Markus Golden: The Good, the Great and the Ugly
The New York Giants received a gift when they were able to retain edge rusher Markus Golden, a player that had double-digit sacks for them last season.
Assistant general manager and cap specialist Kevin Abrams deployed a seldom-used, shrewd move when he applied the unrestricted free agent tender on Golden.
That tender not only meant the Giants would retain Golden's exclusive negotiating rights had he not signed elsewhere by July 22 or the date of the first training camp (whichever was later), it also gave the Giants a solid locker room presence on a one-year $4.097 million deal that includes another $1 million incentive if Golden replicates last year's double-digit sack performance.
Meanwhile, one might have deduced that Golden might have been angry with the Giants for undervaluing his contributions last year, a year in which he became the first Giant t log double-digit sacks since Jason Pierre-Paul in 2014, and the first linebacker to do so since the great Lawrence Taylor roamed the gridiron for the Giants.
But that's not who Golden is.
"Business is business," he told reporters recently when asked if he was bitter.
"You have to have that mindset because that’s exactly what it is. Yeah, it’s football, a game we’ve been playing since we were kids, but when you get on this level and the college level, you start to realize that it’s a business."
Right there, you have two of the most admirable aspects of Golden on display: his attitude and work ethic. As he was last year, he is precisely the kind of guy you want in a locker room.
From a football perspective, Golden's two double-digit sack performances game in systems run by James Bettcher. But with Bettcher replaced by Patrick Graham, I don't think this will hurt Golden at all, as I think he’ll thrive in the new system.
Graham has promised a multiple-look system, which means that guys will be asked to do different things. Presumably, this means that all their strengths will be put on display in some capacity--and there are a lot of strengths Golden brings to the table.
Let's look at some of those and, as we have done in this series, identify the ugly in Golden's game (which as you'll read in a moment is something that is not a huge detriment, but which does stand out on tape).
The Good: Pass Rushing
As already noted, Golden recorded ten sacks last season while piling up 64 pressures (ranked 14th in the league), according to Pro Football Focus.
He’s a talented pass rusher, but in terms of being among the elite pass rushers in the league, he's not there. I say that not to disparage Golden, but rather because it didn’t seem like opposing offenses did not show him the level of respect that the established premier pass rushers received.
Having looked at Golden's tape from last year, two of his sacks were unblocked, and a few others came against tight ends or were a product of timing/scheme, for which Golden should be applauded.
I think the context of sacks are important, but that doesn’t mean Golden isn’t an effective and talented pass rusher.
The apparent lack of interest in Golden, I think, might have been more of a combination of the COVID-19 virus' effect on teams not being able to bring guys in for physicals. While Golden looked healthy on tape last year, a team is still going to do its due diligence on a guy.
Getting back to Golden's pass rush game, let's start with this clip below against veteran tackle Donald Penn, No. 72, on an island:
Golden meets Penn after the tight end chip and attacks his breastplate with violent hands to push the tackle back.
After the contact is initiated, he uses his outside hand to pull Penn's outside shoulder towards him, forcing Penn’s momentum towards himself while bringing his inside arm over the top of Penn to the outside.
This is a push/pull/swim combination from Golden, and he executes it well.
Golden isn’t the most athletic EDGE player in the league, but he can still use speed to challenge tackles.
In the above clip, he was able to attack the half-man here and push the outside shoulder of the Eagles tackle upfield to gain the edge.
Golden doesn’t get the sack here, due to Carson Wentz's escaping, but give Golden credit for gaining the edge against an adequate tackle in Halapoulivaati Vaitai, No. 72.
That speed is essential because one of Golden’s favorite moves is opening tackles up with speed and then countering inside.
Once Golden gets the hips of tackle working up the pass-rushing arc, he hits them with a strong inside arm club to force his own momentum inside while separating from the tackles.
He does that well against Tampa Bay above, and you can see him do it against Washington a bit later in the rep below.
Golden had two sacks against Cody Ford, No. 70, a rookie tackle, and he used the combination of speed/inside move to record the one above.
