PHILADELPHIA – The scouting report on Arvell Reese and the special qualities that define his game continues to grow.
The ideal blend of power and speed with a vision of becoming a defensive weapon, altering play in every facet.
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Explosive. Instinctive. Relentless.
In the aftermath of Sunday’s 19-11 victory over the Eagles, the Giants‘ first at Lincoln Financial Field since 2013, D.J. Reader added to the list of what makes Reese special: the intense purpose with which he approaches each snap.
“Arvell proved yet again what I already knew, and I see it before every game, man,” Reader said. “He’s got this look in his eyes, he’s just ready to play. He’s gonna be special. He is special. I don’t know any young player that can do the things he does. I’m gonna be honest with you: you’ll have to find him. Maybe the kid in Seattle [safety Nick Emmanwori]. Because, you don’t find a kid that can cover the way he can cover. Come down and fill gaps in the run game. Rush the passer. Doesn’t miss tackles. He’s serious, man, and it’s special to watch. It’s very special.”
Lawrence Taylor had some advice for Arvell Reese, the greatest defensive game changer in the history of the New York Giants offering up his blueprint to greatness to the sensational rookie last month, as simple as that may sound all these years later.
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“He’s been great, I think he’s a good player,” Taylor said of Reese. “To tell you the truth, [the game plan] was: ‘See ball, get ball’ for me.”
That approach is seemingly working for Reese, whose emergence as an every-down beast on the Giants’ defense continues to turn heads.
Like a true defensive weapon, Reese is everywhere.
Turning the volatile nature of his game into power with knockback quickly become Reese’s calling card, a football superpower reminiscent of a former era. He registered 12 tackles, including 10 solos, with a career-best three sacks, becoming just the fifth Giants player to record that many sacks in a game against the Eagles in Philadelphia. Ever.
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Taylor. Michael Strahan. Justin Tuck. Leonard Marshall.
If the 6-foot-4, 243-pounder keeps playing like this, and if the Giants can keep winning games in John Harbaugh’s first season, Reese should be right there in the hunt for what has been an elusive award in team history.
The Giants have not had the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year since Taylor in 1981.
“Defensive Rookie of the Year, that should be set in stone,” cornerback Greg Newsome said. “Now we’re looking at Defensive Player of the Year. That’s what we’re kinda looking towards now. … He’s unbelievable. I’ve said it since Day 1: a guy that plays that violent, his ability to rush the passer, his ability to play in coverage. I don’t think people give enough credit for how smart he is. He’s off the ball, then he has to go in this gap, rush this way, that takes a lot.”
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At his best, Jason Pierre-Paul was included in conversations with Hall of Famers Taylor and Strahan in terms of individual dominance for the Giants. His 2011 campaign of game-changing plays on the way to the franchise’s Super Bowl XLVI victory deserves more attention as the seasons go on.
Pierre-Paul got to the point where he was feared, and on Sunday against the Eagles, he was the most impactful player on the field and there was an aura of invincibility that followed everywhere he went.
Why were the Giants the only team willing to play Reese where he excelled at Ohio State? What made the Giants zig while seemingly every other team in the Top 5 zagged in terms of projecting Reese as a pass rusher rather than letting him be a game changer right away at inside linebacker?
The Giants are reaping the benefits, as Reese is helping change the identity of this defense down in, down out, and perhaps the biggest reason why: it’s a business of talent and relationships.
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Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis played eight years in the NFL, so he knows the ins and outs of being an inside linebacker at the highest level. Wilson and Bush were on the coaching staff with the Rams when Laurinaitis played there, and when the Giants hit the scouting trail, digging for intel on Reese and other top prospects, they had an inside source, so to speak.
Back when Reese arrived on campus at Ohio State, there was no way Laurinaitis, then a graduate assistant, was going to allow his coaching peers to steal Reese and force him to become something he had yet to become without speaking up.
A transition to the defensive line lasted a few weeks as a freshman before Laurinaitis – and Reese – got their way, promising that his freakish talent, instinctive play and vision demanded it, and the rest is history.
See ball. Get ball. Repeat.
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And what’s scary for the rest of the NFL: Reese is still just getting started.
“He’s all football and he’s all gas, no brakes. I mean, that’s what he is,” Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said of Reese. “That’s what we saw in college. That’s why everybody in this building wanted to bring him in this building to be a part of this defense and be a part of this organization. He loves football and he takes nothing for granted. That’s part of his life, his journey to get to where he’s at. When he was at Ohio State, his journey to get here to the NFL, that’s who he is. And he had ups and downs as a young man and he’s fought through them. And just like as a player, he fights through everything. He wants to be the best player on the field when he lines up out there.”
And that’s exactly who Arvell Reese was for the Giants on Sunday against the Eagles, and countless times over this year.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Like a true defensive weapon, Arvell Reese is everywhere for Giants
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
