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Jason Pinnock, like a childhood actor on a hit television series, does not want to be typecast.
He thought it was nice that the Giants were pleased with his play on special teams since they had claimed him off waivers the day after the Jets released him in late August, but he wanted a bigger role.
Pinnock wanted to prove that the transition he made from cornerback to safety late last season with the Jets was a wise one even if his former team no longer felt the need for his services.
The opportunity finally arose last week when the Giants returned from their bye week to the news that third-year safety Xavier McKinney was being placed on injured reserve with a hand injury he suffered during an ATV accident in Mexico.
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“Safety coach (Jerome Henderson) let us know what happened and told us it was time to step up and here comes the (opportunity) you’ve been waiting on,” Pinnock said. “When you prepare like you’ve been starting anyway, there’s no stress to it, no nerves to it, you just go out there and play ball. Obviously we’ll miss him (McKinney). He made big plays … but it’s kind of a no-flinch mentality. Next up.”
In this case, next up meant that rookie fourth-round pick Dane Belton would move into McKinney’s starting role and Pinnock would get a chance to fill Belton’s role as the Giants’ No. 3 safety.
Julian Love, the safety responsible for taking over the defensive signal calling from McKinney, was confident that Belton and Pinnock could fill the void left by McKinney before the Giants played Houston Sunday and he was convinced that they had done so after the team’s 24-16 victory.
Belton, despite some rough patches, came up with a huge fourth-quarter interception, just the second of the season for the Giants.
Pinnock, meanwhile, was the wrecking ball in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy scheme.
“We allowed some guys to play to their strengths,” Love said. “Pinnock plays incredibly hard, whether it’s special teams, whether it’s defense, he goes hard. And so we put him in positions to get after the quarterback and all of us knew he was about to get after it in this game and he did.”
The impact was immediate. Pinnock, on a blindside blitz, forced Davis Mills out of the pocket and got credit for a half sack with the other half going to star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to end Houston’s first offensive series.
Pinnock’s first career solo sack came on the Texans’ final offensive play as he dropped Mills for a 10-yard loss that forced Houston to kick a field goal before trying an onside kick.
The 1 1/2 sacks were what stood out on the score sheet, but Pinnock’s contributions went much deeper than that. He was on the field for 23 snaps and, according to profootballreference.com, he blitzed nine times. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, credited Pinnock with four pressures and gave his overall performance a high grade.
Prior to Sunday, Pinnock had played just one defensive snap this season, but he had shown up big on special teams, recovering a muffed punt at the Tennessee 11-yard line in the fourth quarter on opening day and making a heads-up play in London that prevented a Giants fourth-quarter turnover in their win over Green Bay.
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“Coming to a new fan base, I wanted to let them know that I’m not just a core special teams guy,” the former Pitt star from Windsor, Conn. said. “I was doing that because that is what was being asked of me and I’m a competitor, so wherever you put me on the field I’m ready to go. But I’m more than just a (special) teams guy.”
With McKinney out for at least three more weeks, Pinnock will continue to get a chance to prove that the depth of his playing ability is far greater than Bobby Brady’s acting chops.
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Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com.
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