N.Y. Giants: Linebacker; Jerry Reese Adds Another Weak Link In The Chain

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: Jerry Reese Adds A Questionable Linebacker To This Low Priority Unit.

The defense didn't play that badly last week.  For three quarters, they provided the offense with ample opportunity to score points.  But the offense wouldn't acquiesce.  The game then got away after a third quarter Kansas City punt return for a touchdown.  Two Alex Smith touchdown passes came with 5:00 minutes left in the game to make it a misleading 31-7 victory.

Collectively, the line backing unit had perhaps their best game of the season.  Mark Herzlich and  Spencer Paysinger led the team with seven solo tackles each.  Paysinger also recorded the Giants only sack.  Jacquian Williams made two tackles.  The ever disappointing Keith Rivers however, did not register a tackle Sunday and is only averaging two tackles a game.  Entering last season, the Giants  traded a fifth round selection to acquire Rivers, who has never performed up to expectations.

After offseason free agent acquisition Dan Conner was lost for the season in Week One, Jerry Reese picked up Allen Bradford, formerly of Tampa, off waivers.  Bradford made one tackle against the Chiefs.  Yesterday, Jerry Reese finalized a deal for another reinforcement.  He sent a late round 2014 draft pick to Carolina for linebacker Jon Beason.

Jon Beason, 28, was a rookie in 2007, and between 2008-2011 made three straight Pro Bowl appearances.  During the 2011 season, he tore his Achilles tendon.  Then last October, he underwent micro-fracture surgery on his knee.  Beason was benched this season after a series of poor performances.  Ironically, Chase Blackburn was signed by Carolina as a free agent during the offseason, and wound up outplaying and replacing Jon Beason on the field.

What good will Beason be to the Giants?  At a minimum, he'll keep a functioning unit on the field.  The Giants entered the season undermanned at linebacker, with a minimal number as it was.  They went into the Chiefs game with five.  Jerry Reese just increased their number to six.

Jon Beason is clearly struggling while returning from injuries.  He may need considerable time in order to become an impact Pro Bowl player again, if he ever does.  That's why nothing about this acquisition should make Giants fans any more hopeful heading into Week Five.  Time is just something the Giants can least afford.

On a side note, Jerry Reese's lack of attention, or concern over the years at linebacker is finally coming back to haunt him.  Without a pass rush, there is no Plan-B on defense.  Lets face it, the Giants totally lucked out when Chase Blackburn left his living room to make an impact.  Otherwise, massive salary cap problems prevented Jerry Reese from retaining Blackburn and the underwhelming Michael Boley.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants: Big Blue's Soft White Underbelly

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

 

Def. Coordinator Perry Fewell

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: Will Big Blue's Linebackers Please Report To The Field Please?

One of the many things I found difficult to watch last week was Denver's Knowshon Moreno rushing for ninety-three yards on just thirteen carries, and scoring two touchdowns.  His first TD in the second quarter was a romp-right, for twenty yards.  His second touchdown was a third quarter romp-right, this time good for twenty-five yards.

Where do we start, with the fact it's taken Moreno the better part of three seasons for even the Broncos to think of him seriously, and that last Sunday Moreno ran outside-Tackle with fury?  Or should we bring up the fact Justin Tuck got, not just sealed off, but wiped out on both TD plays?  How about the fact that not a single Giants linebacker touched Moreno during either romp down the right sideline.

Up the middle with Linval Joseph and Cullen Jenkins the Giants have been solid enough, but Justin Tuck is still yet to step up his game, while JPP is not yet fully recovered from off-season back surgery.  But even more concerning to me, is the lack of presence by the linebackers.  It is the team's soft white underbelly.  As if getting beat twice with the same play wasn't bad enough, on Knowshon's second touchdown, the Giants had a seven man front, with three linebackers on the field; Jacquian Williams, Keith Rivers and Mark Herzlich; and still not one touched him.  The Giants only had two linebackers on the field during his first touchdown.

If the Giants front does manage to break down the pocket this Sunday, the linebacker situation still makes it very easy for me to envision the middle of the field opening up for Cam Newton to take off running unmolested.

