It looks like the New York Giants' Blake Martinez hasn't fully moved on from his time with the Green Bay Packers.
Martinez will play for a new NFL team for the first time in his career in 2020. That's because the inside linebacker signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Giants this offseason.
However, he wants to get one thing off of his chest — he was misused in Green Bay last season. The 26-year-old linebacker says defensive coordinator Mike Pettine used him as a “clean-up crew guy.” In other words, Martinez was there to make his other linebackers, Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith look good.
Here is a little of what the current Giants linebacker is referring to, via Pat Leonard of New York Daily News.
“Last year, we played a lot of match coverage zone, so it looks like we’re in man coverage,” Martinez said. “You look at it and it’s like, ‘What the heck? Shouldn’t Blake be covering him?’ I can do all the things you need to do as an NFL linebacker.”
Martinez also blasts how he was valued in Green Bay, as you can see in the tweet below.
Martinez, the new #Giants ILB, says he and #Packers talked but the way he valued himself was not in line with the way GB did. Also is combating misconceptions of his abilities, critical of the GB defense in which he was “taught and told to be the clean-up crew guy.”
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) March 30, 2020
And here would be the quote where Martinez states that he was put there with his teammates to “make them right.”
Martinez says he had no gap responsibilities in GB this past season and was basically told by DC Mike Pettine to play off whatever Za’Darius and Preston Smith did up front and “make them right.” Hmmm… #Packers #Giants
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) March 30, 2020
Advanced Statistics Don't Favor Martinez
Despite the fact that Martinez felt he was under-utilized, he still registered a career-high 155 tackles. That's even more tackles than what he registered in 2017, when he led the league with 144 tackles.
However, maybe there is some merit as to why Martinez was utilized less in Green Bay. According to Sports Info Solutions, the fourth-year linebacker had just one pass breakup last season. He also allowed a deserved catch percentage of 94.4 percent. Furthermore, he missed a career-high 17 tackles.
It's clear that Martinez wasn't happy in Green Bay. In New York, he'll reunite with Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Graham coached Martinez while with the Packers during the 2018 season.
Follow Us
Subscribe