Adewale Ojomo, the Giants' king of summertime sacks, looking to produce in the fall too
East Rutherford, NJ - August 12, 2013: New York Giants defensive end #71 Adewale Ojomo speaks with the media before a day of team training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. (Photo by James Escher) Credit: James Escher
In his last four preseason games, Adewale Ojomo has accumulated 5.5 sacks, including 1.5 against the Steelers last Saturday night, and captured the imagination of some Giants fans who can like to envision him putting up those kinds of numbers in the regular season. But while the second-year defensive end was on the 53-man roster throughout all of last year, he appeared in only one game and that required only limited special teams duties.
Now, the king of preseason sacks is looking to make an impact from September on.
“I take last year as a red-shirt type of year,” he said this week. “It was hard. It’s not all about just being on the roster. I want to actually be on the field and contribute. Produce.”
He’ll be hard-pressed to do that this year. With the drafting of Damontre Moore, the development of Adrian Tracy and the move of Mathias Kiwanuka back to end, the Giants have a stack of depth above Ojomo on the chart. And that doesn’t even include the probability that Jason Pierre-Paul will be back on the field with the team within the next few weeks. Ojomo has been taking third-team reps throughout training camp and appears to have been leapfrogged by Matt Broha, the defensive end he beat out for the roster spot last summer.
But that doesn’t mean Ojomo isn’t working and improving.
“There’s no on and off switch with me,” he said. “I play the same way at all times. I’m going hard. I don’t believe in that on and off switch.”
Nor does he believe that his sacks should be diminished in value because they have come in the second halfves of preseason games and mostly against second- and third-string players like himself. He’s quick to point out that against the Jets last year he beat Austin Howard for his first sack of the preseason.
“That guy for the Jets, he played,” Ojomo said. “He was their starting (right) tackle. It’s not one of those things, am I looking forward to the day (when I go against starters)? When I get out there, whoever I’m going against, it doesn’t matter.”
Ojomo will try to add on to his summer sack string on Sunday against the Colts, hoping that it is enough to earn him a spot back on the 53-man roster and, an even more important number, a place in the 11 who are on the field in the regular season.
“I just trust in what the coaches are doing,” he said. “Whenever they put me out there, I do what I have to do.”
