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The NY Giants star reveals a secret to his dominance

Posted on by Kennedy
The NY Giants star reveals a secret to his dominance

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EAST RUTHERFORD – Post-NFL win movie reviews tend to be sessions full of internal praise and recognition, and not without some constructive criticism as well.

For Dexter Lawrence there is a completely different purpose. He certainly takes pride in being an elite player that the New York Giants can count on. However, there is greater meaning and satisfaction in this reality:

When Giants opponents turn on the video and begin their preparation, Lawrence wants them to feel with trepidation the challenge of trying to stop what's coming. It's not that he doesn't appreciate what the Giants think about his play.

His main motivation is to ensure that the players next tasked with blocking him know what they are dealing with.

“I don’t want to disappoint anyone,” Lawrence told NorthJersey.com. “If you expect dominance from me, you will get it. My job is to give them what they want.”

Lawrence is keeping that promise by entering the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and not just because of his statistical production, which is certainly good enough. He has six sacks, more than reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett (4) and twice as many as Chiefs All-Pro Chris Jones (3).

However, judging the impact of the 1.90 meter tall, 140 kilogram Lawrence based on numbers alone is a fool's errand.

Turn on the tape and you'll see that his drive to be considered the best player at his position in the NFL is undeniable. He's the best defensive player the Giants have had since Michael Strahan, and that's no disrespect to Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck.

Lawrence is aware that the perception of him as a football player has changed in the last two years. Still, he's not satisfied, and with all eyes in the locker room on him, the urge to be the best is greater than ever as the Giants prepare to welcome Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals to MetLife Stadium on Sunday night to be called.

“On the field it’s about not wasting a moment to get better,” Lawrence told NorthJersey.com. “In that locker room you don’t waste a moment with the guys, cutting corners and laughing. In the film room, you don't waste a moment watching something that you can learn from and grow from. In life you never waste a moment on the people you care about the most. And I think that's why I don't really look beyond the time I'm in (the future) or what has already happened.

“Because I’m always in the moment. It’s a good quality and a bad quality at the same time, but that’s how I live my life.”

Creating a resume for the next team

Undrafted rookie Casey Rogers, his Giants teammate, wonders what he believes is the secret to Lawrence's success. They were practice partners within the defensive line group this summer, and there was a level of expectation that Lawrence demanded of Rogers on the practice field — not verbally, mind you, but with his presence.

Now that Rogers is on the practice squad, Lawrence is setting the tone with the way he approaches these film sessions — he wants to send a message every time he steps between the lines.

“Dex builds his resume every week for the next team we play,” Rogers told NorthJersey.com. “He knows if he plays a dominant game, the next team will see everything he does and it's a mental warfare thing. You'll see how dominant he was against the Seahawks, hopefully that will either make them change the way they play or make them a little timid in trying to stop him. It's a standard he sets – being physically dominant all over the field – and that makes people fear him as a force to be reckoned with.

The question arose this offseason after future first-round Hall of Famer Aaron Donald retired: Was it time to consider Lawrence the NFL's best interior defender? He's taken that to another level now, and it's worth discussing how many defensive players there are

When Lawrence does what he did while lining up at nose tackle, most often directly against the opposing center, it's kind of like a fullback leading the league in rushing.

To his credit, he has moved up and down the line, leading a Giants front that includes edge rusher Brian Burns and a defense that has a team-best 22 sacks in five games League achieved.

Don't let the smile or the nickname “Sexy Dexy” fool you: Lawrence is a bad, bad man on the football field.

And make no mistake: this is the case under normal circumstances.

Make him mad, like Pro Football Focus did, by insinuating that Cowboys' rookie center Cooper Beebe outplayed Lawrence in their Thursday night football game without mentioning that the Giants' star played all night over doubled and tripled, and well, the Seahawks paid for it.

“When he sees red, no one can stop him,” Rogers said.

Comparison of Lawrence and Donald at the same age

In addition to his six sacks – already two more than last year – Lawrence has 16 tackles (10 solo), four tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits. Let's compare that to Donald, the best defensive lineman of his generation, at the same point in their career.

In five games during the 2017 season, Donald, then 26, had two sacks, 14 tackles (10 solo), five tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits. He finished the year with 11 sacks and 91 quarterback pressures en route to his first of three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.

How far can Lawrence take his start this season? He's not looking past Sunday night against the Bengals.

“It's about being present and keeping your eyes where they need to be and not wasting a moment to get better or grow,” Lawrence said. “Because if you focus on anything other than now, you run the risk of being disappointed. I have something to prove every week. My job is to dominate. There’s a lot in my game that hasn’t been seen yet.”

He paused before adding with a smile, “But they will.”

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