What the New York Giants' Blueprint to Slow Down Derrick Henry Might Look Like

Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is no stranger to facing elite running backs like Derrick Henry. So to slow "The King" down, Martindale just might dip into his past game plans against another tough NFL running back he used to see on a regular basis.

New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale may be known for his pressure packages, but he has found a good amount of success shutting down really good rushing attacks.

Despite the defensive issues the Ravens had last season due to injuries everywhere, they ranked second in average rushing yards per game (84.5 average yards per game, just behind the Titans' 83.5 average yards per game allowed) in total rush defense. They were tied for second with Seattle, allowing 3.8 rushing yards per attempt, only bested by the Saints, who allowed 2.7 yards per carry.

So with the Giants facing a tough task in the form of Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, Martindale just might have a few ideas from prior gameplans to slow down the man nicknamed "The King."

Let's take a look back at an example. The Cleveland Browns have an intimidating running back of their own in Nick Chubb. He has bludgeoned many defenses en route to 100- and 200-yard rushing days, and he's a big reason for the Browns' success over the last couple of seasons.

In 2021, Martindale's Ravens defense, as it is every year, saw the Browns twice. The Ravens defense--again, severely limited by injury--managed to hold Cleveland to 140 rushing yards on 46 carries. That’s 3.01 yards per carry, well below their staggering 5.1 yards per carry average for the season. Chubb only amassed 79 yards on 24 carries during those two games.

So how did Martindale do it? It all started with his defensive line. The front three down linemen demanded attention, allowing the linebackers to play downhill and collect rushers as they attacked the line of scrimmage. Giants fans should probably be getting used to seeing only two defensive linemen with their hands in the dirt, but they should prepare to see more three-linemen packages on obvious rushing downs.

As you can see from the photos below, Martindale had most of the interior linemen covered. That makes it more difficult for the offense to pull the usual guards on any gap scheme, and pulling the tackles would give the defense that much longer to diagnose a play because they have further to go and are not natural pullers. 

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The alignment also negates the guards' ability to climb to the next level and block the interior linebackers. If the tackles climbed, it would leave an outside backer or edge rusher the freedom to squeeze and make plays in the backfield. 

This makes it a "pick your poison" option for the offensive blocking scheme.

To combat this, the Browns, in their second meeting against the Ravens, called a lot more play-action on first down. This caught the defense thinking, “stop the run,” with their run-heavy personnel. 

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They were able to suck the second-level defenders up and throw underneath the third-level guys. This will be something that Martindale needs to be aware of with Tennessee, as Ryan Tannehill has seen a lot of success with play-action, and he is very dangerous if he can get into a rhythm.

When the Titans are in obvious passing situations, that's where things get exotic. Look for Martindale to have multiple bodies standing up on the line of scrimmage. There may even be times when you only see one down lineman. This is where you could see Dexter Lawrence or Leonard Williams at nose surrounded by a bunch of linebackers or both defensive linemen flanked by stand-up linebackers.

In the photos below, you can see the confusion a defensive front like this can cause an offense. 

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Most offenses like to identify the down linemen so the offensive line can figure out who they need to block before the ball is snapped. Depending on whether it is a man scheme or a zone scheme in pass protection, this type of front will be confusing. 

Giants fans are anxiously awaiting the premiere of this Giants defense, which will likely be without its two starting outside linebackers and has some uncertainty among its inside linebackers.

The scheme will likely be the difference between success and failure for the defense in Week 1 against a very good Titans team.

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