Johnathan Hankins quietly providing strong pass rush
Johnathan Hankins, left, celebrates his fourth-quarter sack against the Atlanta Falcons with teammate Antrel Rolle at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Jason Pierre-Paul leads the Giants with 91/2 sacks, and that's the way it should be. He's their most decorated, most talented defensive end, and if you haven't noticed, he's in a contract year. He has racked up six of those sacks in the last three games.
But who has the second-most sacks this season? That's a tougher, less obvious question, and the answer is, in some ways, the least obvious player on the team.
Johnathan Hankins has seven sacks, including 21/2 in Sunday's win over Washington. That's the most sacks by a Giants tackle in a season since Keith Hamilton had 10 in 2000.
The 320-pound Hankins may go largely unnoticed by the public, but the coaches have had an eye on him since he was drafted in the second round last year.
He spent most of 2013 playing behind Linval Joseph, who signed with the Vikings in the offseason. Hankins stepped right in and has started all 14 games.
"I think Johnathan's been steady for us,'' defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said last week. "It's deceiving when you watch him because you think he's a big man that can't rush the passer . . . I think he can push the pocket for us very well.''
Eli, Tom assess Odell
Eli Manning suggested that Odell Beckham Jr. is the best rookie he's ever played with.
"Rarely do you see, since I've been around, a rookie come in and make this kind of impact,'' he said on WFAN.
But Tom Coughlin offered an unsolicited warning about future pitfalls. "I'm not going to go there,'' he said when asked if Beckham is the top rookie he has ever coached. "Again, there are a lot of things that prevail here. You want to finish the season strong, you want to come back and have another one, you have to avoid having all the things that can bring you down. We are very excited to have him.''
Giant steps
Coughlin had no update on the recurrence of the ankle injury that limited Rashad Jennings to one play Sunday . . . Coughlin called the Giants' onside kick against Washington "historic'' because he'd never seen a team kick off from the opponent's 35.. . . The back injury that had Manning on last week's injury report likely will not limit him in practice this week.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
