What To Do
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- August
- 13
So we all saw Saturday night that simply having a more aggressive approach to defense isn’t a fool-proof remedy for a unit that couldn’t stop anybody on third down last year.
But what should Tom Coughlin and coordinator Steve Spagnuolo do about it? Assuming that their personal charm alone won’t lure Michael Strahan and his run-stopping abilities back to camp, at least not in time for this week’s game in Baltimore, how do they get a newly-aggressive defense to not overcommit in the face of cutback runs?
Throw William Joseph back inside, perhaps? Pull the trigger and move Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end? Start scouring the wires for anybody with a run-stopping past?
How about a few suggestions? We all know the problem. We all know it has to be fixed, quickly, before the Cowboys’ backfield gets a chance to gash the Giants’ front seven to pieces.
The floor is yours. I’ll be back in Albany tomorrow and Wednesday to get a closer look at how the braintrust is handling it. If you guys come up with any good ideas, I’ll pass them along to Tom and the gang.
Promise.
Ciao for now.
This entry was posted
on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 9:54 am by Ernie Palladino. 
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Ernie Palladino
First thing is you have to get William Joseph off the defensive end. He’s not an end, and if Strahan isn’t going to be there that job has to belong to Justin Tuck. He wasn’t the only problem, but that’s a start. Kiwanuka should stay at linebacker, where I think in time he’ll be very good.
I’ve got a suggestion. Turn back the clock to March and make a deal for Takeo Spikes.
First suggestion is not to panic. This performance was pretty much expected.
Consider:
With all of that, is it any surprise that the Panthers were able to take advantage of the new aggresive defense. There was nothing I saw out on the field Saturday night that could not be easily corrected.
Is Tank Johnson still available?
Justin Tuck will do the job. The players will learn the system.
Spags will reduce errors
fred robbins and willie joe(back) inside, tuck on the outside, keep pushing Kiwi like its his last game on earth, and hope that stray hurries the hell up, or else just let tuck go crazy. We need tuck to step into that role, dont we? I mean, if we are thinking about the long term. Obviously, this is Mikes last year.
Also, lets realize a few things…
Its the first preseason game.
Its a new system.
They werent only getting burned on the cutback. They were waaay too soft in the middle, they couldnt stop the run anywehere on the field, not just the cutback. I have faith that they will get better, I have faith in spags. Its only the first preseason game.
did you see the DE’s getting burried and knocked on their kiesters, the whole d-line collapsing on the ends, easily allowing the running backs to scamper to the outside? Its not just the over-persuit, its the technique. anyway, fred and willie and cofield for that matter will fix that. osi should play better than that, and tuck will get the rust worked off and fix his thing. spags will tkae care of it, they’ve got plenty of film to look at now. they will be ok.
The overpursuit can be handled by having the players watch the game film over and over again with the coaching staff pointing out how they were duped. Giving up first downs on third down plays is a serious problem, as it was last year. The defensive coordinator should view tapes of teams that are very good at stopping third down plays. Some ideas: the defensive line has to obscure the quarterback’s view of his receivers. Too often the opposing quarterback seems to have a clear view of the field when he drops back to pass (rushers should keep their hands up if they can’t reach the quarterback). The Giants should use stunts to clear blitzing lanes. Trying to bullrush the quarterback doesn’t work. It actually allows the offensive line to push the rushers to the outside and give the quarterback an open view of the field. Blitzes must be quick, open, and preferably blindsided. Too often Giant blitzers rush into a pile of bodies and the pass is completed in the space they vacated. Game films will demonstrate clearly what successful teams do to complete third down plays and stop third down plays.
Tank Johnson would be incredible in Spag’s system.