Takeaways from NY Giants Steve Spagnuolo's Press Briefing and What They Mean
After almost five months, New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo finally took center stage and addressed the media following the conclusion of the second rookie minicamp practice.
As always, he was engaging, thorough with his responses and refreshingly honest. He also offered a very good glimpse into his thinking, which helps one form early projections on what to expect moving forward as he rebuilds last year’s 29th-ranked defense.
Here are the key takeaways from what Spagnuolo had to say, along with what it could all mean for the Giants defense moving forward.
He Has Grown as a Coach Since Leaving the Giants
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Fresh off of the success of the 2007 season, Spagnuolo became one of the hottest coaching commodities in the NFL.
According to John Branch of the New York Times, Spagnuolo was sought by Washington to be its head coach.
Spagnuolo declined the offer and was given a pay raise by the Giants that Branch reported to be approximately $2 million per season, which made Spagnuolo one of the highest paid defensive coordinators in the NFL.
Still, after an equally successful season in 2008, this time money couldn’t keep Spagnuolo with the Giants.
He became the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams, a position he held for three rocky seasons before embarking on one rocky season as the defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints.
Along the way, Spagnuolo learned a hard lesson about the business.
That lesson is that every year, every situation is indeed different, and that sometimes it’s more prudent to take a step back to the beginning and to start from scratch when building a team or a defensive unit.
In his second stint with the Giants, Spagnuolo is applying that lesson in rebuilding a defense that was, for all intents and purposes, broken.
He told reporters he has been showing the defensive players videos of past Giants defenses in order to help them understand the sense of pride those players of yesteryear took in doing their jobs.
“At the top of the list is the bottom of the foundation,” he said when asked what his earliest priorities have been regarding building the defense.
“We’ve got to build this thing gradually, and the coaches all believe you can’t do anything until you get all of the basics right.
“Some of the basics go all the way back to things that have nothing to do with talent, have nothing to do with being out here on the field, but believing in what we’re doing, the character of the guys in unity, integrity and then we go from there. So we started from ground one and began to build it up.”
Spagnuolo then went on to explain that his goal was to build a sense of “buy-in” and “ownership” among the players, something that will presumably come through open communication as to what they like to do and how it can help with the scheme.
“When you embrace something, you have a little pride in it. If you’ve got a little pride in something like your family, you tend to protect it,” Spagnuolo said.
“The only other thing I added to them was let’s grow our own tradition and history here.”
This approach is one of the reasons why Spagnuolo, despite his words of caution about the process needing some time to take root, should be successful.
He is going beyond the X’s and O’s, as his boss, head coach Tom Coughlin, preached so many times last year.
How many times last year, for instance, did the Giants defense give up a big play only to look dazed and confused?
Spagnuolo wants to eliminate that mindset and get them to the point where if they are burned by the opponent, they get angry and do something about it rather than getting dejected.
That’s solid coaching right there that has nothing to do with the X’s and O’s. If he can get all of his guys to buy into that mindset, the Giants defense should be able to overcome just about any adversity it might face.
Don’t Expect Things to Pick Up Where They Left off in 2007 and 2008
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On the surface, most people no doubt realize the 2015 defense is not yet close to being in the same ballpark as the 2007 and 2008 Giants defenses.
Still, Spagnuolo is smart enough to understand that some people are of the mindset that things could and should be that way, though he cautions fans to temper expectations while this process is ongoing.
“This isn’t an on-and-off switch where, boom, all of a sudden we’re back to 2007 and we pick up where we left off,” he said. “I’m not a magician—no coaches are magicians. Things aren’t going to happen like they may have happened in a different time, but hopefully something exciting will happen.”
Spagnuolo joked about how since his return to the Giants, he has come across several of his former players from 2007 and 2008, quipping, “I tried to put a helmet and pads on them.”
While he can’t turn back the clock, he does see talent in his meeting room with which he can work.
“This may sound minimal to you all, but when I stand in front of that defensive group in the meeting room, I see attentive guys. I see people that want to learn, that are in tune to it, that are passionate about it, and I think it all begins there,” he said.
With that all said, Spagnuolo does have an idea of what identity he wants for this year’s defense, and that identity doesn’t really stray that much from the ones the '07 and '08 units had.
