Giants Talk: Defending Giants Pride

After abysmal 2009, Big Blue D looking to rebound

EAST RUTHERFORD – Having a good defense is a vital element to any good team.

Have it, and you will always give yourself a chance to win.

If you have a great defense, that alone can carry you to victory.

However, if you have a bad defense, you have almost no chance.

Last season, to say the Giants defense was awful would actually be kind.

In one of the franchises most abysmal displays ever, the Giants final record of 8-8 was due in large part that the group unexpectedly played below their talent level.

It was a mighty fall considering they began the year 5-0. Yet, that hefty record was a creation of a tremendously weak schedule of opponents (Washington, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland) that gave them a false sense of bravado, even leading Antonio Pierce to say after their 44-7 thrashing of the Raiders that it “felt like a practice game.”

Statistically, when they were 5-0, they had the best defense in football. Yet, problems arose in their Week 2 win at Dallas when the Cowboys gashed them for over 200 yards. After the game, the Giants had to place Kenny Phillips on injured reserve with an arthritic knee condition, thus ending his season.

Not having Phillips in the backend of the secondary did not show up for the next three games. However, when they went to New Orleans during a battle of undefeated teams, the Saints exposed their deficient secondary and lack of speed at linebacker to rack up 48 points.

Afterwards, the defense chalked it up to nothing more than one bad game. Instead, it was the just the beginning a problem that would last the remainder of the season.

A lack of consistent pass rush, mixed in with a lack of athleticism at the linebacker position, added with the loss of Phillips in the secondary and numerous coverage breakdowns and “miscommunications” all led to what took place that afternoon.

This would follow for the next four weeks and the Giants went from 5-0 to 5-4 in an instant with one of the final nails coming at home when San Diego rallied from six points down in the final two minutes to win 21-20 on a last second touchdown.

The defense would not admit to a rift with their new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, but there was so much innuendo going around in the locker room that you could not avoid it.

It was obvious the defense was not the same aggressive, attacking defense as it was in previous years. However, with a lack of pass rush from their interior lineman, blitzing was very difficult to do because the secondary could not cover. How many times did we have to see C.C Brown chasing
defenders and only seeing the back of his jersey?

When they lost 45-38 to the Eagles at home in a battle for first place that was the ultimate sign that the defense could not solve any of its problems. No longer was it simply a mirage or a few bad games.

We had enough of a sample size to conclude that they were not any good despite the name players on the roster.

The fact they essentially gave up the final two weeks of the season was an enormous black mark on this team that it now must avenge this season.

That is the reason Perry Fewell is here.

Tom Coughlin brought him in to restore that Giants Pride that was lacking severely last year and needs to return with ferocity in order for this team to return to the top of the NFC East and put them back in contention for the Super Bowl.

The defensive line has the talent. Justin Tuck is 100 percent healthy and Osi Umenyiora has a clear mind and is ready to make amends for his poor performance and attitude last year.

Chris Canty, after contributing nearly nothing last year and back and healthy to go along with Mathias Kiwanuka. Added to that is rookie Jason Pierre-Paul and Linval Joseph to bring you and added athleticism. The hope is to rotate all of these players and come at opponents in waves as they did in 2007.

The linebacker spot is still a question mark. Keith Bulluck is fully healthy after a broken leg last season. But can he give 16 games?

The same can also be said for Michael Boley, who did not give a full season last year, only showing flashes of his talent, just not on a consistent basis.

Antrel Rolle was signed to fill the safety problems and with the returning Phillips, gives the Giants two ball-hawks in the secondary to anchor along with Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster.

No one disputes that the talent is there to get this done.

The question is whether they can be healthy enough to produce and play at the high level they should.

My bet is that they will.