Shane Bowen Keen on Cleaning Up Giants' Defensive Woes

The Giants' defense hasn't impressed anyone thus far, but Bowen is confident that his group can rebound after a tough two weeks.

Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen looks on during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The New York Giants are 0-2 heading into Cleveland this Sunday for a showdown with the Cleveland Browns, and a big reason behind their winless start has been the sluggish start by the defense. 

A major issue that seems to have carried over from the Wink Martindale days is a lack of a stout run defense. Bowen had successful units during his time with the Titans that could stop the run, but the Giants have yet to replicate those results.

Whether it's not being able to shed blocks, shooting the wrong gap, or missing tackles, the Giants had clear issues against the Commanders. They allowed 215 yards on the ground, 133 of those courtesy of Brian Robinson Jr. 

The Giants allowed 6.1 yards per rush in Washington, once again having one of the worst defenses against the run in the entire league. Bowen knows they have to clean up tackling if they want any chance against the Browns and other future opponents.

"Missed some tackles, even on the scramble plays. We had guys in opportunities to make plays on those to get off the field on third down. And tackling showed up.  I think a couple were fit issues,” Bowen said. “We had guys in opportunities to make plays on those to get off the field on third down.” 

Bowen was honest in admitting that he was part of the problem Sunday. He said that he should have spied Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who had two big runs on third down, more often. 

“If I could have had those two back where he scrambled and spied him, I probably would have. That's one area. You can second-guess all you want. But we had (quarterback) spy in. We did it. We transitioned to doing some of that with (safety/linebacker) Zay (Isaiah Simmons) and then just not spying him on those situations when he converts and makes those (first downs), you kick yourself on that.” 

 Bowen agreed with an opinion expressed by linebacker Bobby Okereke earlier in the week: Too many players, himself included, were not wholly focused on doing their jobs.

“Every single play, we got to do our job. We got to focus. There'll be times where they make plays where they don't, and it's the old adage, if you make it, I'll probably say good job and I'll coach you and say, ‘Next time it's probably not going to work out that way,’” Bowen said. 

“Let's see if we can coach the action and not necessarily the result of what happened because a lot of times there's good plays that happen and we don't necessarily do it the right way. And the next time we don't do it the right way, it isn’t going to be so good for us.”

Despite the struggles by the defense, Bowen doesn’t sound like he’s considering any personnel changes.

“Tighten it up,” he said. “I think every position, every guy, including myself, we need to be better. So, continue to improve. Learn from the things that have happened to us already. They're not going anywhere. It's a copycat league. Teams see something that hurts you, they're going to come back to it. 

“Making sure we're locking in on those things and being able to handle the stuff that shows up on Sunday that maybe we weren't able to see or something new scheme-wise. For the most part, I think we're pretty status quo there as far as rotation and where we're at right now.” 

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.