Earlier in the offseason, we evaluated the major players on NFCE teams in order to rank the teams in the division by position group.
Here’s a link to the entire “Ranking the NFC East” series
Since the Redskins are facing one of those division rivals this week, now might be a good time to revisit those player evaluations as a preview of the upcoming matchup. This article covers a few of the major players on the Giants’ defense we reviewed this past off-season.
Lorenzo Carter, New York Giants
Over the last 2 years, the Giants have completely overhauled their edge rushing unit, trading away established veterans like Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul and replacing them with journeyman veterans and mid-round picks. One of those mid-round picks is Lorenzo Carter, taken in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL draft.
I didn’t know much about Lorenzo Carter before doing this film breakdown. I expected to see a below-average starter struggling to adjust to NFL strength and speed. Instead, I saw a natural starting LOLB who looked more prepared to start than our own Ryan Anderson, taken in the 2nd round in 2017.
Carter was a 5 star HS prospect recruited by Georgia, though he never lived up to those expectations in college, failing to gain more than 5 sacks in a season. It’s not clear why he couldn’t put it together in college; he certainly has the athletic gifts to do so. He tested well at the combine, and has amazing reach with 34” arms (2nd only to Montez Sweat, at 35 3/4”, of the players mentioned in this article).
Carter’s athleticism showed up on tape last year. He has good (not elite) acceleration and very good ability to time the snap and bend around the edge. In addition, his long arms were visible on tape, as he did a great job using that length to keep opposing RTs at a distance, occasionally standing them up to get past them and displaying a rare tackle radius.
The only real problem I saw was lack of play strength. Carter is a very tall, long-limbed player who doesn’t look like he’s filled into his frame just yet. However, a year or two in an NFL strength and conditioning program could do a lot for him.
Lorenzo Carter
Giants @ Falcons, Week 7 highlights | NFL 2018 on YouTube
Posted by Bill Horgan on Sunday, September 22, 2019
[1:40] Carter does a great job using his long arms to stand up the opposing RT, at one point stiff arming him while working around the edge to eventually pull in Matt Ryan for a sack. This play shows off Carter’s long arms, effort, awareness (keeps his eyes on the ball the whole time), and tackle radius.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Sunday, September 22, 2019
[4:30] Carter explodes so quickly off the LoS that the RT can’t get set and gets poor leverage, allowing Carter to bend around the edge and almost get to the QB. Carter shows good timing of the snap and bend in this play, looking like a very natural edge player.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Sunday, September 22, 2019
[10:24] The only major weakness I saw in Carter is lack of strength to win with pure power. Carter attempts a bull rush here, but isn’t able to use his length to stand the RT up, and doesn’t have the strength to win with power.
Lorenzo Carter
Giants vs Cowboys, Week 17 | NFL 2018 on YouTube
Posted by Bill Horgan on Sunday, September 22, 2019
[2:38] Carter does a good job keeping his eyes on the ball and faking outside, only to cut inside, using his long arms to stand up La’el Collins and almost get to the QB, forcing Prescott to get the ball out quickly.
Alec Ogletree, New York Giants
Ogletree had a disappointing season last year when he was inconsistent, at best, in both the run and the pass. Despite having 5 interceptions last year, he was graded as the 8th worst player in coverage at his position by PFF. He missed 20 tackles in 2017 and close to the same number in 2018, which is why PFF ranks him as one of the least effective tacklers in the league.
Alec Ogletree came into the league with a lot of hype; some even considered him a future All-Pro type talent. He obviously hasn’t came close to that hype, but he provides the Giants with a reliable starter who doesn’t bust the salary cap.
Everyone can ignore this (and more to follow). I just needed a place to publish some GIFs that I want to embed elsewhere.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Friday, July 5, 2019
Ogletree is covering Lamar Miller on this wheel route. The linebacker gets a lot of criticism for his inconsistent play in covering RBs and TEs, but here he does a nice job at sticking with Miller and comes up with the interception.
ignore this
Posted by Bill Horgan on Friday, July 5, 2019
On this play Ogletree does a great job at extending his arms to keep Lewan off of his body, and then tosses him away to get into the backfield to make the tackle for loss.
