The New York Giants’ defense continues to face challenges, but there were some bright spots in their recent performance. Let’s start with the positives.
Personnel Adjustments Pay Off
It appears the Giants have finally found the right personnel mix. Cor’Dale Flott played as an outside cornerback, Dru Phillips manned the slot, Isaiah Simmons saw increased playing time, and Micah McFadden earned a starting role
McFadden’s Impressive Return
In his third year, McFadden looked ready to make a significant impact for the Giants. In his first game back from injury, he earned the highest PFF grade on the defense at 87.8. His performance suggests he could be a key player for the team if he stays healthy.
Phillips Shows Pro Bowl Potential
Rookie Dru Phillips has been impressive in his first two games, including his first start. With PFF grades of 84 and 70, he’s demonstrating the potential to become a Pro Bowl-caliber player in the future.
Here you can see DRU recognizing the play, getting of the block and making the tackle.
Here is DRU playing in a LB position. He does a great job of slow playing flow away from him, and because of this, he is there to make the play.
Burns and Nubin Show Improvement
Brian Burns and Tyler Nubin looked better in their recent outing. Nubin, in only his second game, showed noticeable improvement – a positive sign for a rookie at this stage.
Ongoing Challenges
Despite these bright spots, the Giants’ defense still faces significant hurdles. They allowed 425 total yards and 37:32 minutes of possession time to Washington. While the Commanders didn’t score a touchdown, they managed to score on every drive. Three main issues were evident throughout the game
Players were sometimes put in position where success was difficult.
Here on 3 and 12, it looks like the giants chose to go with a cover 1 robber. This means LB’s and DB’s are man to man except for one Safety in the middle of the field, and one player watching the QB to run. This put Okereke 1 on 1 with Ekeler. Washington decided to run a screen. He never had a chance.
The defense occasionally appeared to be lost on their assignment.
Lets not look at McFadden blitzing and making a play, this is more of what Nubin and Flott at doing. When the WR goes into motion for some reason they both decided to pick him up, which left the TE open. I would assume this was an error on Nubin, but I do not know what their assignments are. What is Pinnock telling him to do, during the motion? Either way, they seemed confused.
Something similar to the play above. When the RB goes into motion, two guys seem to tailor towards him. If McFadden did not widen and let Nubin take the RB, he would have been in much better position to make a play. You can see he almost got there being out of position, but because he widened himself on the motion, he had a greater distance to run.
Lastly, sometimes you have to make the play
In this play everyone seems to be in their gap, but Davidson needs get off of his block, or at least get a hand out to slow the RB down. A grade of 28 by PFF on his 11 plays was the lowest on the defense that week. Play call was there this time.
Looking Ahead
While the Giants’ defense is showing signs of improvement, particularly in individual performances, there’s still work to be done in terms of overall cohesion and execution. The coaching staff will need to address these issues to build on the positive developments and improve the unit’s overall effectiveness. As the season progresses, we will be watching closely to see if these bright spots can translate into more consistent defensive performances.