Despite loss of starters, Giants thriving
EAST RUTHERFORD - As Head Coach Tom Coughlin turned on the film and review every play from the Giants ferocious 24-0 shutout in Tampa on Sunday, surely the following question had to pop into his head:
"What if we had everyone healthy?"
Surely many coaches would hope to live in such nirvana even it is nearly impossible, but he cannot help but ponder the thought. As the Giants went down to Tampa in near 100 degree heat and thoroughly beat down the Buccaneers 24-0 with a roster at far less than full strength, Coughlin and the coaching staff can only gush about the possibility of what adding the currently injured players to an already deep and talented roster.
Using the players they had, aided by the Giants offense holding the ball for an incredible 44 minutes and facing arguably the worst team in the league, the defense limited the Tampa Bay offense to 86 total yards and five first downs.
The total yards given up were amazing, even more incredulous when you consider 51 of those yards were accumulated late in the fourth quarter when the score was 24-0. Members of the second team defense entered and the Buccaneers used a backup quarterback with the defense playing prevent.
In the NFL, you rarely get through an entire season devoid of injuries. If you do, consider yourself lucky. Players going down are an unfortunate part of the game that cannot be stopped.
Losing a high quantity of players for any significant period and/or having to put them on injured reserve and the fortunes of a season change drastically. Losing one or two players depending on the position can usually be compensated. Take no closer look than the Giants offensive line, where the same five members have started 35 consecutive games.
One could not help but look at list of inactives when they came in Sunday and it was impossible not to notice the amount of defensive players either not in the lineup or were nursing injuries that would limit their ability to play.
Justin Tuck (shoulder) was on the field for only eight plays, mainly passing downs. Chris Canty (calf) missed his second straight game. Aaron Ross (hamstring) and Kevin Dockery (hamstrings) missed their third straight games. Kenny Phillips (knee) was put on injured reserve early in the week.
That is four defensive starters on an eleven-man defense. Take any teams two defensive lineman and two top secondary people away and that team will suffer a drop off.
However, what General Manager Jerry Reese did in the off-season was fortifying the backend of the roster, supplying it with quality depth to prevent against injuries from crippling the product on the field.
You would never know it from watching them on Sunday. Mathias Kiwaunka took a majority of the 37 total snaps at defensive end and got several hits on quarterback Byron Leftwich, including one that led to an interception by Terrell Thomas, who has been filling in admirably in Ross' absence.
Kevin Dockery's injury opened up a spot for a Giant rookie Bruce Johnson, who has turned out to be a “draft steal” early in the season.
Johnson was an undrafted free agent from Miami, impressed the coaching staff in training camp and in several preseason games. He was then trusted to go and make plays on the field with Ross and Dockery out and Thomas starting (essentially, because they had no one else on the roster) and he has done just that, making aggressively tackles and playing great in pass coverage.
Despite the currently depleted secondary, the Giants lead the NFL in pass defense and are second overall in the league in total defense. There was the hiccup in stopping the run against in Dallas the previous week, but they have been solid otherwise.
On offense, the injuries to the wide receiver corps have not been evident either. After Hakeem Nicks (ankle) injured himself on Opening Day, it was believed that Eli Manning was losing what was to be his big play target. When Domenik Hixon (knee) injured himself on the first Giants possession against the Cowboys, the position became thin. Mario Manningham and Steve Smith stepped up to be among the best early season tandems in the league and made up for their loss. Derek Hagan got a good amount of snaps in the Dallas game as the team’s number three receiver and even came up with a key catch in the game winning drive. Last week, Sinorice Moss rose from the dead and hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass in the decisive victory.
A man going down means it opens up an opportunity for someone else to step in, contribute and make an impact. This has allowed the team to grow. Going forward, this will only help the team get stronger.
And better.
EAST RUTHERFORD - As Head Coach Tom Coughlin turned on the film and review every play from the Giants ferocious 24-0 shutout in Tampa on Sunday, surely the following question had to pop into his head:
"What if we had everyone healthy?"
Surely many coaches would hope to live in such nirvana even it is nearly impossible, but he cannot help but ponder the thought. As the Giants went down to Tampa in near 100 degree heat and thoroughly beat down the Buccaneers 24-0 with a roster at far less than full strength, Coughlin and the coaching staff can only gush about the possibility of what adding the currently injured players to an already deep and talented roster.
Using the players they had, aided by the Giants offense holding the ball for an incredible 44 minutes and facing arguably the worst team in the league, the defense limited the Tampa Bay offense to 86 total yards and five first downs.
The total yards given up were amazing, even more incredulous when you consider 51 of those yards were accumulated late in the fourth quarter when the score was 24-0. Members of the second team defense entered and the Buccaneers used a backup quarterback with the defense playing prevent.
In the NFL, you rarely get through an entire season devoid of injuries. If you do, consider yourself lucky. Players going down are an unfortunate part of the game that cannot be stopped.
Losing a high quantity of players for any significant period and/or having to put them on injured reserve and the fortunes of a season change drastically. Losing one or two players depending on the position can usually be compensated. Take no closer look than the Giants offensive line, where the same five members have started 35 consecutive games.
One could not help but look at list of inactives when they came in Sunday and it was impossible not to notice the amount of defensive players either not in the lineup or were nursing injuries that would limit their ability to play.
Justin Tuck (shoulder) was on the field for only eight plays, mainly passing downs. Chris Canty (calf) missed his second straight game. Aaron Ross (hamstring) and Kevin Dockery (hamstrings) missed their third straight games. Kenny Phillips (knee) was put on injured reserve early in the week.
That is four defensive starters on an eleven-man defense. Take any teams two defensive lineman and two top secondary people away and that team will suffer a drop off.
However, what General Manager Jerry Reese did in the off-season was fortifying the backend of the roster, supplying it with quality depth to prevent against injuries from crippling the product on the field.
You would never know it from watching them on Sunday. Mathias Kiwaunka took a majority of the 37 total snaps at defensive end and got several hits on quarterback Byron Leftwich, including one that led to an interception by Terrell Thomas, who has been filling in admirably in Ross' absence.
Kevin Dockery's injury opened up a spot for a Giant rookie Bruce Johnson, who has turned out to be a “draft steal” early in the season.
Johnson was an undrafted free agent from Miami, impressed the coaching staff in training camp and in several preseason games. He was then trusted to go and make plays on the field with Ross and Dockery out and Thomas starting (essentially, because they had no one else on the roster) and he has done just that, making aggressively tackles and playing great in pass coverage.
Despite the currently depleted secondary, the Giants lead the NFL in pass defense and are second overall in the league in total defense. There was the hiccup in stopping the run against in Dallas the previous week, but they have been solid otherwise.
On offense, the injuries to the wide receiver corps have not been evident either. After Hakeem Nicks (ankle) injured himself on Opening Day, it was believed that Eli Manning was losing what was to be his big play target. When Domenik Hixon (knee) injured himself on the first Giants possession against the Cowboys, the position became thin. Mario Manningham and Steve Smith stepped up to be among the best early season tandems in the league and made up for their loss. Derek Hagan got a good amount of snaps in the Dallas game as the team’s number three receiver and even came up with a key catch in the game winning drive. Last week, Sinorice Moss rose from the dead and hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass in the decisive victory.
A man going down means it opens up an opportunity for someone else to step in, contribute and make an impact. This has allowed the team to grow. Going forward, this will only help the team get stronger.
And better.
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