Janoris Jenkins, New York Giants
Janoris Jenkins (Giants #20) is a natural cover corner with the speed, fluidity, and instincts to stick to most WRs like glue and lock them down in the passing game. He was projected by some to be a top-15 pick in the 2012 NFL draft, but fell into the 2nd round due to character concerns (multiple run-ins with the law) and concerns about his size and physicality (Jenkins measured 5’10” and 193 lbs at the combine). Although drafted by the Rams, Jenkins was allowed to hit free agency and was signed by the Giants to be one of the NFL’s highest-paid CBs in 2016.
After watching tape of Jenkins in 2018, I agree with the description of him as a natural cover corner. He excels when asked to cover an NFL WR in man coverage. However, his weaknesses appear outside of this role. TEs and physical WRs can beat him with strength in 1-on-1 matchups. Additionally, WRs with 4.3 speed can beat him deep. Neither of these are huge criticisms, but worth noting as he is one of the NFL’s highest-paid CBs.
More problematic is his lack of contribution in run defense, poor tackling ability, and what I think looks like a desire to take himself out of tackling plays. I could be wrong about this, but it looked to me like he avoided tackling plays he could have helped with if he thought another Giants player was ready to make the tackle too. Jenkins just seemed a bit contact-averse to me.
Janoris Jenkins
Giants @ Panthers, Week 5 highlights | NFL 2018 on YouTube
Everyone can ignore this (and more to follow). I just needed a place to publish some GIFs that I want to embed elsewhere.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Friday, July 5, 2019
[0:30] This play is very typical of Jenkins in coverage. He shows great awareness (keeps eyes on the QB and mirrors the WR) and lateral agility to stick with Devin Funchess on a crossing route, and he allows so little separation that he is able to break up the pass. This is what can be expected of Jenkins in coverage against pass catchers who aren’t especially fast or physical. Although I am quite critical of Jenkins in the following plays, keep in mind that this positive coverage play is typical of 80% of what he is asked to do as a CB.
Ignore this.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Friday, July 5, 2019
[1:43] Jenkins is easily blocked by Devin Funchess on a slant to Curtis Samuel; he doesn’t show a lot of hustle working his way back to Samuel, and does such a poor job of tackling the receiver that Samuel breaks free of the tackle for a TD. This play showcases Jenkins lack of physicality and poor tackling ability.
Ignore this.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Friday, July 5, 2019
[8:29] This is what a “business decision” looks like. Jenkins is in position to make a tackle, but pulls up at the last second because he thinks his teammates have it — Jenkins does not seem to enjoy contact. I saw numerous examples of Jenkins seeming to shy away from contact and dropping out of a play early if he thought his teammates had it. He’s not lazy (displays good hustle at the beginning of plays), but he doesn’t display the constant hustle to the ball and physicality that I expect to see out of the NFL’s highest-paid defenders.
Janoris Jenkins
Giants @ Falcons, Week 7 highlights | NFL 2018 on YouTube
Everyone can ignore this (and more to follow). I just needed a place to publish some GIFs that I want to embed elsewhere.
Posted by Bill Horgan on Friday, July 5, 2019
[2:54] Jenkins finds himself matched up with TE Austin Hooper 1-on-1. Although Jenkins is fast and agile enough to stick to Hooper, he is knocked to the ground by the much stronger TE to give up a big play. Jenkins is a poor matchup to physical pass catchers (especially TEs) and players with 4.3 speed. [3:10] of this video shows him getting beat by speed on another play.
Having reviewed these players, how do you think the Giants defense stacks up to the Redskins offense? Has anything changed since the preseason to affect your confidence?
Poll
Who is the Giants’ best defensive player?
This poll is closed
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23%
Lorenzo Carter
-
17%
Dalvin Tomlinson
-
23%
Dexter Lawrence
-
11%
Alec Ogletree
-
14%
Jabrill Peppers
-
5%
Janoris Jenkins
-
2%
Other (explain below)
Poll
Which team has the better defense?
Poll
If you could force the Giants to trade one player (contract included) on defense to the Redskins for a late round pick, who would it be?
This poll is closed
-
24%
Lorenzo Carter
-
10%
Dalvin Tomlinson
-
13%
Dexter Lawrence
-
20%
Alec Ogletree
-
24%
Jabrill Peppers
-
6%
Janoris Jenkins