As a team, the Giants rank 15th in the NFL against the run, so, all is not lost.  But from Week One against Dallas, to their performance against Denver in Week Two, they took huge step backwards in respect to both stopping the run, and getting to the quarterback.  In Week One, the Giants allowed eighty-seven yards rushing.  Tony Romo dropped back to pass forty-nine times, got sacked two times, and got hit six more times.  In Week Two, the Giants allowed over 100 yards.  Peyton Manning dropped back forty-three times, didn't get sacked and only got hit twice all game.  The drop-off might be partially explained by the loss of linebacker Dan Conner, who was having a nice game against Dallas until suffering his season ending injury.

Granted, having been on the wrong end of ten turnovers committed by the offense, the defense has had their hands full.  And to be fair, the Giants played Denver tightly in the first half before things took a turn for the worse in the second half.  So far however, the numbers tell the story of a middle of the pack defense.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants: The Confounding Situation At Linebacker

From the desk of:   DO IT FORTHE DUKE

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: What's A Middle Aged Giants Fan Like Me To Think?  Long Gone Are The Days When Big Blue Dominated With Hall of Fame Linebackers And A Smash Mouth Running Game.

These Days, Giants Football Is About The Defensive Line And Eli Manning's Arm.  It Confounds Our Basic Programming From Twenty-Five Years Ago......

Big Blue's shortcomings at linebacker start with Jerry Reese's staunch commitment to maintaining depth on the defensive line, and his reluctance to spend a high draft pick on a linebacker.

Compounding the issue, Michael Boley didn't pan out exactly the way the Giants wanted, and were forced to cut his salary last off-season.  He was solid, but underwhelming.  Prior to signing MLB Allan Bradford earlier this week to replace Connor, the Giants were left with Mark Herzlich as their lone remaining middle line backer.  Keith Rivers, Spencer Paysinger and Jacquian Williams are the outside guys, who so far, are an unremarkable bunch.

Allan Bradford was originally Tampa Bay's sixth round pick of the 2011 draft, and was eventually cut.  He was then reclaimed by his old college coach from USC, Seattle's Pete Carroll, and entered the season as the Seahawks back-up MLB.  In a twist Giants fans should know, Pete Carroll switched him in college from linebacker into a running back.  Back playing linebacker, he came to the Giants  by clearing waivers, and will start right away.  That's a precarious situation to say the least, especially heading into a game against Peyton Manning.

Last week against Dallas, the Giants played a lot of nickel packages, which only meant two linebackers were on the field at any given time.  How well did that work?  Tony Romo was 36 of 49, for 263 yards and two touchdowns.  The middle of the field was available to the Cowboys all night, and the Giants, as usual had no answer for tight end Jason Witten - not at linebacker at least.  So what do you think Peyton Manning will do against a suspect line backing crew?




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants: Defense Still Panning For Fewell's Gold

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: Still Panning Around In Fewell's Gold.  Jerry Reese and Defense May Need a New Direction.

The Giants allowed 129 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 25th in all the NFL.  The 254 passing yards they allowed per game ranked 28th in the league.  The 383 total yards they allowed opponents per game ranked 31st, second to last in the NFL and ahead of only New Orleans.  Yet, they only allowed 21.5 points per game, which rated them 13th best in the league. Which also says, they give up an awful lot of yardage, but quite often held their opponents to field goals.

Somehow related to that is the fact Big Blue led the entire NFL in tackles made - like I said, somehow.  On that note, Chase Blackburn, Antrel Rolle and Michael Boley led the team in tackles, but only one of them is returning this season.  And while I'm at it, regarding their supposed forte' - they ranked 22nd last season with only thirty-three QB sacks.  To combat these numbers somewhat, the Giants ranked fourth in fumbles recovered and third in interceptions, but don't be misled.  Panning through the Giants 2012 regular season, time and again only turns up (Perry) Fewell's Gold.

Now what?

