'Speed doesn't scare me. But we will respect it': How NY Giants plan to slow down Dolphins
EAST RUTHERFORD - Tae Banks is ready to compete.
Which means the rookie cornerback from the New York Giants also be ready to run.
The Giants are well aware of what they are up against Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium against the Dolphins.
Cornerback Adoree' Jackson joked that Miami could put together a 4-x-100 relay team and challenge for the Olympics within an offense directed by Tua Tagovailoa and featuring Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and a pair of running backs, rookie De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert, who are among the fastest in the league.
One week after going head-to-head with Seahawks star receiver DK Metcalf, who uses his 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame to push corners around, Banks is preparing for playmakers who will test his 4.35 40-yard time.
"Speed doesn't scare me. But we will respect it," Banks told NorthJersey.com. "I'm a fast guy, too. If you want to run, let's run. If you want to run, we can run."
Banks has held his own in coverage for the most part through his first four games, although he left two of them early dealing with injuries: cramping and a bruised calf against the Cowboys in Week 1, a deep bruise in his upper arm in Week 3 against the 49ers.
Banks was beaten by Metcalf for a touchdown early in the Giants' 24-3 loss to the Seahawks when the latter acted as if the play was over, only to react to a great throw from Geno Smith for the score. Metcalf tried to take advantage of the 22-year-old by using his physicality, but that played into what Banks has previously called "my super power."
"I learned a lesson about keeping my composure. Just play ball," Banks said. "He definitely tried to intimidate me a little bit away from the ball. But like I've said before: I belong here. I don't feel like I need approval or anything like that. You feel me? I know I belong here, and I don't back down from nothing. I'm gonna line up the next play and be ready to go, keep going. [Metcalf] got me with a good play by him. That's not going to happen again, not like that, and I'll keep learning."
The Giants have the worst point differential in the NFL at -76. The Dolphins are +31, and next Sunday's opponent, the Bills, begin this weekend at +84.
Giants secondary coach Jerome Henderson has been stressing to his defensive backs, with regard to what the Dolphins, to just forget about what you think you know about offense and focus on the game plan at hand. Teams like the 49ers and the Dolphins attack differently than other teams will and present different issues.
"There are some teams where I tell my guys this is pretty much NFL blueprint football, and there are things that we know that we can hang our hat on," Henderson said last week. "There are going to be other teams that, this is not NFL blueprint, forget everything you know, you've got to go in and learn new things about this team and how they play. So, we are aware of that and each week we focus on what we know about this team and how are they gonna attack us."
Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale compared this Dolphins offense, which scored the most points in an NFL game since 1966 when it put a 70-burger on the Broncos two weeks ago, to the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf. That team led by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, went to back-to-back Super Bowls in 1999 and 2000.
“My wife called me [Wednesday] night before she went to bed,” Martindale said Thursday. “She said she was worried about me: ‘Are you getting any sleep?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m sleeping like a baby. Every two hours, I wake up and cry and go to the bathroom.'"
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Giants: No fear, just respect for Dolphins' speed on offense
