Wink Martindale wants it loud on Sunday. He wants Giants fans breathing fire. He wants MetLife Stadium to vibrate.
The team’s new defensive coordinator began his Thursday press conference basically pleading with the fan base to be the 12th man.
“I’ve only lived here for a short period of time, but I know New Yorkers are loud, and we need to be loud in that stadium. They have to go on silent count,” he said. “If you want to be part of changing this culture here with the Giants: Be loud, and have that place rocking where people don’t want to come to our stadium. We’ll take care of the rest, and we’ll give you something to be loud about. Just be loud, and I can’t wait to see it.”
The Giants are coming off a thrilling, 21-20, season-opening win over the favored Titans and will be looking for their first 2-0 start since 2016 when they host the Panthers. The defense played well in Tennessee, rebounding from a shaky first half to key the victory and limiting star running back Derrick Henry to 82 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. Noah K. Murray
Wink Martindale wants Giants fans to be loud on Sunday. Anthony J. CausiHenry, the league’s two-time rushing leader, averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, which was the 13th-lowest of his previous 40 games, and held Titans top receiver Robert Woods to one catch for 13 yards. They did so despite the absence of top edge rushers Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux due to injury. The unit notched the second-highest tackling grade (five missed tackles) among all 32 teams by Pro Football Focus.
“Really happy with how we kept attacking it every play,” Martindale said. “We said going into it we weren’t going to flinch. I told them I owed them my composure, and those guys just took it one play at a time.”
Now the key is to back up that performance with another strong effort. The atmosphere should be electric for the first home game of the Brian Daboll era.
“I know this place loves defense,” Martindale said. “So, we’ll do our part, you guys do yours. That’s the way I look at it. It will be fun. It should be when you come to the stadium.”
It hasn’t been fun much at all lately for Giants fans. But this past Sunday certainly was, and maybe this Sunday will be as well.
