Deonte Banks was called out by his position coach last week for a lack of effort on key plays.
Nothing of the sort happened after the cornerback's play in the Giants' 29-20 win over the Seahawks, with Banks recording more than creditable work against dangerous wide receiver DK Metcalf. did.
So did defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson's harsh public words somehow spark Banks' improved performance 10 days after the loss to the Cowboys?
“I don't want to speak for you guys, so I don't care what you think,” head coach Brian Daboll said of making that correlation. “'Te's in a good spot. He continues to work hard. We need to continue to develop all the young players that have played so far.'
Banks, 23, is a 2023 first-round pick and remains one of the youngest players on the roster.
In Week 4, he suffered a tough loss to CeeDee Lamb with a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown reception.
Banks didn't exactly break the guts to chase Lamb, and Lamb waltzed into the end zone.
Late last week, Henderson commented on Banks' response to that play: There was nothing to like about it. We expected it from him, he expected it from himself, and in that moment, he failed. ”
Banks admitted that, “My finishing was bad.”
There were no concessions made in Seattle.
Banks covered Metcalf on 35 routes, and Metcalf caught two of four targets against Banks for 24 yards, according to Next Generation Stats.
On one of those passes, a 10-yard completion, Banks reached out and caused a Metcalf fumble, which was recovered by rookie safety Tyler Nubin at the Giants 23-yard line.
Metcalf had four catches for 55 yards.
Banks earned a season-high grade of 84.6 on Pro Football Focus.
He hadn't posted a grade higher than 55.8 in his last four games.
“Jerome is a great soccer coach,” Daboll said. “He’s been doing this for a long time. [former] League player and coach. I think he has a good relationship with all the players. I thought, “You did a good thing.” Again, there are many things we can all clean together. But it was a good step for them to take that ball out on DK after they got cornered on a big play and get some balls and break them down. I thought it was a tough challenge against DK throughout the match. However, the young players are still growing. ”
Daboll did not have an update on rookie WR Malik Nabors, who did not travel to Seattle because he was still in concussion protocol.
We'll find out if Nabers will be on the field in some capacity on Wednesday, 13 days after suffering a concussion against the Cowboys.
On Sunday, the Giants allowed just two rushing yards in the first half.
This was the lowest number of rushes allowed in a first half since Oct. 2, 2005, when the Rams had zero yards rushing in a 44-24 win over the Giants.
