Know Your Giants: Quintin Demps

Dec 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive back

(35) returns the opening kickoff past midfield against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Quintin Demps was born in the Meadowlands, as a youth he was fed $1 pizza slices and told tales of the greatness of Lawrence Taylor. In middle school, Quintin called all of his teachers Bill Parcells and all of the students were known simply as Joe Morris. You see Giants Nation, with the recent actions of Will Hill, it’s obvious Quintin Demps was born to be a New York Giant.

Perhaps that’s being a touch facetious. Regardless, it’s time to Know Your Giants. Today at GMen HQ, we’ll be focusing on Quintin Demps. No, Demps wasn’t exactly born in the Meadowlands,  but he was born in San Antonio, Texas under a pile of vintage Frank Gifford jerseys. While at the university of Texas at El Paso,  Quintin was baptized in football personally by Michael Strahan. I don’t know why Mike was there, I think there was a chance for him to be on television or something… That’s the theory anyway.

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The point is, UTEP is where Mr. Demps played college ball and make no mistake, Quintin was a prolific collegiate playmaker on the backline, intercepting 17 passes in four seasons, with three pick-sixes on his ledger. As a Senoir at El Paso, while simultaneously being a señor in El Paso, Quintin Demps made the All-Conference USA team in 2007. He took back a pair of 100 yard INT’s and it’s fun to mention his career total is second most in UTEP history. Quintin Demps was a great player at UTEP with or without the fictional Michael Strahan football baptismal.

Strangely enough, “Q’s” return skills didn’t develop until he cracked a pro locker room. That’s where he actually maintained a very credible 27.4 career kick return average in the NFL. Strange and frustrating Giants fact: His first career interception came off the fingertips of an Eli Manning errant throw in 2009 (imagine that.) In emergency duty in 2013, he produced his best statistical campaign for KC, intercepting four passes while notching 10 passes defensed. While Dexter McCluster went to the Pro Bowl, it’s important to note that Quintin Demps made a positive impact for the Kansas City Chiefs special teams. Including one return for a touchdown and six games where his average exceeded 30 yards per game. With the ball in his hands, Quintin Demps is a weapon.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind (Week 4)

His football game contains speed, at almost 29 years old, Quintin can still fly. The Giants need speed, in the return game, Demps will have competition. Players like first round pick Odell Beckham Jr. are an option for the Giants on special teams, as is Trindon Holliday. The former super speedster for the Denver Broncos. That’s not even mentioning in house guys like Mike Cox or Rueben Randle. The New York Giants have some options.

“With the ball in his hands, Quintin Demps is a weapon.” -William Watts

Quintin Demps safety options were limited until Will Hill was suspended by the NFL for six games. Now, it appears Demps will have a legitimate opportunity to expand upon his role with the team. Now… know this, Giants fans. Quintin Demps is not the perfect replacement, he knows he has work to do. Quintin Demps can’t be completely oblivious to the fact that he was on the Kansas City Chiefs defense last season. You know the Chiefs defense, the one that blew one of the biggest leads in playoff history to Andrew Luck and the Colts.

Yeah, that one. Quintin Demps was apart of that. When it comes to knowing “Q”, you must know the weaknesses too. At NFL.com, coming out of college Demps weaknesses were listed as:

"Negatives: A little smaller than scouts would prefer. … Not a striker who puts fear into the hearts of receivers crossing the middle. … Breaks down well in space to make the open-field tackle, but isn’t a physical hitter. … May lack the straight-line speed to keep up with true deep threats. … Lack of elite speed is apparent as a kickoff returner."

While they may have missed on the kick return evaluation. As a hitter, Quintin Demps isn’t scaring anyone. He lacks the ability to knock someone off their game with a jarring hit and if someone turns him, he won’t catch them with closing speed. For some reason, Demps can run away from people, but he can’t catch them in the open field. It may be a mental inconsistency with believing in his tackling ability. When Demps plays well, he’s as good as anyone… but Demps doesn’t shake off plays well. Let’s look at his strengths. Same NFL source:

"Positives: Tight-skinned athlete with good overall musculature. … Versatile athlete capable of making plays all over the field as a big-play defender. … Cerebral defender who has become one of the nation’s best turnover specialists by reading quarterback’s eyes. … Good short-area burst and late acceleration. … Aggressive defender who shows excellent timing and leaping ability."

That’s a very good summary of Quintin Demps, his burst is great and his speed is amazing if he thinks he’s going to get hit. As a defender, he’s aggressive before the ball is in the air and has great tracking skills and leaping ability. However, Demps struggles with football moves. If someone jukes Demps, he misses the tackle. If Demps is one on one in the open field, Demps may take the wrong angle and miss the tackle. Those are negatives that you need to know about Quintin Demps.

To know Quintin Demps, is to know that Quintin Demps is special teams guy. It’s to know that Demps has played in 8 playoff games and has a .500 record. It’s to know that Quintin Demps signed for exactly $1,000,000 for one year. Think about how many people dream of a million dollars, and this guy. Your new Giants return man literally signed a million dollar contract. That’s just fun information. In the NFL, a million dollars is not very much. In fact, it’s chump change to the league. Yet, know that money is paying Quintin Demps and he has incentive to play well for his financial future. Know that he has the football abilities to replace Will Hill. But he also has the football inconsistencies that a team like the New York Giants is known for.

On paper, it seems like a perfect fit. Know that Quintin Demps is a New York Giant that’s full of potential. But also know that the Giants problems at safety may be bigger than Quintin Demps abilities.