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Some guys, Linval Joseph believes, are not especially strong in the weight room when it comes to throwing around excessive tonnage but play especially strong on the field. The reverse, Joseph feels, is also true.
“I kind of have both,” Joseph surmised yesterday. “I try to use that to my advantage.”
Great physical and functional strength make for a lethal combination and the Giants are hoping Joseph is on the mark with his assessment. He is first in line to replace Barry Cofield, who for the past five years was a sturdy, dependable and full-time starter at defensive tackle on a Giants line that prides itself on being the heart of the entire defense.
Joseph, 22, entering his second season after not getting on the field very much in his first year, and rookie Marvin Austin, 22, are being viewed as younger options for what Cofield provided on a weekly basis. The Giants certainly weren’t blind-sided by Cofield’s departure for the Redskins, receiving a six-year, $36 million contract, an expenditure the Giants were never in a position to match. The Giants saw this coming, which is why last year they took Joseph in the second round out of East Carolina and took Austin out of North Carolina in the second round this spring.
Given the influx of talent with two high draft picks, there is reason for optimism the tackle spot alongside Chris Canty can be managed with Joseph and Austin, but that didn’t stop the Giants this summer from re-signing Rocky Bernard and bringing in Gabe Watson from the Cardinals. The two veterans are here for depth — it’s Joseph and Austin the Giants are counting on for action.
Still, until proven otherwise, Cofield represents a loss for the Giants.
“Barry’s a great player, I enjoyed playing with him I hated that he was going to leave,” cornerback Terrell Thomas said. “Barry was the unsung hero of this defense, he did so much, played hurt.”
The 6-foot-4, 319-pound Joseph looks the part, but he played in only eight games as a rookie and comes in with eight career tackles. He’s considered perhaps the strongest player on the team, a designation that right guard Chris Snee might take issue with. Joseph says he can bench press 550 pounds and that: “I love to lift. When I’m mad I lift to calm me down.”
The other day, he and Snee did a set of bench presses with 375 pounds.
“A little more than everybody else,” said Joseph, who added most of his teammates along the lines did the reps with 315 pounds. “Yes, me and [Snee] are on the top, we are both very strong.”
Prowess in the weight room means only so much. Joseph points to second-year man-child defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul as evidence that lifting isn’t everything.
“Jason, he’s not really strong in the weight room but he’s very strong on the field,” Joseph said.
At 6-foot-2 and 315 pounds, Austin is not as bulky as Joseph, built lower to the ground and thus far looks quite explosive. He’s been temporarily grounded with a hip flexor issue but he said it won’t be long before he’s back on the field.
Austin is not ready to concede anything to anyone when it comes to team’s strongest man.
“I’m pretty strong,” he said. “I did 39 reps [at 225 pounds] at the Combine. I’d like to think I’m in that category too. I’m not too far off. I can definitely get in a bench contest with the best of ’em.”
Austin sees Joseph as “very powerful, very strong,” but says “I play with more athleticism, a really quick game. There’s some things from his game I can take to make my game better and vice versa. He’s a quick guy too now, don’t get me wrong. Really strong anchor point down there.”
Between the two of them, the Giants need to replace Cofield, one of their most consistent players.
“When my time comes I’m going to rise to the occasion . . . I’m ready,” Joseph said.
“This is what I do, this is why they brought me here,” Austin said. “I don’t really feel any pressure. I know I can be effective on this level.”