The Defensive Line:

The strength of the defense is still the front four, but they are evolving, or devolving.  Whether for better or worse is still to be determined.  At one point this squad had so much depth, they needed an unwelcomed, coach imposed rotation.  Of course that was by design, but the days of Osi Umenyiora, JPP, and Justin Tuck going full tilt together are done.  As per the contentious gentleman's agreement reached between Jerry Reese and Osi last year, Umenyiora chose to leave New York to spread his remaining feathers in Atlanta for one last big contract.  Meanwhile back in the land of Giants, Jason Pierre Paul is still on the mend after back surgery.  The Giants and fans are praying to their respective football deities and offering them sacrifices of burnt buffalo wings in hopes JPP can return to his rookie season form.  Even if he plays Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, his performance will still be a questionable proposition.  Until JPP is fully healthy again, Mathias Kiwanuka is once again entering a season as the x-factor.  He will be moved back on the defensive line this season.  That leads us to Justin Tuck, who is entering his tenth season with a lot to prove.  He is coming off two injurious and rather sub-par seasons.  If the Giants are to get back to the playoffs this season, Justin needs to become not just a major component towards that effort, but a feared force in the NFL once again.  Bottom line is Tuck needs to play an elite defensive end this season.  There is just no getting around that.

At defensive tackle and entering his fifth season, Linval Joseph has a fan in me, while former Eagle and eleven year veteran Cullen Jenkins was brought in to round-out and solidify the line.  He is a  respectable acquisition.  Jerry Reese used his second pick in April's draft to select Jonathan Hankins, a DT from Ohio State, and he used his third selection to take DE-Demontre Moore out of Texas A&M.  It would stand to reason then, the defensive line was of obvious concern to Reese.  That said, in the new NFL, having a formidable defensive line has served the Giants well.

Linebackers:

The Giants lost two of their top three leading tacklers from a year ago, both linebackers.  Michael Boley was released after failing to impress.  That's not to say he wasn't a solid player.  But he was expensive, and that factored into the decision.  Most of all, Michael just didn't have the presence in the middle that was expected of him.  Chase Blackburn parlayed his commendable play last season  into a contract with Carolina, that the Giants had no intentions of matching.  Good luck to him.

Linebacker is by far the thinnest, most untalented, and questionable squad of the entire Giants defense.  These are the guys charged with stuffing the run, covering tight ends and wandering mischievous fourth receivers, spearheading the blitz, and setting the overall defense.  Right....  Jerry Reese failed to select a linebacker with his first seven picks, and somehow continues to stick it out with Keith Rivers.  That situation is getting a little frustrating for me.  Entering his fourth season, Spencer Paysinger now gets to be a starter, while Dan Conner, formerly of Dallas and Carolina, suddenly finds himself in a starting role as well.  Jacquian Williams is entering his fourth season, and it would be nice if he too started making more of an impact.  That's the line-backing corps, and boy aren't they most unintimidating and yawn inspiring.

Secondary:

After Blackburn and Boley, safety Antrel Rolle was the team's leading tackler, and he continues to be an important team leader.  I never thought so before, but he has proven that out over his years here.  For those of us who fretted when Kenny Phillips left for the Eagles..., they cut him.  Tyler Sash played surprisingly well last season.  Can he do it again?  I'm still scratching my head over the Giants 2013 fourth round pick (a QB), but with their fifth pick, they selected a safety, Cooper Taylor out of Richmond.  He is 6'4" and 228 pounds - I like his size at safety.  He is big with speed which can take a measure of pressure off the linebackers forced into covering tight ends.  Who's Ryan Mundy?  He's a fourth year free-safety formerly of the Steelers who managed to start just five games for Pittsburgh in four seasons.  Suddenly, he is forced into a starting role here - it's ponderous actually.

The Giants finally may be the strongest they've been at corner in a few years now.  Corey Webster and Aaron Ross are reunited but will likely not be the starting corners together.  Prince Amukamara looks to have finally graduated to full time starter.  Jayron Hosely turned a lot of heads last season and garnered a lot of attention with his play.  Lastly, Terrell Thomas is determined to not be forgotten about.

