Russell Wilson threw one of his trademark moon balls, a deep shot to Beaux Collins — an undrafted free agent who is a roster long shot — in the left corner of the end zone during 11-on-11s midway through Tuesday’s sweltering Giants practice.
Except this time, Wilson underthrew it.
Deonte Banks, who was covering Collins, didn’t realize, though. How could he? He never turned his head around to locate the ball, one of the baseline fundamentals for any cornerback when the ball is in the air.
Banks subsequently plowed through Collins as he tried to make a contested catch and was flagged for an obvious pass interference. Banks even decided to celebrate what he thought was a pass breakup before realizing he had committed the penalty.
Then after practice, Banks again failed to meet the moment. Speaking for the first time this training camp, what Banks — entering his third season with the Giants, who drafted him in the first round in 2023, and battling Cor’dale Flott to keep his starting job — didn’t say was just as revealing as what he did say.
There was not exactly a sense that he is playing with something to prove.
How would he assess his Year 2 showing?
“I just feel like it’s kind of like a sophomore slump, but I feel good,” Banks said. “So I’m cool.”
Does he feel a sense of urgency to live up to his first-round pick expectations?
“I’m just getting better every day, my guy,” he said.
What is he trying to improve?
“Just being a better player,” Banks quickly replied.
Banks showed flashes as a rookie under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, but struggled through a disastrous season last year under Martindale’s replacement, Shane Bowen. Martindale’s system, which allowed Banks to mostly play press/man coverage and jam opposing receivers at the line of scrimmage, seemed to suit Banks more than Bowen’s, which featured plenty of zone defense.
Bowen is back, but Banks’ position coach, Jerome Henderson, is not. Jeff Burris was hired as the team’s new cornerbacks coach and Marquand Manuel as passing game coordinator/secondary coach.
Henderson publicly criticized Banks’ lack of effort last year, which resulted in him getting benched during a Week 8 loss to the Steelers. That is the only thing Banks acknowledged as a point of emphasis.
“Just finishing plays, really,” Banks said. “That’s really it — just finishing plays.”
Paulson Adebo, who signed with the Giants this offseason after spending the first four years of his career with the Saints, has helped him with that.
“He just teaches me a lot, such as we talk about finishing plays a lot,” Banks said. “What Marshon [Lattimore] taught him, he kind of teaches me the same thing.
“Just getting better at finishing plays and being a better me.”
After two seasons as a bona fide starter, Banks is embroiled in a competition with Flott for the second cornerback spot. Adebo is a shoo-in as the top cornerback and Dru Phillips excelled as a rookie last year at the nickelback spot.
Banks and Flott had largely split the reps 50/50 between the first and second units to start camp.
On Tuesday, though, it was Flott who was primarily with the starters and Banks who was with the backups.
“We handle each player the way we need to handle them,” coach Brian Daboll said Tuesday. “Tae’s out there competing, playing faster. He’s going to have to go out there and perform at a high level. Everybody is. Make sure these guys have to earn it to go out there and get play time and help us produce — show it on the practice field and show it in the preseason games and when your number is called in a game, know what to do, do it at a high level. Do it with speed, toughness, aggressiveness on the defensive side of the football.“I think as a coach, we’re trying to teach him what to do, show him how to do it and really demand that they do it that way and it’s ultimately the responsibility of the player to go out there and do that.”
Banks certainly did not publicly express much change to his mindset.
But what is more important is that he shows one on the field.
Otherwise, the Giants secondary could have a significant hole.
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