The New York Giants know that their traditional path to success is through their defense, especially the pass rush.
Over the last decade, the Giants have not been as successful as they were during their Super Bowl days, and the results have been clear in the standings. They have had nine losing seasons in the last 11 years.
This season promises to be different. Kayvon Thibodeaux, the fifth pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is a rising star. He recorded 11.5 sacks in his second season and is poised for even greater success.
The Giants concluded that Thibodeaux might not be enough to fit new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s system and traded him last offseason for Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers.
Burns, himself a former first-round pick, has recorded 46 sacks over the course of his five-year NFL career and has never had fewer than 7.5 in a season.
The Giants now have a formidable duo that opponents will have to reckon with. “Choose your poison” is the message. You can’t stop them both.
With all-world defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence between them, the possibilities are endless for the two. The Giants know this and plan to exploit the mismatches early and often in games.
#Giants Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux on what the signing of LB BRIAN BURNS will mean for this defense 💪😈
“He brings that ANIMAL attitude to the outside supporters.” @agentdexy97 @kayvont @Fire_Burns99 @heykayadams @Giant pic.twitter.com/jddYldH602
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) 12 August 2024
The plan is to keep both players on the field as often as possible to keep pressure on the opposing offense. With a defense that blitzes less and relies on its front four to apply pressure, the strategy will depend on both players playing a lot of snaps.
This shouldn’t be a problem for Thibodeaux or Burns, who barely left the field in 2023. From the New York Post:
Thibodeaux (86.8 percent of defensive snaps under former Giants coordinator Wink Martindale) and Burns (82.8 percent in his 16 games for the Panthers) were both among the NFL’s top 18 edge rushers in terms of total defensive snaps last season.
And if the duo needs to be replaced, the Giants have capable backups in Boogie Basham and Azeez Ojulari. Charlie Bullen, the new outside linebackers coach, believes the Giants have more than enough resources to play four quarters at a high level each week.
“The most important thing is that there is no drop in performance,” Bullen recently told reporters. “If Burns or KT are tired, we need to bring in the next player. We need waves of fresh players. If you look at the great strikers of the last few years who have performed consistently well, there is no drop in performance. My advice to all non-starters is that the standard is the standard and whoever is in has to maintain it.”
Let the games begin, as they say.
