Giants' Wink Martindale has a lofty comparison for Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce
Texans running back Dameon Pierce carries in the second half of an NFL game against the Eagles in Houston on Nov. 3. Credit: AP/Eric Christian Smith
Wink Martindale prides himself on making comparisons of current players to those of the past. But it turns out his parlor trick is not just for the benefit of middle-aged sportswriters and fans who remember watching the players he is talking about.
On Wednesday, the Giants’ defensive coordinator likened Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce to Earl Campbell — and did so not only in his weekly news conference but also in a team meeting, according to cornerback Adoree’ Jackson.
Campbell, 67, last played in the NFL in 1985, before any current Giants player was born.
Does Jackson, 27, think most of his teammates know whom Martindale, 59, was referencing?
“I would hope so,” Jackson told Newsday. “Some may not, but at the end of the day, all you have to do is Google it and look him up and see how crazy he was, with those tear-away jerseys. So hopefully they will just Google him.”
That sort of lofty comparison is early for Pierce, a fourth-round draft pick out of Florida with all of eight games of pro experience.
But the 5-10, 212-pounder is off to a good start in the city where Campbell once starred with the Oilers and was one of the best power backs in football history.
Pierce has rushed for 678 yards and three touchdowns, on pace to become only the 14th rookie since 1970 to surpass 1,400 rushing yards.
He is third in the league in rushing yards after contact with 403, behind only the Titans’ Derrick Henry and the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs, and he ranks first in broken tackles with 26.
Against the undefeated Eagles last week, Pierce ran 27 times for 139 yards.
Last season, the Texans averaged a league-worst 3.4 yards per rush and totaled only eight rushing touchdowns, so Pierce has been a godsend for the offense.
“I don’t know who said something to him or did something to him to make him so angry,” Martindale said, “but that might be the angriest runner in the league.”
Said Jackson, a former teammate of Henry with Tennessee: “Pierce totes the ball very well, very hard, a powerful runner out there. Just like how Derrick runs the ball.
“When I saw him, the first thing I thought of was Jacobs from Las Vegas, a hard, powerful runner who has a lot of speed on him. You don’t take a back like that lightly.”
Not taking things lightly will be a theme for the Giants this week as they prepare to host the Texans, who are 1-6-1. Having a force such as Pierce to point to figures to help coaches get their players’ attention.
(The Giants were off on Thursday, part of an unconventional practice schedule this week as they come off their open week.)
The Giants’ defense ranks next-to-last in the NFL in yards allowed per rush at 5.5, so a dangerous opposing rusher on an otherwise inferior team is cause for concern.
In addition to Campbell, the 1979 NFL MVP, Martindale compared Pierce to Jamal Lewis, a Ravens star of the 2000s who rushed for 2,066 yards in 2003. As a rookie in 2000, the 5-11, 245-pounder ran for 102 yards and a touchdown in a 34-7 rout of the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.
“He’s one of those big power backs that has great balance, runs mad every time he touches it,” Martindale said of Pierce. “Has quick feet. It’s going to be [a] tough assignment.”
Martindale said the Texans have other good offensive players but added, “I would definitely say that it all starts with him. That’s why he’s up for Rookie of the Year.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