The Defensive Coordinator:

Quite simply, he needs to get it together - and he needs to do it aggressively.  His read-and-react schemes are a 31st rate failure.  The Giants gave up an obscene number of huge yardage plays last season, both via the air and ground, and the year before for that matter.  Not because they lacked talent, but due to Fewell making his secondary reads too layered, and an overall inability to stop the run.  When there isn't a Giant player within fifteen yards of a receiver, something went terribly wrong, and that happened to them far too often.

When speaking of Perry Fewell's blitz packages, one is always forced into asking - what blitz packages?  There aren't many stunts going on within the front four either.  He puts it on his front line to play straight up, win individual battles and stay disciplined to their lanes.  Perry calls for safety blitzes with the frequency of a lunar eclipse.  Overall, there isn't much deception you're going to encounter playing against Perry Fewell's defensive game plan.

The defensive personnel was always capable of that shut-down, dominant performance.  They still have it in them.  I just think sometimes their coaching gets in the way of better defensive results and overall performances.  With this linebacking unit, I admit Perry Fewell has his work cut out for him.  I'd suggest more aggression and deception, and less reading and reacting.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Giants Wrap-Up: The Defense

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE


NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL ~ The Defense That Wasn't.


No Super Bowl title defense for you...  So what happened?  For me, the failures were equally on both offense and defense.  I am also inclined to agree with the coaching staff's general consensus that there was a tremendous lack of execution this past season.  After Hurricane Sandy, I didn't get to watch many games on TV.  In hindsight, perhaps that was best.  But I certainly didn't like what I heard on radio.


I will start this post season assessment with the Defense, and coordinator Perry Fewell.  His victory parade is over.  It's time for him to get back to the drawing board.  I'll let him slide for throwing his players under the bus at season's end regarding their overall performance.  But next season, his defense must yield far better results.  There is much change that needs to emanate from the top, meaning from Mr. Fewell.  He doesn't exactly fit the mold of Giants offensive coordinators and their strategies of the past.  Bill Belichick, John Fox, Steve Spagnuolo - they were very good coordinators here.  Perry Fewell's Read and React schemes however drive me batty.  His defenses are not terribly aggressive.  But that's as far as I'll criticize Perry Fewell.  Many other factors contributed to an overall poor defensive effort.  As a unit, the Giants Defense couldn't stop the run. They couldn't stop the pass.  And they couldn't stop themselves from looking downright amateurish at times.


At Cornerback, year one in the post-Aaron Ross era was a disaster.  For starters, the secondary was ravaged by injuries for a second consecutive season.  On that note, for the second consecutive season Terrell Thomas was lost for the year.  Michael Coe was lost for the season as well.  Prince Amukamara is still yet to play like a #1 draft pick but showed improvement.  And Coery Webster had perhaps the worst season of his career.  Rookie Jayron Hosely had his moments.  But he is too short for the position I believe, and is easily picked on.


At Safety, I feel yet another injury to Kenny Phillips was also a huge blow to the defense.  He was turning into an impact safety until sidelined....again.  On the bright side however, Antrel Rolle had a stellar season.  Will Hill and the amazin' Stevie Brown filled in tremendously.


Next, there are two ways I would describe the Giants situation at Linebacker - average and without impact.  Chase Blackburn, we hardly knew ya.  Where would the Giants have been without him?  Because truth be told, Michael Boley, Keith Rivers, Jacquian Williams, Mark Herzlich, and Spencer Paysinger put forth rather inconsequential seasons.


Up front, it's like the Defensive Line kept bumping into each other in the fun house.  No one ever adequately explained what happened to the Giants pass rush last season.  Osi was his own worst enemy, constantly playing his way out of a sack or tackle.  The league made adjustments against JPP.  He will now be taking lessons from Michael Strahan on how to deal with getting double-teamed.  That's not a bad idea.  But Justin Tuck remains a bit mystifying.  I was satisfied with Chris Canty when he managed to stay on the field.  He only played nine games.


Staying on the field - what a task.  With regard to injuries, the Giants have questions that need answers.  How long should the Giants stick it out with Terrell Thomas before cutting the cord?  As mentioned, he has missed the last two seasons with the same injury.  Kenny Phillips can be viewed  similarly.  We also need to consider Chris Canty missed almost half the season.  And Keith Rivers, dealing with his fair share of injuries, also has not fulfilled his potential here.


