Giants’ defensive curveball leads to relentless pounding of Deshaun Watson
NY Post
CLEVELAND — The team that does not specialize in applying pressure via the blitz changed things up and that made all the difference.
“I mean, they switched up the game plan,” Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said Sunday, after he finally picked himself up off the turf after a hard day’s work at Huntington Bank Field.
The Giants sacked Watson eight times and hit him 17 times, severe punishment that had Browns fans booing and jeering as the Giants went on the road and notched their first victory of the season, 21-15.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is not known for heavy blitz packages, preferring to rely on establishing pressure up front with his four defensive linemen.
The Browns started out double-teaming both edge players, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Bowen adjusted by sending pressure up the middle, where Dexter Lawrence was dominating anyway.
“We knew there would be opportunities to get home because he’s a dynamic player, he looks for the big play, he likes to extend play,” Burns said. “We just kept in our minds to stay relentless and stay in the rush and that’s kind of what we did.”
There’s a reason why the Rangers brought in Jonathan Quick in the first place three years ago.
You could feel it up and down Madison Square Garden, especially across the first 35 or so minutes.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — You start with Matthew Schaefer because it is impossible not to start with Matthew Schaefer, because you cannot tell the story of how everything on, about and around the Islanders’ organization changed without starting with Matthew Schaefer.
Paolo Banchero stole this game — and Egor Dëmin’s glory.
LeBron James’ interest in golf has officially reached fever-pitch levels.
Kevin Stefanski dined but didn’t dash.
Cleveland is once again interested in an offensive-minded running the show.
The Jets have many, many decisions to make this offseason. One of the biggest is whether to re-sign running back Breece Hall, who is scheduled to hit free agency in March.
Josh Hart makes an impact in so many different ways.
Even on a day the Rangers got some positive injury news, they were blindsided by more bad luck.
Recently on the social-media site now called X — it’s so nasty they changed the name — someone asked this unhappy question: Which team has had the worst offseason?
The strategy was sad, but sound; anathema to competition, but reason to believe.
One of the NFL’s longest unions is no more.