The New York Giants have a special defense, no matter how you look at it. Entering the season, their defensive unit was supposed to be a weak point, led by new coordinator Patrick Graham. As a Yale graduate and one of the smartest coaches in the NFL, Graham joined a staff composed of veterans and a newbie in Joe Judge as the team’s head coach.
Ultimately, the defense was composed of new free agents and young players who hadn’t established themselves at the NFL level yet. But players are only as good as their scheme, and Patrick instituted a system that extracted strengths from his players and left the weaknesses behind.