On the free agent front, GM Jerry Reese has his hands full.  Osi's situation is well known to us by now.  He has most likely played his last game as a New York Giant.  Kenny Phillips is also an unrestricted free agent.  I do not want to see him leave.  But since he first hit the field as a rookie, he's had troubles staying on it.  When Chris Canty went down with an injury, Rocky Bernard teamed up with Linval Joseph and plugged the Tackle position well.  Rocky Bernard is also now an unrestricted free agent.  Some very fine play at linebacker just might have earned Chase Blackburn a handsome little raise for him and his family.  It just won't be with the G-Men.  I can't see them paying-up for Chase.  The Giants cap situation is too restrictive for that.


What now?  If I had my druthers, I'd have Jerry Reese address the linebacker situation.  The Giants need more impact from that position.  While Boley is still a fine player, and Rivers is worth a further look, the rest of the corps perhaps needs fresh meat.  Unfortunately, I do not believe there is any money in the budget to spend quality dollars here.  If Osi has indeed played his last game as a Giant, then Mathias Kiwanuka seems certain of returning to the defensive line.


In spite of the injury to Kenny Phillips, I'm hoping he can be re-signed to an extension.  In his absence however, Stevie Brown was able to show what he's capable of.  And it was good.  With Antrel Rolle, the Giants are looking pretty good at Safety.  It is the Cornerback situation they need to fix.  Jerry Reese faces a quandary as to how, be it holding out hope for a healthier Thomas, revamping the position, or throwing money at it.  And we know the latter suggestion is simply not the Giants way.  That said, Jerry Reese also has a very hard decision to make regarding Corey Webster as well.  After two very sub par seasons, Webster comes with a mighty hefty price tag next season.  He could very well get cut.


On the defensive line, my concern is at Tackle.  The Giants might be forced to take a closer look here.  While Chris Canty has an ally in me, the position has not been right since Barry Cofield left.  Linval Joseph played okay.  No major gripes.  But overall, the Giants ability to stop the run must improve.  Improvements to the linebacker and tackle positions would be my way to go about that.  As far as stopping the pass, give me less Jayron Hosely and give me more size at the corners.




Mike.BTB

New York Giants: Big Blue M*A*S*H Unit

From the desk of:   DO IT FOR THE DUKE

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: As The Injuries Keep Mounting, Beware The Browns.


The Giants injury list is as long as lines around Foot Locker for Jordan re-issues - which is to say, ridiculous.  In order of which injury I believe are most crucial to Giants success to the least worrisome injury, I cite the status of Michael Boley, Kenny Phillips, Rocky Bernard, Jayron Hoseley, Keith Rivers, Chris Snee, Hakeem Nicks, David Diehl, Ramses Barden, and David Bass as the most troublesome.


If last season taught us anything, is that without Michael Boley, everything breaks down.  He is the unsung glue which keeps the defense together and functioning as one.


Kenny Phillips was off to his best start.  He is one of the team's best tacklers.  Most importantly, the Giants simply can not sustain any more injuries to the secondary.  Ditto goes for Jayron Hosely.  Corey Webster might as well be hurt; which he is, sporting a cast on his hand.  His season has been terrible thus far.


Losing Rocky Bernard would be huge.  The Giants are already minus Chris Canty at defensive tackle.  Philly killed the Giants primarily on cut-backs.  Otherwise, Rocky Bernard and Linval Joseph have been pretty solid plugging up the middle.


Keith Rivers concerns me because I'm starting to question if this guy will ever stay on the field.


In place of Chris Snee and David Diehl, Mitch Petrus now gets an opportunity to show last season was no fluke.  He provided the O-Line with a spark last season.  Let's see if he can do that again.  Sean Locklear hasn't become a problem.  So I guess that is a good thing.


Hakeem Nicks we knew about.  Now, third string Ramses Barden is out as well.


This much is certain.  No one feels sorry for the defending Super Bowl champions.





Mike.BTB