Read what Brandon Staley and Joe Lombardi had to say ahead of the Bolts' Week 14 game vs. New York.
Staley on the Giants' offensive weapons
"This offensive group is really, really good. I went against this group last year, and then they add [Giants WR] Kenny Golladay. I was in the division with Kenny in Detroit. I defended him when I was in Denver in 2019. This guy has real size. This guy looks like a pro wideout, like you want him to look. A really good player. I have so much respect for [Giants WR] Darius Slayton. Going into the game last year, Darius was a really big part of our process. He has real deep speed. Then, [Giants WR] Sterling Shephard, I think that guy is super underrated. I'm a big fan of his game...
"When I look at this team, they have a lot of weapons, a lot of legit NFL weapons. That's not even talking about [Giants WR] John Ross [III], who runs 4.2 [40-yard-dash]. They have a ton of players. If you take a look at their schedule and you look deeper into the film, you're seeing a team that's not coaching conjecture or anything like that. This team has real weapons."
Staley on RB Saquon Barkley
"We had the number one run defense in the NFL, the number one defense in the NFL by a mile in 2018, and we went to New York — getting ready for Saquon his rookie year, this guy is a real tailback. He's fought his way back. He's shown real toughness. I have full respect for this player. I think that they are really, really dangerous."
Staley on the Giants defense
"Their defense is outstanding. I really have a ton of respect for their defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham. I really think he's one of the top coordinators in football ... They have a lot of really good personnel on defense. Up front, [Giants DL] Dexter Lawrence [II], [Giants DL] Leonard Williams, those two guys are really, really good players. On the edge, [Giants LB] Lorenzo Carter, [Giants LB] Ximines [Oshane] — the guy from Old Dominion, I did a lot of work on him. They drafted the kid from Georgia, [Giants LB] Azeez [Ojulari], who is playing fantastic. In the second level, [Giants LB] Reggie Ragland, [Giants LB] Tae Crowder, those guys are a good linebacking tandem. Then in the secondary, they have a lot of pieces there to play winning defense. [Giants CB James] Bradberry has been a good player for a long time. He has really good ball skills. He's a good tackler. [Giants DB] Logan Ryan has been a champion. [Giants S] Xavier McKinney, the young safety, we did a lot of work on him when I was with the Rams. He's playing really, really good football.
"They've had a really good red zone defense since Patrick [Graham] has been there. They're very good against the run. When you see them play the premium offenses in the league that they've played — whether it's Tampa [Bay] or Kansas City, they've given those guys all they can handle. Then, what they did a couple of weeks ago that caught my attention was the way they played Philadelphia. Philadelphia had been rolling by running the ball, quarterback run game with [Eagles QB Jalen] Hurts and all that. They completely shut that thing down. They had a bunch of takeaways. They're playing really, really quality football on that side of the football. They have our full attention. I just think they have really good personnel. I think they do a really good job coaching."
Joe Lombardi on the Giants defense
"Man, they're strong inside, like strong up the middle. Their defensive linemen are heavy, violent and hard to move. Their safeties are really good. I've had some experience with [Giants CB James] Bradberry. I know that he's a real solid guy. [Giants CB] Logan Ryan, I don't know what his health statuses. I know that he was on the injury report, but he's very good. A little bit like the Patriots, there's just all these different numbers you see rolling in -- who's the nickel going to be, who's the dime going to be? Those teams do a really good job of cross-training all of their DBs and linebackers.
"As you're trying to talk to the receivers about how this is the number that you're probably going to be blocking on this, I don't know exactly who that's going be. There's a lot of variety to the looks that they give the players that they have out there. They're a well-coached team. They're fundamentally sound. They do give you a large number of looks and little nuances of their defense that are problematic. I was hoping that they were going to be worse when I turned on the film, but they're a pretty solid group."
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