Landon Collins thinks that the New York Giants defense can be a good one, the star safety, however, seeing the potential for this unit to be even better than that.
A year ago, the Giants defense suffered through not just injuries, but a severe dip in form from several key players. While some of those members are gone from this year’s team, a few of the prominent performers return and none is bigger than Collins.
Collins thinks this defense can turn things around, coming close to saying that this would be a great defense but instead saying “good.”
“Why did I stop? Because at the end of the day we’re going to be good regardless of the fact, but until those stats come out and we put it on paper when it counts the most, that’s when we’re going to call ourselves great,” Collins said.
And in order to be great, the Giants will need to get better production from Collins, who endured a lot of injuries last year. This year for the Giants, he will have the freedom to roam and anticipate as the Giants want to get him all over the field and not just patrolling the backend.
“Yeah, honestly, guys key on me. Offensive guys, especially coordinators and quarterbacks, I see them eyeing me all the time, saying ‘21’ or stuff like that,” Collins said on Wednesday. “Just trying to move in and out of the box, trying not to give them a clean read on where we’re coming from and stuff like that, or give them an idea of what kind of defense we are in, so yeah, I like to move up and down, side to side.”
The new 3-4 defense introduced by defensive coordinator Bettcher hopes to be more multiple in terms of attacking other teams. It is a new look to the unit and a new feel as well.
After a season where the 3-13 Giants splintered apart on and off the field, the addition of a new head coach in Pat Shurmur has ushered in a new vibe to the locker room. There is a sense of calm and direction, something that was lacking over the past two seasons around this team.
And Collins, one of the leaders of this team, might end up being a team captain.
“You know me, that’s an easy question. Yes, I definitely want to be a captain of this defense one of these years,” Collins said, admitting that 2017 wasn’t an easy season for the Giants.
“It comes through regardless of the fact, winning or losing. If you’re winning, people get comfortable and you’ve got to continue pressing that. You can’t get comfortable in this league. If you get comfortable, you get sent home. From that point of view, it goes hand in hand. If you’re losing, you definitely need [leadership] and when you’re winning, you especially need it because you need to keep everybody focused.”
