck injury.
But Sunday’s critical win over the Commanders offered a terrifying glimpse of the future for opposing quarterbacks. Thibodeaux tallied 12 tackles, including three for a loss, and hit a pass rusher grand slam: a sack, forced fumble, a recovery and a touchdown. Lawrence and Ojulari combined for 10 pressures, per TruMedia. In the fourth quarter, Lawrence and Ojulari sacked Heinicke with Lawrence forcing a fumble, which Williams recovered.
Sack.
Forced Fumble.
Touchdown.@kayvont is ridiculous 😤📺: #NYGvsWAS on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2022
Talk about a group effort.
Ojulari said the more they’ve gotten to know each other this season, the more natural it is out on the field. With the four back together, there’s an opportunity to create a lot of pressure and be an havoc-wreaking front. Ojulari said, “If we’re together dominating, I feel like we’re unstoppable.”
Martindale certainly has enjoyed being able to implement what he’s long envisioned for his defense.
“(It’s) a problem when they’re all out there because you can’t just — if Leo’s not out there, there’s four hands going on Dex all the time,” Martindale said. “Now they got to deal with Leo on the other side being a single-block guy. I think that creates issues, plus with what you said with the guys on the edges.
“The thing that’s beautiful about the guys on the edges is the relationship they have with (outside linebackers coach) Drew (Wilkins). And it’s like they have a mindset that they’re always trying to improve. That’s exciting when you have two guys that are 22 years old on the edge, and they’re looking to get better every day. They have that growth mindset. … And then the inside guys, they’re having a lot of fun. When Dex and Leo are playing together, you can see they have fun playing together. And it’s fun to watch.”
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While Thibodeaux is feeling like he’s on a “dream team,” it took playing together and getting to know each other to realize that. And he’s more than happy with the setup.
“Just because you have great players don’t mean they complement each other,” Thibodeaux said. “So I think the skill set of Dex and Leo complement each other, right? I always say you gotta keep those two together forever. Right? And then with me and Azeez, it’s the perfect four.”
(Photo: Adam Hunger / Associated Press)
