Do the Giants have a Deonte Banks’ problem?

Banks’ teammates show support, while also letting him know lack of effort is not acceptable

New York Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson, a former NFL player and long-time coach, has twice taken cornerback Deonte Banks to task for lack of effort in recent weeks.

After Banks appeared to give little effort to chase down CeeDee Lamb after allowing a long completion that turned into a 55-yard touchdown in Week 4, Henderson voiced his displeasure to the media:

“Didn’t like it. Liked nothing about it,” Henderson said. “When your man catches the ball, you have break your legs, figuratively, to get him on the ground. And I thought there was room to do more. We expect that from him and he expects that from himself but in that moment he failed.”

This past Sunday, when Banks gave up pursuit of a scrambling Jalen Hurts, allowing the Eagles quarterback extra yardage, Henderson’s irritation was evident for everyone to see:

While coaches need to hold their players accountable, sometimes the best messages for players come from other players.

Giants defensive leaders have been clear that the lack of effort from the second-year cornerback, a first-round pick in 2023, will not be tolerated.

“It’s not acceptable. He knows it,” said star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. “We addressed it and that’s the type of thing that we don’t accept it as a defense.”

Lawrence said on Wednesday that “it’s been addressed. We won’t see anything like that, again.”

Lawrence wasn’t the only defensive leader asked about Banks this week. On Wednesday, I spoke with both Brian Burns and Bobby Okereke about the matter.

Burns, dealing with a groin injury played through obvious discomfort against the Eagles. He said he let Banks know “that’s not what we do here, that’s not who he is. We’ve seen him in better times.”

Burns said it wasn’t hard to play through his injury because “it’s my job.”

Linebacker Bobby Okereke, taken off the field for the first nine snaps he has missed in 24 games as a Giant at the end of Sunday’s blowout loss to the Eagles, said it was important to offer Banks support.

“You put your arm around him and you coach him,” Okereke said. “You tell him the truth, you be honest with him because that’s what he deserves as your teammate, as your brother. And you encourage him to be better.

“He’s a young player. Some of the growing pains of going through this league and dealing with criticism. We have all the faith in the world in Tae.”

Head coach Brian Daboll said before Friday’s practice that Banks, who was not removed from the game Sunday after the Hurts play, would start Monday vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen admitted his disappointment with Banks.

“it’s disappointing anytime, with these guys, there’s a lack of effort that shows up across the board. You see it with other guys from time to time,” Bowen said. “Again, it’s just something we got to continue to harp on and make sure we’re playing to our maximum ability and full tilt to the tackle every opportunity that we have.”

Bowen said Banks seems to be responding well to the criticism he has received.

“He’s out here. Effort, technique, fundamentals, execution, all those things,” Bowen said. “The ultimate test is come Sunday, so hopefully we can do things throughout the week to keep growing, to keep improving in all those areas, not just effort-related, and it shows up on Monday night in this case.”

Is Banks a problem?

In Banks’ pre-draft scouting reports, there were no indications that on-field effort was ever a concern. There were some analysts who thought Banks wasn’t always as aggressive in run support as he could have been. Effort in run support and willingness to tackle physically have not been issues since Banks has been a Giant.

The 23-year-old is a confident young man, bordering on cocky. He doesn’t like speaking to media, often giving short, clipped answers. He is not, though, disrespectful. He will chat amiably enough outside interview settings. He seems to be well-liked by his teammates. He lockers near Tre Hawkins and Cor’Dale Flott, and there is often conversation going on in that section of the room.

In my view, Banks is not a problem. He is not the divisive locker room figure Eli Apple was for the Giants. He is a young man who has let his emotions and his disappointment get the best of him on a couple of occasions.

That, obviously, can’t continue. Banks is being counted on as an important part of the Giants’ future. Hopefully, he learns from this.