“It’s relentless. It’s attacking. Michael Strahan said this in one of the things we were watching. He said when he first got here, they—meaning all of his defensive players—took pride in living up to the New York Giants defensive tradition.
“I thought that just spoke volumes. That’s a lot to live up to. So if we can shoot for that and get close to that, I think we’ll be pretty good.”
There Are Still Holes on the Defense
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Spagnuolo is as refreshingly honest as one can be, so much so that he openly stated, “There are places where we need to fill some holes.”
One such place he admitted to being iffy about is the slot cornerback spot.
“That’s one we’re trying to feel through, to be honest with you,” he said, adding, “You’ll probably see as we go through the OTAs that there’ll be a number of guys working in and out of there.”
That comes as no surprise given how a lot of teams deploy three-wide sets that require the defense to have three solid defensive backs on the field.
While Trumaine McBride is probably at the top of the depth chart right now, Spagnuolo mentioned Josh Gordy and Mike Harris as other possibilities.
Others who might get a chance to show what they have in that role could include Bennett Jackson, a cornerback who is trying to learn the safety position.
The Giants could also kick the tires on former Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington, who, per Pro Football Focus, played in 164 snaps as the slot cornerback and finished with an 83.9 NFL rating in that role.
“We need to get that solved and we need to identify who the nickel is,” Spagnuolo said.
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Expect New Wrinkles
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Overall, Spagnuolo figures to run the same core philosophies he had in place back in 2007 and 2008. However, as he pointed out, having had a chance to experience other systems in between his Giants stints, he has picked up a few new ideas.
He didn’t go into specifics, but based on the personnel and his desire to get the 11 best talents on the field for every situation, the possibilities could be endless.
One potential idea could be a pass-rushing package that includes Jason Pierre-Paul, Damontre Moore, Owa Odighizuwa, George Selvie and Robert Ayers Jr.—an expanded “Four Aces” package, if you will.
Another might see linebacker Jonathan Casillas serving as a third safety in the “big nickel,” a move that would make sense while the young depth continues to gain experience.
It will also be interesting to see what he does with the linebackers.
For instance, will Jon Beason, who has had injuries to his knee, Achilles and more recently his toe, be reduced to a two-down run-stuffer?
Will Devon Kennard, who showed promise as an outside blitzer, continue in that role?
And might this be the year Pierre-Paul finally sees more snaps on the left side?
“Sure, and (defensive line) Coach (Robert) Nunn and I have talked about that,” Spagnuolo said. “I haven’t had enough of a long conversation with JPP to know what he’s more comfortable with, but when you’ve got a talented player, you try to put them in places where they can excel and help your defense.”
He's Looking for a Few Good Leaders
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How much does Spagnuolo miss former linebacker Antonio Pierce?
A lot apparently, especially considering he offered an unsolicited shout-out to his former captain, of whom he said, “Would I like to have AP back? Sure. He ran the show. He was pretty good.”
Again, though, this isn’t 2007. With Antrel Rolle now in Chicago, Spagnuolo’s new field generals might not be as apparent as initially thought.
“That’s going to take a little bit of time. There are guys in that room that we’re working with right now that I know in the past, having listened to other coaches or watching the Giants from afar, that I think there’s some good leaders there and I think you always have got to develop more,” he said.
“Sometimes when leaders leave the program or system, some guys jump up that you would have never expected. Sometimes leadership lids are removed and guys that you never even would have thought would step to the forefront.”
The common belief is that middle linebacker Jon Beason will be one of the senior leaders on the defense.
The problem with Beason is whether he will be there for 16 games, a risk considering his history. That’s why it wouldn’t be surprising if Spagnuolo isn’t putting all of his eggs in Beason’s basket.
The good news is there are other leadership candidates on that defense, such as linebacker Jameel McClain, who was with Spagnuolo in Baltimore and who, besides cornerback Chykie Brown, is the most familiar with Spagnuolo and his ways.
Other potential candidates include cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is entering his second year as a Giant, and, if they earn starting jobs, safety Nat Berhe and linebacker Devon Kennard.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand for this article unless otherwise sourced.
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