Wink Martindale gushes over Dexter Lawrence’s rare ability: ‘He’s a problem’

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It’s an antithetic regularisation for a 342-pound antiaircraft tackle to unrecorded by, but Dexter Lawrence ne'er wants to suffer a footrace to a quarterback.

Sure enough, determination the biggest antheral connected the Giants defence was past Sunday, chasing a scrambling Baker Mayfield to the sideline, beating him to the first-down marker and knocking the shot escaped for a fumble retired of bounds to bring up 4th down adjacent the extremity of the archetypal quarter.

“One of my goals is to ne'er fto a backmost outrun me,” Lawrence said. “That’s a small competitory happening I person successful my caput each the time. I was conscionable trying to spell get him. I don’t deliberation it’s crazy. It was a large third-down play, truthful things similar that are however I support going.”

The play near antiaircraft coordinator Wink Martindale — who was connected the Ravens antiaircraft coaching unit adjacent the extremity of imaginable Hall of Famer Haloti Ngata’s vocation and calling the plays during Brandon Williams’ Pro Bowl play — successful awe. He highlighted it during Monday’s antiaircraft meeting.

“He’s a problem,” Martindale said. “The play wherever helium chased Baker Mayfield down, I don’t cognize that successful my vocation I’ve ever seen a large antheral similar him marque a play similar that. That’s the benignant of effort and enactment helium brings to the defense.”

Dexter Lawrence possesses uncommon velocity for a antiaircraft lineman.

Lawrence’s relation volition beryllium much important than ever Monday erstwhile the Giants play the Cowboys, and Leonard Williams — his spouse connected the interior antiaircraft enactment for the past 3 seasons — is expected to miss a crippled for the archetypal clip successful his career. But it won’t rattle a erstwhile first-round prime who Martindale described arsenic “one of my astir favourite players I’ve ever been astir successful my life” aft conscionable six months together.

“It conscionable shows the spot I’ve been earning from him,” Lawrence said. “I conscionable privation to bash my occupation each play, and helium knows that I tin bash a small much — get different guys coming on and playing hard. He’s helped maine with small assurance things oregon by allowing maine to beryllium a escaped player.”

Justin Ellis played nether Martindale and with immoderate of the NFL’s astir talented antiaircraft linemen successful Baltimore. Was helium arsenic impressed by Lawrence’s athleticism successful keeping up with Mayfield?

“That was astonishing to spot — adjacent I told him that,” the 334-pound Ellis said. “It takes a batch of want-to to enactment your assemblage into overdrive and spell get it. He wasn’t astatine a linebacker’s speed, but helium was moving good for a large guy, with large effort.”

Lawrence, who won’t beryllium a escaped cause until aft the 2023 play due to the fact that the Giants exercised his fifth-year option, besides is showing signs that helium mightiness go much of a walk rusher successful Martindale’s defense. He has six pressures, including 3 backmost hits, done 2 games, and the play opener was the third-highest graded pass-rushing crippled of Lawrence’s four-year career, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Batting down balls, getting him disconnected his spot, making him double-clutch, putting guys by his feet, small things similar that impact the quarterback,” Lawrence said. “It’s hard to get a sack, and that’s what y’all spell by. Everything has to spell right, but if determination is immoderate mode to marque a backmost flinch, that’s a win.”

Williams’ anticipated lack won’t alteration wherever Lawrence lines up oregon his responsibilities. The Giants could plug the spread with Ellis, with Jihad Ward moving wrong aft playing the past 2 games connected the borderline oregon with a one-tackle beforehand arsenic Martindale dips into his imaginativeness to make a “position-less defense.”

“I’m conscionable focused connected getting into my groove and bringing my champion game,” Ellis said. “Leonard is simply a peculiar player, truthful it’s hard to capable those shoes.”

Dexter Lawrence (97) chases Baker Mayfield during the Giants' Week 2 triumph implicit the Panthers.

Lawrence’s shoes Sunday lone request to support up with fill-in backmost Cooper Rush. Later successful the season, however, he’ll trial his closing velocity — helium ran a 5.05-second 40-yard dash retired of Clemson successful 2019 — against Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.

“I mightiness person chased down Kyler [Murray] 1 time,” Lawrence said. “I don’t deliberation it truly matters what backmost it is. If I instrumentality a bully angle, I tin perchance get him oregon dilatory him up.”