Charlie Bullen’s first job after being promoted to defensive coordinator for the New York Giants won’t be related to scheme, but more to ensuring harmony between every level of his unit. Particularly after comments made by safety Jevon Holland following Week 12’s 34-27 defeat to the Detroit Lions in overtime, comments that appeared to be critical of Big Blue’s front seven.
Specifically, Holland, who snatched an interception, addressed why Lions’ running back Jahmyr Gibbs was able to consistently gash the Giants on runs up the middle. His response was telling, with the defensive back lamenting how Gibbs was “getting a handoff and he’s running straight and he’s not being touched, and then he gets to the second level and he’s got a full head of steam,” per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.
Holland explained this is a problem “Because if we hit him at the first level, he’s not gonna be untouched. So if he’s untouched, that means he’s not being hit at the first levels. He’s just running straight.”
Leonard’s reference to these comments as “Context to consider with today’s news about where accountability and blame lie for all this” speaks to the recriminations the Giants are dealing with defensively.
Those recriminations led interim head coach Mike Kafka to firing defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and naming Bullen as a surprising replacement. Kafka made himself the face of the decision, and it’s significant he raised communications issues as a factor.
New Giants DC Needs Each Position Group Working in Sync
Bullen must get each position group playing complementary football. That means having the defensive line impacting plays at source, linebackers getting downhill in a hurry and DBs stepping up when needed.
It will help to put his best personnel on the field in clutch situations. That’s something the Giants didn’t do at Ford Field, when three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II was left on the sideline for Gibbs’ game-winning 69-yard score.
Lawrence is playing through an injury, but the Giants still need more from the marquee names up front. Bowen couldn’t get the best from Lawrence and 2025 NFL draft third-overall pick Abdul Carter, but there is still talent for Bullen to work with in more effective ways.
Giants Have Talent to Answer Jevon Holland Complaint
Holland’s not wrong to speak out about the ongoing inability of the Giants to stymie running plays closer to the line of scrimmage. The defense is allowing 5.9 yards per carry, the most in the league.
That number is unacceptable for a unit with Lawrence, Carter and Pro Bowler Brian Burns along the front. The problem is the line’s not doing enough to keep blockers off linebackers, while safeties are taking bad angles and missing tackles in run force and pursuit. Holland’s fellow safety Tyler Nubin is guilty of seven missed tackles, per Pro Football Reference.
It’s a collective problem, but Bullen can give more time to rookie defensive tackle Darius Alexander, who showed out with two sacks against the Lions.
Alexander is trending upwards, but the next step is to shed blocks and clog running lanes more often. A higher snap count for true nose tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches, after the veteran run-stuffer played just 25 snaps in Detroit, would also help.
Bullen and D-line coach Andre Patterson can alter fronts and techniques, but Holland and the Giants still need for prominent linemen like Lawrence to do more.
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