Julian Love Gets Another Responsibility to His Growing List

New York Giants defensive back Julian Love is about to get another major responsibility added to his already full plate.

Starting this weekend against the Houston Texans, Love, who is already featured in so many Giants defensive personnel packages that he rarely comes off the field, confirmed that he will be sporting the green dot on the back of his helmet. That means he will be the designated play caller in the Giants’ defensive huddle, who will relay what defensive coordinator Wink Martindale wants.

The change came about as a result of teammate Xavier McKinney’s ill-timed bye-week accident that resulted in his suffering a broken hand that landed him on the NFI list for the next four weeks.

For Love, calling the defensive signals isn’t something new.

“I’ve had the mic since OTAs,” Love said. “(McKinney) has it on game day. I’m comfortable with it. I’m used to it – it’s just communicating. It should be fun.

“Now it’s on other guys to raise their level of communication and get that line flowing because it’s smooth with me and Xavier--we’re on a very personal level with the way we can communicate openly. It’s going to take some other guys to step up, but I feel comfortable in my role.”

Regarding his role in the defense, Love said he doesn’t anticipate what he’ll be asked to do to be much different than what he’s been doing. But as the elder statesman of the safeties group currently on the 53-man roster, he will likely be called upon to provide even more leadership to guys like rookie Dane Belton, who is expected to see an increase in his game-day snaps.

“It’s a process throughout the week,” Love said of Belton’s growth in his rookie NFL season. “He’s been doing a great job of learning and growing up to this point in the season. So, this will be an exciting time for him to show what he’s about in a bigger capacity.”

The 24-year-old Love is one of the most integral yet underrated players on the Giants roster. In his first season as a full-time starter, he was voted a team captain this year. He currently has 58 tackles, eight fewer than his career high of 66 set last season, and is two tackles for a loss shy of his career-high (five).

In coverage, Love has allowed a career-low 68 percent of the passes thrown against him to be completed for 195 yards and a career-low 75 yards after the catch.

That kind of performance, plus his durability—he has played in 56 out o 57 career games thus far, missing only one game as a rookie—plus his football intelligence and leadership have no doubt convinced Giants management that Love is a player worthy of retaining for the future.

And Love, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, is certainly on board with that if the team wants him back.

“That term, ‘Once A Giant, Always A Giant,’ is something that has been appealing,” Love said. “I’ve been around some greats. Zak DeOssie and Eli Manning, just to name a couple. It is appealing. I love it here. My family, my wife – we enjoy it here. That’d be something that’s appealing to me, but at the same time, you’ve got to do what’s best for you. That’s the line I have to walk.

“I’ll say this – I love playing here. I really enjoy the people here. It’s been a blast these past few years, and I respect the hell out of (general manager.

Joe) Schoen and everybody upstairs. So yeah, if something can get done, I’d love to get it done, but the bye week was that time to figure things out and be involved in it. Right now, I’m letting my agent handle it and focusing on this bigger role for me and doing my thing.”