New York Giants safety Jevon Holland is out to prove to the team and their fans that he was worth the $45 million investment they made in him last March.
The former Miami Dolphins 2021 second-round pick out of Oregon had a quiet debut with Big Blue last year as their free safety. In 14 games played, Holland recorded 59 tackles, five passes defensed, and one interception. He also made four special-teams tackles and returned two punts for a total of seven yards.
To be fair, Holland was thrust into a defensive backfield that had many new and struggling parts. Coordinator Shane Bowen’s passive, read-and-react approach had the defense flat-footed at times, and assignments were often missed or mishandled.
This year, with Dennard Wilson coming in as defensive coordinator, the Giants will be more aggressive. Holland will be asked to do more press coverage, which is more suited to his skill set.
Under Wilson and head coach John Harbaugh, the team will be more ready to play this year. Two days into training camp, they are already simulating game conditions, or “live periods,” which Holland sees as being very helpful.
“Some teams, some coaches may say that doing walkthroughs, making sure that we’re going through things in a slow manner can put you in mentally a clear space so when they the bullets are flying you don’t have to think about it. You’ve already been through the steps,” Holland told reporters at camp on Thursday.
“Other coaches say that you need to do live periods on a consistent manner so that when you are in those situations for the first time, and you’re stressed, when you get in the game, then it’s easier to be reactive rather than thinking about it and trying to make a play, trying to force a play. It just depends on what coach you’re going with. With Harbaugh, we do a lot of live periods. We also do some walkthroughs and whatnot. You kind of just adapt to the head coach, and the team takes the personality of the head coach.”
Harbaugh is a stickler for fundamentals and is known for drilling his players a little harder to hone their preparedness. That’s okay with Holland, who wants to improve his personal game across the board.
“As a leader, physically, mentally, every aspect I’m looking to grow,” he said.
Holland sees Harbaugh’s arrival as a much-needed U-turn after a season in which the Giants appeared to be playing without a purpose under former head coach Brian Daboll.
“I think Harbs is an old-school head coach, but he’s very self-aware, and he’s very clear with the players,” Holland said. “I think he has a defined standard for what we want, what he wants, and he’s explained that to us through OTAs and he’s given us examples. I think the team has already kind of taken that mindset.
“Just the small things. If we don’t want to do something, or people are complaining like — ‘you get to,’ or ‘you’ve got to do it because you’ve got to do it.’ That’s just what it takes. It takes what it takes. Just got to do the work if you want to be good.”
And everyone at Giants camp this summer wants to be good. It’s time for this team to start winning again, finally.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Jevon Holland aims to prove $45M investment was worth it for Giants
Reporting by John Fennelly, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Fennelly, Giants Wire | USA TODAY Network
