The temperature on the trial by fire for the NFL’s youngest secondary is about to reach a boiling point.
After already facing a parade of consistent 1,000-yard receivers over the first four games, the Giants are about to see the top-ranked collective aerial attack Sunday when the Seahawks (280.8 passing yards per game) line up DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
With quarterback Geno Smith completing 72.3 percent of his passes, limiting chunk gains is going to be a tall order for cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott, slot cornerback Dru Phillips and safeties Tyler Nubin and Jason Pinnock. Phillips and Nubin are rookies, and the other three still are on their first NFL contracts.
“They have an elite receiving corps,” Flott said. “Every week is a challenge. There is no week where you go in and feel like you are going to dominate somebody. They are all explosive, but different flavors of guys with DK’s size, [Smith-Njigba’s] quickness in the slot and Lockett can do it all. We’ve just got to play our game.”
Opposing quarterbacks have a 132.3 quarterback rating when throwing at Banks and a 121.2 rating when throwing at Flott, according to NextGenStats. Banks has allowed 17 catches on 27 targets for 247 yards and four touchdowns, while Flott has allowed 13 catches on 17 targets for 146 yards and a touchdown.
“I feel like I’ve left a lot of plays out there. I can be better and I’m going to be better,” Banks said confidently. “Truth be told, some of the plays that have been made on me, I’ve had good coverage. I just have to be able to get the ball out.”
One repeat concern is that Banks has been left with no safety help while offering a big cushion at the line of scrimmage inside the 10-yard line, which has led to surrendering inside positioning on quick slant touchdowns for Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson and the Browns’ Amari Cooper.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is encouraging Banks to play those situations differently.
“We’ve got to force the hard throw,” Bowen said. “We’ve got to eliminate those in-breakers. They’re going to have their fades. They’re going to have their back-shoulder [throws]. It’s a big part of what [the Seahawks] do, so this week it’s going to show up. But understand the leverage. Take away the easy throws, make them throw the hard ones — the lesser of the two evils in terms of completion percentage.”
Seahawks receivers are gaining an average of 3.8 yards of separation per route and are tied for No. 2 in the NFL with 601 yards after the catch.
It’s a good time for the Giants secondary to get back to full strength, with cornerback Nick McCloud (knee) in his second game back after missing two and Phillips (calf) and veteran cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (calf) trending toward playing after missing one game apiece. Neither McCloud nor Phillips has forced an incompletion on seven combined targets, according to NextGenStats.
“We’re all growing,” Flott said. “Being young is just another thing to talk about, to me. It’s going to slowly come for us — it’s not just going to pop out of the ground in a day or a week.”
If Banks plays like a No. 1 cornerback — the thought inside the organization after his rookie season was that he is ready to be one — then he will lift the others.
“I haven’t lost any confidence in myself,” Banks said. “You are going to face adversity. Chalk it up, keep going.”
Bowen has been “pleased” with the young secondary so far, especially the versatility and the backups forced into bigger roles.
“Hopefully we can speed up the clock [with the pass rush] at times, too, and take away some easy throws, quick-release throws,” Bowen said. “I think they’re battling. We’ve had a lot of moving parts there up to this point, just with injuries. There’s some roles that they were kind of forced into throughout these first four weeks. The biggest thing with them is continuing to improve.”
Relying on so many youngsters in the pass-heavy NFL is a risky proposition that the Giants accepted when constructing the roster to be front-seven-reliant.
For example, Nubin, who has looked like a physical tackler and a communicative leader, overran the ball on the first Cowboys touchdown pass (a screen) and took a bad cut-off angle on their second (a 55-yarder to CeeDee Lamb).
“This league is Murderers’ Row every week,” Bowen said. “Just some of the situational awareness, these young guys, they’re kind of learning by fire right now with some of that stuff. When you play with young guys, it’s going to happen.”