Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux defends early-season performance: 'There are a lot of social media GMs'
Kayvon Thibodeaux’s second pro season, purely from a statistical standpoint, has gotten off to a slow start. In two games against the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals, Thibodeaux has four combined tackles (all against Dallas) and has been held without a sack or a tackle for loss.
But when the second-year pro and former first-round pick was asked on Tuesday about his play so far this season, Thibodeaux explained that what he’s done goes far beyond the stat sheet.
“There are a lot of social media GMs,” Thibodeaux said. “There are a lot of people who want the game and want to coach and want to create narratives, but as along as I stick to the game plan and my coaches and my team are happy with what I’m able to do, whether it’s drop back or hold the edge or whatever it may be, I’m just happy to contribute.”
“If you watched the game, it’s all scheme,” he added. “Once Azeez [Ojulari] kind of got hurt, you understand that you’re left in a situation of being on the back side, so I was on the back side a lot of those plays. Granted, they were getting the ball out quick, and once you go down in a football game, they’re not trying to win the game with the plays that they’re running. It’s a lot of short runs and a lot of the guys were making plays, so for me it’s really not about the stat line, especially in the game of football. I think football is the only sport where you can contribute to a game without having any stats.
“When you go back and watch that tape, a lot of the balls are run to the other side, and then towards the end of the game when they did start to run my way, it was about setting the edge. It was about kind of doing my part … just being to contribute to a win felt pretty good.”
After a 40-0 loss in the opener and the 20-0 halftime deficit in Arizona, Giants fans both at the game and watching elsewhere were vocal with their displeasure, and rightfully so, after how flat the team came out in the first six quarters of the season.
Thibodeaux acknowledged that the Giants notice those boos, but said all that matters are the opinions coming from inside the locker room.
"The thing is, every fan just wants to be a part of a winning team. Even early in the game our own fans are booing us and giving up on us, and then as soon as we start to win, now everybody’s cheering and everybody’s excited and everybody wants to get a jersey signed and this and that,” Thibodeaux said. “It’s a tough situation but when you start to realize that the only people that matter are the people in the room and the people who are really here for us, is us. As long as we continue to focus on that and continue to control the narrative and keep pushing forward, we’ll be alright.”
As a collective group, it’s clear that Wink Martindale’s group on defense has not played up to par. While they’re in the middle of the pack in terms of yards allowed per game, the Giants rank last in the NFL with 34.0 points allowed per game. They’re also the only team in the NFL without a sack and one of four teams without a takeaway.
The Giants defense will try to get back on track on Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers, but it will be no easy task. San Francisco is averaging 30.0 points per game, tied for third in all of football.
“I mean, it’s still early, but we’ve given up a little too much,” Thibodeaux said about the defense’s overall play. “We obviously want greatness, and we strive for the best, so I don’t think as a defense as a whole we’ve been playing to the standard we see for ourselves.”
