Loading ...In 2007, the pride and joy of the New York Giants was a fear-inspiring defensive line orchestrated by Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo. A near-instantly embraced coach by players and fans, Spags took a group of highly talented individual players and turned them into a unified QB-blasting force of nature. This culminated into a Super Bowl victory, courtesy of (admittedly, amongst other Big Blue factors) the pressure of Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and (then LB) Mathias Kiwanuka.
Fast forward two years and that pressure-dealing four-headed monster finds itself once again dormant and playing relatively uninspired (at least as a unit). Spagnuolo has left the Giants (2008) and Bill Sheridan is listed as “former” (2009) in the pages of New York Giants history.
Enter former Buffalo Bills Defensive Coordinator, Perry Fewell; the new Big Blue Defensive Coordinator. Fewell entered the Meadowlands with a history of strong defenses and has since shown that he will not be satisfied until Big Blue is once again the most feared in the league. After adding some depth and talent to the backfield, his sights are now set on the front four.
Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News reported on the first look at Fewell’s new DE filled DL:
“He showed a tiny bit of that yesterday at the Giants’ ninth organized team activity (OTA) session of the spring, when the assembled media got a look at Kiwanuka at left defensive tackle, while Tuck and Umenyiora were on the end.”
Adding to the hope of the revival, Justin Tuck commented:
“We did a lot of other things that you all didn’t see. That’s the benefit of having this much talent, I guess. That’s a dangerous word, but we do have a lot of talent on the line, not just at the defensive end position. We’re able to put a lot of people in different situations and show different defenses to the offense. It’s hard to get a beat on what they want to do against us if they don’t know where we’re going to line up.”
Perhaps it’s just the natural skeptic in me (also noted by Vacchiano), but there are only so many spots on the defensive line for “this much talent.” And with the inherent urge from each player to be on the field as much as possible, Umenyiora’s (now defunct) ultimatum from last year, players who still have to prove their worth (Chris Canty, Jay Alford), and with two new rookies looking to make an impact as quickly as possible…Giants fans have to hope that Fewell has this under control…and hopefully is not just stoking a resentment-filled fire.
Defensive Line coach, Rob Nunn, stated:
“I can’t guarantee you that everybody’s going to be happy all the time.”
There’s no doubt that the Giants have the potential to resurrect that fearsome front four, but it will have to be done diplomatically and appropriately. The last thing this unit needs is more reason to be divided.
Domino’s Bounty Hunter Giveaway Winner!
Congratulations to GRATEFUL GIANTS for providing the best answer to our most recent giveaway! When asked what the New York Giants 2014 Super Bowl winning pizza would look like, the following answer was chosen as the winner:
The Dominos Defensvie End Pizza.
Not enough Pizza for so much talent?
OSIago cheese
JalaPeno Peppers
Kiwis
Tucked in between a DEep dish crust and few Benjamin Franklins.
Quite appropriate given the article above and one of the biggest situations facing the Giants this off-season.
Shoot me an email at scarroll (at) gmail (dot) com to arrange for your prize to be shipped.
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kujo, good post.
Back in January-April of last year I was going against the grain by saying I thought our wide receivers were not only going to be “Okay”, but excellent.
This past January-April I was again going against the grain by insisting that getting a headline MLB in the draft was not life-or-death and that the Giants would probably be “okay” there because, IMO, the use of Goff or a later draftee would still be superior to the play they had seen from Pierce, whom I have been down on for a long time. I also didn’t think McClain would fall to them and thought it would be a mistake to trade up more than a place or two to get him. Apparently Reese agreed, and I think he was right.
So I’m pretty pleased that I have been consistent, and correct about these things. What worries me, a lot, is that I have also been consistent in criticizing the Special Teams and a lot of the coaching approach. I don’t think there’s much certainty at all going into camp in regard to either of those things.
I worry about a rookie punter. I worry about a new holder. I worry that they STILL do not have a kickoff guy who can consistently get it deep and high. I worry that their blocking patterns on returns over the past few seasons almost always leave their returners naked and without a real chance to find a lane if they can get by the first gunner. I worry that Tom Quinn is mediocre, at best. I worry that Coughlin and Gilbride might, again, conspire to keep Beckum and Barden too-little used.
So these are areas in which I sincerely hope my worries are entirely unjustified. But I wouldn’t bet on it.
Update up top guys….update up top…
I can only say that Im excited to see the potential changes in the defensive line . Samard , flexibility in the positions that the defense lines up says that there is creativity . Hopefully the DC knows what he wants to accomplish on ANY given play and the players who are on the field are the best situational player at that time and are not worried about being labelled starters or substitutes . I see nothing wrong in potentially having 3 or even 4 DEs if the situation calls for an all out blitz say . In fact , its something Ive questioned why its not done more . With the depth that this team has , of course some of the players are going to complain about the lack of playing time ,but quite frankly I think its a moot point since there are bound to be injuries over the course of the season and the question of who gets to play
will sort itself out due to the nicks and injuries that will cut down who plays later on in the season .Im thinking that perhaps last years second half collapse can also be attributed to the many “minor ” injuries suffered by many of the players which caused them to slow enough to really bring down the quality of the defenses play , although offhand I dont have any evidence to support this . With this kind of depth and the ability to show all different kinds of fronts to the opposing offenses ,we should be able to keep up the defensive pressure which was missing in the second half of last year.