Giants young corners looking to bounce back from a forgettable debut

Before this week’s game, neither DeAndre Baker nor Antonio Hamilton, the two players assigned to play left cornerback for the Giants, had played as a starting NFL cornerback during a regular-season game.

So when they did take their turns alternating at left cornerback, the Dallas Cowboys went after them relentlessly, a tactic that raised concerns the struggles of both young cornerbacks.

“As a cornerback, you have to understand you are going to get picked at sometimes,” said fellow cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who was able to enjoy a mostly quiet evening in coverage since the Cowboys went after whoever was on the other side.

“You are going to get thrown at a lot. You are going to give up good catches and give up a few touchdowns. Just keep working, man. That’s why you play cornerback. Only a very few can play cornerback, and not forget what happened.”

Having a short memory might help, but the fact remains that both Baker and Hamilton missed valuable preseason reps due to injuries.

Baker, who was stricken with a knee sprain, was burned on at least two deep passes and one touchdown thrown by Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Hamilton, who dealt with an adductor injury late in training camp, showed awful technique when trying to tackle a receiver, where instead of trying to wrap up his man, he appeared to try to punch the ball out firsts with no success.

“We don’t feel good,” Baker said after the game. “We need to watch the film and do better and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Just make better plays. Use my technique more.

“It just an opportunity to bounce back and show what I can do. Just fight through adversity. I didn’t have the best game that I wanted to have. Just to bounce back and show what I can do next week.”

Jenkins, who has been an on-field mentor to the young defensive backs, was frequently seen on the sideline trying to coach both Baker and Hamilton up in between series.

“Just keep working, baby. You have a lot of talent, a lot of potential,” Jenkins said when asked what he told the youngsters. “We have 15 more games to go. Things are going to turn.”

They better turn soon because the Giants can ill-afford to have another defensive performance as they did this weekend.

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