When discussing his time with the Giants, Tuck could not help but mention the role that middle linebacker Antonio Pierce played in the franchise's success, especially in the run to the Super Bowl in 2007, and how he identifies similarities in Blake Martinez.
"What I see from him is his instincts," Tuck said about Martinez. "He doesn't have a lot of false movement in his steps. He gets downhill, he gets to the place he's supposed to be, and he's rarely fooled, rarely late. From that perspective, when you're that split second faster than that guard who's trying to double up and get to you, then you're going to be in the right spot most of the time. He's in the right spot most of the time. When you're in the right spot most of the time, all you need then is to just have the attitude of wanting to make the tackle, to be honest with you. That's what I notice from him.
"I don't know what his 40 time is, but as Coach (Tom) Coughlin says, 'Everybody is a Pro Bowler in shorts.' Some people run great 40 times but their game speed is slower. I would venture to say Blake seems to be the guy who's the opposite of that, where he's not going to blow you away with his 40 time, but his game speed seems to be superb. When you think of that from a middle linebacker standpoint, when you think about him being able to get people in the right position, that's what I look for in a middle linebacker, and he seems to have all those traits."
The front office has added numerous talented pieces to the defense over the last two offseasons, but perhaps the biggest addition to the unit has been defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Graham helped transform a defense that struggled in 2019 to one of the league's better units last season. Tuck believes that with another year of experience in Graham's system under their belts, the defense could take yet another leap.
"They should be even more comfortable in that scheme this year, play faster, play more confident," Tuck said about Graham's system. "And that allows him to do more of those things to kind of free up some people or get some other people who might not necessarily be the pass rusher that Leonard is or that me, Osi and Strahan were. But giving them some favorable matchups that they could win some opportunities there, that's what I think will happen this year, especially when you think about the additions that we made in the secondary. All of this stuff goes hand in hand…
"That's one thing with Patrick Graham, it seems like he was really good at dialing up things where guys were put in one-on-one situations. At that point, you have to win. If you don't win, then we need to do something else."
"front" - Google News
June 05, 2021 at 02:42AM
https://ift.tt/3wWBaoD
Justin Tuck breaks down Giants' front seven - Giants.com
"front" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3aZh1mr
https://ift.tt/3b2xvu5
No comments:
Post a Comment