Time to Make Adjustments

That game on Monday night was a horrible excuse for a defensive performance. The epitomy of New York Giants football is defined by a furious pass rush from a defensive front that wreaks havoc in the backfield. But on Monday night we were humiliated by a prolific Saints offense that was moving the ball against us at will.

So what's the problem? Some people are beginning to murmur that we are simply not good enough in the heart of this 3 game losing streak, but I am not ready to accept that just yet. In my opinion the Giants defense is being over coached because Fewell is making too many substitutions during the course of the game. I understand his mentality when it is third and long and he wants to bring in all of our defensive ends that our pass rushing specialists. But when Pierre-Paul, Osi, Tuck, and Tollefson are all trying to get around there blockers they are all simultaneously getting flushed to the outside, creating a pocket of immense proportions. We all know how that ends with a quarterback like Drew Brees, and with Aaron Rodgers and the undefeated Pack coming to town next week, that shit is just not gonna cut it.

Giants tackles Chris Canty, Linval Joseph, and even Rocky Bernard have not been playing badly. Bernard came in for a play and blew his blocker off the ball and drove him into the pocket, causing Brees to panic and throw an incomplete pass into the dirt. Bernard was immediately taken out of the game after this play because it brought up a third and long passing situation. I think we need to keep the tackles in on third down because the past few weeks on third down the quarterbacks have had way too much time. The tackles need to push the middle effectively this week and force Rodgers to take more drop steps. Then can we blitz some defensive backs! Have we already forgotten the good ol' days when Steve Spagnualo would send players like Gibril Wilson, or Sam Madison on blitzes to get to the quarterback? We must do this against Green Bay, especially if our front four does not generate any success. Blitzing the DB's can be dangerous against Rodgers because it may force him to roll out. But if you force him to his left (because he's a right handed quarterback) it may not be as problematic as you'd think. Especially if everyone in the secondary is expecting Rodgers to roll out.

Speaking of the secondary, along with sending some safeties or corners on the occasional blitz, we need to stick to more man coverage. Our zone really sucks. It's just bad. Plain, period, and simple. So enough of this dancing around before the play, faking like you're going to blitz and then dropping back. It's simply not working. I think it is time to simplify. Stick to man coverage most of the time, and in zone I say go with the simple Cover 3, or Cover 2. I think our zone coverage would have much more success if we sent some DB's on blitzes. But I did happen to catch Jason Pierre-Paul dropping back into coverage on one play on Monday night. Our last defensive coordinator, Bill Sheridan, got fired for that exact idioticy.

On the defensive side of the ball that would be my gameplan. Force Rodgers to roll to his left, keep the tackles in on third down, and less zone coverage. Keep it simple, don't over coach every particular situation. Hopefully we'll be able to have some success hitting Rodgers. On offense however, we really aren't that terrible despite our run game being atrocious. If Ballard breaks up that pass in the first quarter the Giants have 31 total points easily. But we cannot continue to be this dependent on the passing game, especially with the Packers next week. Green Bay has given up three consecutive hundred yard rushing games. Their defense is in fact quite overrated. I really hope Bradshaw will be able to go this week. If he is, I would come out throwing the ball like a demon. Let Eli do his thing. And can we hurry our asses to the line so if Eli wants to change the play he has more than just five seconds? We need to run more no huddle. But if we are able to get Eli going early in the game against the Packers, they will be on their heels for the passing game, and assuming Bradshaws playing we can develop a running game in the second half to keep the ball out of Rodgers hands. The reason I say we will do this assuming Bradshaw is healthy is because I do not have any confidence in any other of our running backs. None.

That brings me to my next point. Our veteran leaders Justin Tuck and Brandon Jacobs are not playing well. They were both plagued by some injuries for a few games over the course of the year, but they are simply not getting it done. There was a play where Tuck missed a sack on Brees and simply laid there after he missed. Had he gotten up and chased Brees, he would have gotten to him again, but instead he gave up and showed no hustle. And when Jacobs finally did something and scored a touchdown for the Giants when they were down 21-3, he celebrated like he won the super bowl. It's just extremely disappointing to see. Tuck has only two sacks on the year, and Jacobs hasn't had a 100 yard game in quite some time. Why hasn't Coughlin shown these guys a seat on the bench? Even if its just for a quarter to get them pissed off. I think it's because since in years past these players have been extremely valuable to the Giants, which is why they have the role of the emotional leaders that they are now. So maybe the fear is if these guys are benched they will lose the emotion of the team, and maybe they would complain to the media and become a team distraction. That is especially so for Jacobs. But enough is enough! We have lost 3 games in a row and if you don't produce week in and week out you have a seat son. It doesn't matter who you are. Tom Coughlin has to send these guys a message.

Now allllllllllllll of that being said if the Giants decide to upset the Green Bay Packers I will go far enough to say that the teams confidence will soar and there's no way they will miss the playoffs. Heck, even if we lose the game but give the Packers a damn good run for the money and lose a close one, the Giants will stil gain confidence. Sure, if that happened the Giants would be 6-6, but they would still have to play Dallas twice and would not mathematically be out of it. But if we get torched again and Rodgers is standing in the pocket with all day as the Packers accumulate over 500 yards of offense, that will be extremely degrading for the confidence of this team over the next few weeks. So for the love of all that is good in this world, the Giants have to give it everything they have. Not just for a shot at the playoffs but for something more important than that. It's about re-establishing Big Blue pride.

We have to honor the Giant legends of the past and play like a bunch of crazed dogs. And honoring big blue pride goes for us fans as well! We cannot give up on the team. They need us.

So there you have it, that is my entirely unprofessional opinion on the New York Football Giants at this moment in time. But if there's one thing you have to know, it's that regardless of the fact that our backs our against the wall and all odds are against us.

I still bELIeve...