Giants safety Landon Collins is not a one-trick pony.
The architect behind the best interception return for a touchdown we've seen in years, Collins is dominating the box score for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo this season.
Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said recently that stats are for losers. But what to make of these?
Initially thought of as a prototypical box safety, Collins has been one of the league's best coverage and run-stopping safeties in football this year. While the Giants are 25th in passing yards per game surrendered (277.4), the team is fourth in opposing quarterback passer rating and 10th in points per game allowed. Should the Giants make a run in the NFC East, buoyed by Sunday's victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, they will have a reborn pass defense to thank with Collins in the middle.
Giants general manager Jerry Reese and the team's pro personnel department took a lot of flak for under-staffing the safety position heading into this season, present company included. However, they were gambling on the rapid development of their 2015 second-round pick after a rookie season that was questionable at best, and it has been paying major dividends so far. After two interceptions a week ago against the Rams, Carson Wentz was his latest victim on Sunday. Next on the list? Andy Dalton and the Bengals.
