Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell: 'I'm going to demand that we be physical'
Perry Fewell was impossible to ignore on the first day of Giants’ rookie minicamp as he buzzed around the practice field, chasing players and shouting for top effort.
“Hey, that’s just normal,” said Fewell, the team’s new defensive coordinator. “I’m excited about being here, excited about ball starting and (being) able to get out of the meeting room and coach football.”
And then, he added: “It’ll get better.”
Fewell said this is his coaching style. And he also made it clear he has big plans for the Giants defense, which ranked 30th in the league in scoring defense last season, starting with being more physical.
“We’ve started off by drafting (DT Linval) Joseph, and he’s a pretty big guy,” Fewell said. “And I’m going to demand that we be physical and play physical. The Giant defense is a physical defense, we know that from history, and I want to return to the Giant defense.”
Fewell reserved judgment on the team’s top two draft picks – Joseph and South Florida defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul – saying that he liked what he saw on the first day of minicamp but has to wait to see if they can sustain it.
With five defensive draft picks and key additions in free agency, Fewell’s unit has been fortified. The biggest question mark is still at middle linebacker, but Fewell said “I do think we have men in the room that can do that.”
He will also have to balance playing time on the defensive line, for which he said his attitude is, “If they want to start, ‘Hey, prove it.’ ” Fewell added that he likes his best players to be on the field until they need a break and doesn’t plan to have a set schedule for the defensive line rotation.
Whatever gameday he decisions he makes will likely be done from the field, not from the box. Fewell said he’d “love to be on the sideline.” Since that’s what coach Tom Coughlin has preferred, sounds like it’s a done deal.
Coughlin singled out former Rutgers WR Tim Brown as a player who impressed him in today’s morning session. Brown, who signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent, had a few nice catches in which he showed off his quickness.
“He adjusted well and went low and picked the ball out of the air,” Coughlin said. “He was able to maneuver his body past the defenders when he was headed out on a deep route. He knows what he’s doing out there, and he has some nice speed.”
Pierre-Paul said he is looking forward to being with one team potentially for a few years, after transferring twice during college and never being with a team for its offseason program. He spent a lot of time working with new defensive line coach Robert Nunn on his stance and getting off the ball quickly.
“It’s going to have a big impact,” Pierre-Paul said. I’m going to basically be here just learning, being a sponge, soaking in things.”
With the departure of Jeff Feagles, the Giants need a new holder. The frontrunner now is backup QB Jim Sorgi, who K Lawrence Tynes said after Feagles’ press conference is the “comfort guy” because he’s a veteran. But there are advantages to using the punter as the holder, since he is more available to work with the kicker. Punters Matt Dodge and Jy Bond both worked on holds today.
“When it’s a quarterback, it’s an issue of time,” Tynes said. “Jim’s going to be taking a lot of reps with the new team and the new offense. We would rather it be the punter, for sure, for work purposes.”
Rutgers S Zaire Kitchen was a late addition to Giants rookie minicamp as a tryout. Duke DB Leon Wright, who had signed as an undrafted free agent, did not attend, which Coughlin indicated was due to his physical.
