From the time James Bettcher was hired as defensive coordinator by Pat Shurmur Derek Wolfe Jersey , there has been speculation whether the New York Giants were switching from a four-man front to a three-man look.
After all, it's what the 39-year-old Bettcher ran with the Arizona Cardinals last season.
Bettcher dropped a hint Wednesday in his first interview since taking the job: He is not into labeling defensive schemes.
The Giants are going to use a lot of formations, including three- and four-man fronts. Sometimes, they are going to put five up front. They are going to keep offenses guessing, and they are going to attack.
"What it is about is playing relentless," Bettcher said. "The game is about playing hard. The game is about playing physical. The game is about playing smart. Those are things that our guys are going to do whether we are bringing five or six or dropping eight, whatever we are doing, whatever the field position is. The thing our fans are going to see, they are going to see a defense that is going to run around, that plays hard, plays fast and plays smarts and plays physical. That's what playing defense is about."
Bettcher will start laying the foundation for his defense Monday when players show up for organized team activities. The OTAs are a time that most coaches and coordinators begin discovering what they have, especially with a new team.
"Right now, if you asked me who we are on defense, I have no clue Tyrod Taylor Jersey ," Bettcher said, adding by the end of training camp he will know.
The Giants certainly will have a different look, at least based on personnel.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was released and fellow CB Ross Cockrell was signed by Carolina as a free agent. The Giants added Alec Ogletree in a trade with the Rams and signed fellow linebacker Kareem Martin as a free agent. LB Devon Kennard signed with Detroit as a free agent, while defensive captain Jonathan Casillas, also a linebacker, remains a free agent.
The mainstays up front will be tackles Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson along with end Olivier Vernon. Ogletree and Martin will be the core of the linebackers, and cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Landon Collins will anchor the secondary.
"This isn't going to be James Bettcher's defense," Bettcher said. "This is going to be our players' defense, this is going to be these assistant coaches' defense, this is going to be our defense."
The process of putting the defense together will be done over the next five-plus months, and a version of the final product will be rolled out in early September. Bettcher said everyone is starting with a clean slate. There are some who need that.
There was squabbling among the defensive backs last season, and 2016 first-round draft pick Eli Apple miffed some teammates with his attitude and play.
Defensive end Josh Mauro, who played for Bettcher in Arizona before signing with the Giants as a free agent, will sit out the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's policy on performance enhancers.
Bettcher called Apple a very talented player who can do everything expected of a cornerback.
"He's a guy that Rico Gathers Jersey , I think it's a guy that has expectations for himself and that's the most important thing," Bettcher said.
In his three years as Cardinals defensive coordinator, Bettcher's unit was consistently among the NFL's best in yardage allowed and run defense. Arizona led the league in sacks (48) in 2016, and Chandler Jones had a league-high 17 last season.
"I just love football, I love watching football, I love talking about it, I love being around it," Bettcher said. "I probably tire my wife out very much when we watch football. We're home and it's in-season and it's a Saturday afternoon when we have some time and we have college football in the house and we're watching ball. So it's an exciting time."
And a time to build a defense.
After winning 14 of 15 games and opening a 10-point lead in the Central Division, the Nashville Predators were due for a fall. Three games in four days against Toronto, Minnesota and Winnipeg — the last two on the road — provided the proper setup for a slump.
Three losses later, including Sunday night’s 5-4 shootout setback to Winnipeg, Nashville’s lead has been cut in half. That sets the stage for a little more drama in the regular season’s final two weeks as the Predators now lead hard-charging Jets by just five points with seven games left.
The schedule-maker provided Nashville with a providential three-game homestand, starting Tuesday night with Minnesota’s final visit of the regular season.
At 48-16-11, the Predators have 107 points William Perry Jersey , good for a one-point lead on Tampa Bay in the battle for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. To hold onto that, Nashville will look to end its brief skid against Minnesota.
Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis said the team should be encouraged by their performance in Winnipeg, where it managed a point on the second half of a back-to-back and came within a post — Kyle Turris beat Connor Hellebuyck but not the iron right before overtime ended — of two points.
“It’s not about Xs and Os so much,” Ellis said. “It’s about being on the puck first, hitting guys first and initiating stuff like that. Tonight, in a back-to-back versus that team, it was a good game for both sides.”
It was definitely a good game for Nashville’s backup goalie, Juuse Saros, who stopped 43 of 47 shots and gave his team a chance to leave Canada with two points. The rested Jets put 25 shots on Saros in the second period alone, and he made three clutch saves in overtime.
Pekka Rinne (40-11-4, 2.27 goals-against average, .928 save percentage), coming off consecutive losses for the first time since mid-December, should get the start in net against Minnesota. The Wild have beaten him all three times they’ve faced him this season Daryl Williams Jersey , including a 4-1 verdict Saturday night that featured the ejection of Predators coach Peter Laviolette late in the third period.
Minnesota (42-24-9) had a chance to cap its weekend with a stirring come-from-behind win over Boston on Sunday night but ceded a Brad Marchand goal 28 seconds into overtime and fell 2-1 despite 26 saves from backup goalie Alex Stalock.
“We hit a couple of posts and we had a goal called back,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We got three of four points this weekend against two of the best teams in the league, so we’re holding our own. This was a big point.”
Minnesota enters with 93 points, three more than Colorado, and stands third in the Central. The Wild are 3-0-2 in their last five games but play five of their last seven on the road.
Devan Dubnyk (32-14-6, 2.60, .916), who owns three wins against Nashville this season, should get the call in net. Minnesota will get a fresh face in the lineup with the signing of Boston University standout Jordan Greenway, who had 13 goals and 22 assists this season for the Terriers. He’s expected to make his NHL debut in Nashville.
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