What We Might Expect from Don "Wink" Martindale's Defense?

Aggressiveness. Pressure. Trickery. It's all part of what new defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale likes to run in his defensive schemes.

The New York Giants unexpectedly had a vacant defensive coordinator position after Patrick Graham made a lateral move to the Las Vegas Raiders. The expectation was that Graham would return to New York if the Vikings didn't hire him to be their head coach. 

So much for that. Graham reunited with Josh McDaniels, with whom he was on the Patriots staff, and the Giants commenced a defensive coordinator coaching search. It appeared their number one choice was former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale.

If there is a football-term synonymous with Martindale, it would be pressure. Martindale loves to blitz and blitz often. Despite the Ravens' injuries on the back end, Baltimore still ranked sixth in the NFL in blitz percentage in 2021 (31.1 percent).

The injuries in the secondary prevented Martindale from reaching elite defensive status, something he achieved over his first three years as coordinator. Here are Wink Martindale's defensive finishes in yards per game from 2018-to 2021:

NFL Stats

These are elite defensive statistics in three consecutive seasons, but 2021 marked the end of Martindale's tenure. There were also rumblings about disagreements between Martindale, who was entering his final year of the contract, and head coach John Harbaugh. 

Regardless of why Martindale was available, the Giants were able to find a very qualified candidate who can add a specific identity that's adaptable to hopefully join the list of great Giants defensive coordinators.

Martindale's philosophy

The Ravens were known for creating free rushers, and it wasn't only due to plus numbers, although the Ravens weren't scared to bring Cover-0 blitz.

In the above clip, the Ravens bring an undetected nickel blitz, and the coverage is man, which is very common in Martindale's system. 

Odafe Oweh positions himself on the outside shoulder of the right tackle; this puts that tackle in a bind because he has to initially pay attention to safety Brandon Stephens, who appeared to be blitzing but was just executing man assignment on the running back. 

The left side of the line is occupied with defenders, and no one accounts for a well-disguised blitz from the slot defender who sacks the quarterback.

This is an excellent example of manipulating protection in a 3rd-and-6 situation. The Ravens show blitz to the offense's left, but two defenders cover the two eligible receivers to that side. 

In this next clip, there are four defenders on the right side against three blockers, with the Vikings in an empty formation. This puts the right tackle in a two-on-one situation, which is very common and desirable in Martindale's scheme. The safety gets an easy pressure, and the pass goes incomplete.

The Ravens overload the left side of the Vikings' offensive line. The free rusher comes off the edge; two blockers account for Oweh because of the scheme, which leads to the lack of attention on the other side of the line of scrimmage. 

Martindale sends six true rushers with a linebacker accounting for the tight end. This is an interesting and advantageous wrinkle in the blitz package that requires quick and intelligent second- third-level defenders—a win for Martindale on 3rd-and-9.

The Cover-0 blitz is an all-out pressure with no deep safety, so it's man coverage across the board with many defenders coming after the quarterback. 

The Ravens ran it in the above clip, and clogged the interior line with a double A-gap twist. The line gets pushed back into Ben Roethlisberger, and there were one-on-one matchups outside against the tackles for the two edge rushers. 

In this next clip (below) Baltimore intercepts Joe Burrow on this Cover-0 blitz in the red zone. The Ravens align two second-level defenders into the A-gap and bring them both. Oweh and Chris Board angle their rush inward, leaving Bowser unblocked to pressure Burrow and force the poor throw to Marlon Humphrey.

Burrow gets the wrong end of this unblocked blitz through the B-gap. Anthony Levine aligns in the A-gap right before the snap; the presence of Oweh outside the tackle, along with Clark, (aligned wide) creates a numbers advantage for Baltimore. 

The guard blocks Levine, the tackle Oweh, and Mixon mistakenly takes Clark, but no one accounts for Tony Jefferson, who sacks Burrow without being touched by Cincinnati.

Twist with Pressure

Martindale doesn't solely use extra rushers to win; he also incorporates twists and stunts, sometimes combined with a blitz to stress the offensive line.

Queen is stacked behind the nose tackle Justin Ellis in this front. Queen then loops around the strong side, inside the slanting 4i-technique. Pernell McPhee  takes a wide-angle to open the B-gap, and Queen does well to fend off a late guard to crash into the pocket and force an incompletion.

The Ravens run a double stunt with a five-man pressure. Look at the path of the two players (Patrick Queen and Chris Board). The former aims to target the tackle's inside shoulder while the latter is slanting into the A-gap to occupy the right guard. 

This opens the B-gap and allows Justin Houston to have a clear path in the pocket. Board also works on a twist with Calais Campbell , and Oweh wins around the edge to sack Teddy Bridgewater.

Chuck Clark earns a sack on this creative blitz with two second-level defenders looping around Bowser and Oweh into the A and B-gap with Campbell occupying the tackle outside. 

This put the running back in a tough spot to block one of the two blitzers isolated against him. Queen and Daelin Hayes drop into coverage; Smith rotates deep to the opposite side of the field, and it creates very creative four-man simulated pressure.

This is a more "traditional" twist up front, but it's disguised well. Board bails after showing blitz, and Oweh loops around the nose tackle to create pressure. Bowser wins his matchup and hits Andy Dalton.

Coverage differences with Patrick Graham

Graham was very adaptable to his opponent. Despite his reputation for being aggressive most of the time, Martindale is as well. But stylistically, the two run different overall philosophies stemming from when they run certain packages. 

Most of Graham's Cover-0 plays came on fourth down--fourth-and-short to be specific. Graham used many pattern match types of principles within his system on the backend. Martindale also used match principles within his Cover-3 and quarters looks.

Graham was heralded for his ability to adjust against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, among other teams. Martindale did the same against the Chiefs, where he hardly blitzed and even dropped eight at times. Martindale isn't just about the blitz; he adjusts to his opponent and does a good job adjusting to what he is witnessing throughout the game.

Graham ran man coverage in high-leverage situations; Martindale did as well, but more often than Graham. Both coordinators are brilliant defensive minds but expect more pressure and even more exotic personnel employments with Martindale in charge.

Final Thoughts

Martindale will add more of a pressure element to the New York Giants, akin to a Rex Ryan type of defense. The personnel usage is unique--there will be safeties in the box with the line of scrimmage crowded, multiple outside linebackers on the field, and blitzes can come from literally anywhere.

With the hiring of Martindale, the Giants find themselves in possible need of more cornerbacks who can play man coverage. If there's any weakness to this defense, it's a lack of cover players. This is why we think the Giants will prioritize coverage over pass rush; Martindale can scheme pass rush, but he can't force disciplined and athletic coverage players on the back end. 

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