He starts with the inside long arm to establish contact on Ford’s chest. He then beats Ford up the arc and has him chasing the entire rep. Once Ford attempts to position himself in front of Golden, the pass rusher works back inside and uses a subtle hump move to get to Josh Allen.
Golden shows great contact balance and good bend through contact here.
Golden attacks the outside shoulder of the tackle and starts making his way up the arc and then grabs cloth (the inside shoulder of the tackle) while assisting the tackle up the arc with a subtle toss.
Once Golden plants his outside foot at the top of the arc, he directs his energy and momentum back into the pocket and ends up hurting Dwayne Haskins on the play. Golden uses these inside moves a lot, and in different ways.
In the clip above, Golden goes inside almost right off the snap with a strong upward push of the tackle's inside arms, who oversets on Golden on the wide-angle.
Golden starts with speed and then gets to the inside hip of the tackle, while simultaneously, and violently, lifting the tackles arms upward. This gives Golden the space to go right into the pocket and deliver a hit on Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.
Against the Bears, Golden uses a double swipe combined with a hump move to keep his chest clean and work back inside, once he realizes he can’t corner around the edge.
Once he feels Charles Leno, No. 72, reestablish himself at the top of the arc, he uses his inside arm to get Leno’s momentum up the arc; it’s a variation of the hump move. This allows Golden to sack Mitch Trubisky.
Golden is also solid when stunting. Although he isn’t doing that in the clip above, you can see how he shoots inside against a guard and grabs thee outside shoulder of the guard to pull him off balance at the point of attack while going through the A-gap and bending around contact.
Golden has strong, heavy hands that he uses powerfully, sometimes subtly. He’s a valuable asset to this team moving forward.
The Great: Effort
Hustle should be a universal trait in the NFL, but it is not. Golden has one of the hottest motors in the league, and it shouldn’t be understated.
Golden comes in on a creative stunt with Leonard Williams, where Golden is the penetrator. He is picked up by several interior offensive linemen and tossed to the ground.
I can’t tell you how many times players give up on the play in these circumstances, especially when the quarterback flows to the opposite side of the field.
Golden gets up and starts sprinting towards Case Keenum and is able to pressure him and deliver a hit on the quarterback as he releases the ball. Golden acts this way every game, and it's infectious.
Watch how the 260-pound EDGE guy tracks down a 195-pound running back and delivers a bone-crushing hit near the sideline.
The slip screen goes over his head, but Golden doesn’t give up; it’s one reason he’s an excellent backside pursuit defender, and he’s dangerous as an unblocked defender on the backside.
He’s difficult to leave unblocked on the backside because cutback lanes are typically erased thanks to Golden's hustle.
In the second clip, he’s thrown upfield to the ground, a common move to open up the edge by tackles, but Golden doesn’t give up and takes advantage of the tackle who doesn’t aggressively finish the play.
The offensive tackles have to do film work as Golden truly plays through the whistle.
Golden leverages his hustle and turns his relentless style into offensive drive halting plays.
I was surprised by how much tight ends were tasked to block Golden, especially early in the season, but he beats the tight end by slashing inside in a low aggressive manner that is indicative of his play-style.
His relentless play-style helps him in run defense, pass-rushing, and, obviously, in pursuit.
The Ugly: Offsides
Golden is uber aggressive as a pass rusher. As he doesn’t possess elite burst or speed, he sometimes attempts to jump snap counts and gain a slight edge over his offensive opponents.
This might sound like nitpicking, as good pass rushers tend to get caught jumping offsides from time to time. The trick is not to have it happen to where it's extending the drive for the opponent.
Last year, this was the case for Golden. Four of the penalties against him came on third down, one resulting in a first down for the opponent.
Again, this is not wildly inauspicious of Golden, but it is something that if he can clean up from his game would certainly help matters.
Final Thoughts
Golden is incredibly smart and a savvy pass rusher, who does a solid job against the run. His hustle and leadership are excellent for a young team like the Giants, who should be incredibly thankful that Golden is still donning their jersey.
Get the latest Giants news by joining the community. Click "Follow" at the top right of Giants Country page. Or sign up to receive our free daily newsletter.
