My impression while watching the disastrous fourth quarter was that the Giants were blitzing quite a bit. I noticed that the game was on NFL Network tonight, so I figured, why not take a look at what the defense did? (This was extremely difficult to stomach, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I turned it off immediately following the game being tied.) I did my best to chart what the front was doing. I don't have DVR, unfortunately, so I couldn't rewatch plays if I didn't catch everything. (If anyone else can stomach a second helping of the disaster, my judgments can be confirmed or refuted.) My chart of what I saw is below:
| Result of Play | Defense |
|---|---|
| 1. 2nd-13, PHI37 15:00 M. Vick incomplete pass to the left | Blitzed 6 (Boley, Grant) |
| 2. 3rd-13, PHI37 14:56 M. Vick incomplete pass to the right | Blitzed 6 or 7 (Rolle, Phillips) |
| 3. 1st-10, PHI20 12:34 M. Vick passed to D. Jackson down the middle for 30 yard gain. D. Jackson fumbled. K. Phillips recovered fumble and returned for 3 yards | Didn't see, but it looks like no blitz (NFL Network cuts part of play, but I see Boley, Phillips, and Rolle near the ball) |
| 4. 1st-10, PHI25 8:09 M. Vick passed to J. Maclin to the left for 10 yard gain | Rush 4 (zone overload from Vick's right, RE drops into coverage) |
| 5. 1st-10, PHI35 7:28 M. Vick passed to B. Celek down the middle for 65 yard touchdown. D. Akers made PAT | Blitz 5 (zone blitz again; Tuck is in coverage) |
| 6. 1st-10, PHI44 7:27 M. Vick passed to D. Jackson down the middle for 13 yard gain | Rush 4 |
| 7. 1st-10, NYG44 6:58 M. Vick rushed up the middle for 35 yard gain | Blitz 7 (Boley, Phillips, Grant) |
| 8. 1st-9, NYG9 6:05 M. Vick incomplete pass to the right | Blitz 6 (Unclear) |
| 9. 2nd-9, NYG9 5:59 NY Giants committed 5 yard penalty | Blitz 6 (Boley, Grant) |
| 10. 2nd-4, NYG4 5:41 M. Vick incomplete pass down the middle | Blitz 6 (Boley, Grant) |
| 11. 3rd-4, NYG4 5:28 M. Vick rushed to the left for 4 yard touchdown. D. Akers made PAT | Blitz 6 (Rolle, Phillips) |
| 12. 1st-10, PHI12 3:01 M. Vick incomplete pass to the right | Rush 4 (zone overload from Vick's left; Ross and Phillips come) |
| 13. 2nd-10, PHI12 2:56 M. Vick incomplete pass down the middle | Rush 4 |
| 14. 3rd-10, PHI12 2:50 M. Vick rushed to the left for 33 yard gain | Blitz 7 (Boley, Ross, Rolle) |
| 15. 1st-10, PHI45 2:41 M. Vick passed to J. Avant down the middle for 13 yard gain | Rush 4 |
| 16. 1st-10, NYG42 2:13 M. Vick incomplete pass down the middle | Rush 4 |
| 17. 2nd-10, NYG42 2:07 M. Vick rushed up the middle for 22 yard gain | Blitz 6 (Goff, Grant) |
| 18. 1st-10, NYG20 1:58 M. Vick passed to B. Celek down the middle for 7 yard gain | Rush 3 (JPP drops into coverage) |
| 19. 2nd-3, NYG13 1:16 M. Vick passed to J. Maclin to the left for 13 yard touchdown. D. Akers made PAT | Blitz 5 (Grant comes, LE into coverage) |
So, on my count, here's what I have:
Giants rushing 4 or fewer: 8
Giants rushing 5 or more: 11
The Giants blitzed on more than half of the plays in the 4th quarter. It is hard to argue that the coaches "took their foot off the gas" when they're blitzing that often. Hell, the Giants dropped 8 into coverage only once in the whole quarter. Moreover, two of the "4 or fewer" calls were actually "zone blitzes," of sorts--they still brought only 4 rushers but overloaded on one side. Additionally, before the fateful final drive, the Giants actually called 8 blitzes out of 11 defensive plays, and one of the 3 times they rushed 4 was a "zone blitz"-type look. There is no shame in running a base defense; the Giants' defensive line should be good enough to periodically generate pressure without the aid of blitzers, and they could have used some additional people in Vick's running lanes.
Ultimately, it's hard to fault Fewell too much for being aggressive--we hear so much about "prevent defense preventing you from winning" that it is seen as more innovative to run lots of blitzes. I do, however, absolutely fault him for the call on 3rd and 10 from the Philadelphia 12. There was no need to call a blitz there; he had quite a bit of space to give up (88 yards in 2:50), and blitzes always leave you vulnerable to big plays. Dropping 8, or even 9, into coverage would have been a far better call in that situation. (Aaron Ross pretty clearly blew contain on that play, but you leave yourself open to single-player mistakes on blitzes.)
It definitely seems clear, though, that the Giants didn't go into prevent mode at all.
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