Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale recently called out defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux in front of the entire defense. On Wednesday, Thibodeaux said he has no problem with the approach.
“Players love to know what they need to get better at,” Thibodeaux told reporters, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “The last thing anybody needs at this level of the game is for someone to blow smoke to them.”
Martindale’s effort was not to blow smoke but to get Thibodeaux to catch fire.
“[It was] him wanting to let me know that he feels I can be a Pro Bowler this year, he feels I can kind of take the league by storm, and me knowing that him saying it really doesn’t mean much, right?” Thibodeaux said. “It’s about what I do every day. That’s kind of the conversation that we had: that I am the only one that can get me to the places that I want to be.”
Thibodeaux knows that, if he doesn’t get there, he won’t be in the NFL for long.
“If you are not growing, you are losing,” Thibodeaux said. “If I don’t become a better player, I am going to be out in three years. That’s the truth to the NFL. Just understanding that if I want to be here for a long time, it has got to be a continuous growth. . . . I think [it’s about] always taking accountability about just being a leader and doing things the right way. Just continuing to be a leader, continue to work on my game.”
It it works out, the Giants will have their next pillar a line of great pass rushers — and it could be enough to deliver the Giants another team that contends for multiple Super Bowl wins.
