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First Impressions Part II: Taking a Look at the Defense

After covering the offensive side of the ball in my previous post, it's time for me to write down some of the observations I had concerning the Giants defense that we saw Sunday night. And while the defense doesn't have anywhere near the amount of new faces that the offense does, I think that when inspected thoroughly, we'll find that the 2014 defense will be a lot different from years past.

Defense: New York's No Fly Zone

Just like in the previous post, I will take a look at certain aspects of our defense and attempt to analyze what these observations could mean for our 2014 regular season.

Pre-Snap Formations

One of the very first things I noticed about our defense this year is that our pre-snap looks are going to vary quite a bit this year. During the first series, I saw a 4-3 Under look with a Linebacker lined up on the Line of Scrimmage playing the "LEO" position. A few snaps later Rolle was on the Line of Scrimmage threatening a blitz. The were Linebackers often threatening the A and B gaps pre snap as well. One of my biggest criticisms of Perry Fewell is that he has not been aggressive enough. In the game against the Bills, I saw a lot of aggressive posturing from our defense. It's hard for me to express how happy that made me. Even if we aren't blitzing all out every play, the fact that we are pressing the Line of Scrimmage and at least appearing to be aggressive is a plus. Make those Offensive Lineman question who they'll be blocking that play. Make them worry about a Linebacker shooting into their gap, and crushing whoever is in the backfield if he doesn't do his job. Even the thought of pressure can shake up some younger Quarterbacks, or make a Running Back question whether or not he's going to have to make a cut in the backfield.

Speaking of aggressive pre-snap looks, did anyone else notice how often our Corner Backs were up on the Line of Scrimmage? I forgot what it's like to see Prince Amukamara honestly. Based off of nothing but pre-snap looks, I think I'm going to buy in to a theory that has been tossed around BBV a couple of times before: Perry Fewell works better when he has a excellent defensive backfield. I just don't see any way around this theory. We've seen Perry Fewell play off and soft for quite some time. But remember, we've also had terrible luck with injuries to our secondary. From Kenny Phillips to Corey Webster, our secondary has seen a lot of injuries. Whenever a key piece has gone down in the defensive backfield, there has been a correlation to Fewell running a softer defense. Fast forward to the first preseason game of 2014, and everything is appearing more aggressive right off the bat. Why? Well we signed Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, Prince is playing across from him, Antrel Rolle is finally back to playing his natural position, and Stevie Brown is coming back from injury. To me, it's obvious that Fewell is happy with what he has in the secondary, and it appears that's going to translate to a more aggressive defense across the board. It's about time.

A Few Big Men

Want to know what really, really stood out to me whenever the Giants were on defense? Well it's pretty obvious, seeing as how it would be quite hard to miss the massive human beings that the Giants have playing Defensive Tackle for them. And this group of monstrous human beings is led by one Jonathan Hankins. Good gravy, this guy was a force. I don't think I ever noted our starting Defensive Tackles going backwards. Hankins got an excellent push on almost every snap, and I don't think we're going to miss Linval Joseph too much at all. Throw in the fact that Cullen Jenkins is pretty big for a 3tech, Markus Kuhn appears to have put on weight, and Mike Patterson wasn't even in that game, and it's safe to say we've answered the age old question "Where's the beef?". And this isn't even including the young, fresh potential that awaits us in Jay Bromley and Kelcy Quarles.

And while I may be stoked for our Defensive Tackles, I cannot say the same for our Defensive Ends. Despite Damontre Moore's solid performance, I wasn't a huge fan of the way our Defensive Ends preformed. If I had to single out my biggest concern with our current team, it would be the lack of pass rushers that we have. Fortunately Perry is seeming like he wants to blitz more often this year, because honestly I don't see a ton of pressure coming off the edges this year. Jason Pierre-Paul was lackluster against Seantrel Henderson, the Bills raw rookie Left Tackle. Now I'm not pressing the panic button just yet on JPP, but even if he wasn't going all out, he should have been able to find his way into the backfield at least once or twice against a rookie. I'm not confident in our Defensive End rotation at all, it's reason my signature mock has me taking Dante Fowler Jr. in the first round. It will be nice to see Robert Ayers get on the field and possibly lend a helping hand to that position.

Hands Up!

During the course of the game, there was something I distinctly noticed about the Giants defense this year. It's a small detail, but it still managed to stand out regardless. This year it seems like almost every player on defense is managing to get their hands up when the Quarterback is delivering a pass. Now more often than not this effort wasn't rewarded, however it did seem that the Giants managed to bat down a good number of passes that evening. JPP batted a ball down, Mathias Kiwinuka had one, and Jacquian Williams came up with a near interception. This all came within the first quarter I believe.

Now I know it doesn't seem like a pivotal part of the game, but if the Giants really are putting an emphasis on this, I couldn't be happier. I said before in my other post that it's the little things that can lead to victory, and this is one of those little things. A tipped pass at the line can lead to an easy interception for a Linebacker. A number of tipped passes can force a Quarterback to start throwing higher and harder in effort to not get his passes batted down, which can lead to receivers being overthrown and possibly easy interceptions for the Safeties. If you're not going to pressure the Quarterback or come up with a sack, you might as well put those hands up.

Other Miscellaneous Observations

- Prince was awesome on Sunday. I know a few others have mentioned it, but he will definitely be seeing more targets with DRC in town. I think Prince is going to get a lot of opportunities to show the NFL how good he can really be. The missed tackle was out of character, and it's not something I'm too worried about.

- Cooper Taylor is a large individual. If he and Nat Berhe can find their way onto the field, the offense is in for a world of hurt. If I were the Defensive Coordinator, I would even consider pulling Stevie Brown out during third and short situations in favor of one of these guys. Let them fly into the backfield and dismantle a Running Back.

- Another Defensive Back related note: It's going to be fun seeing those Corner Backs battle it out for a roster spot. Zack Bowman, Charles James, and Trumaine McBride all have a case for making the final roster. It appears that Jayron Hosely is going to be the odd man out this season.

- I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the BEEZERS in a post about the defense wouldn't I? While I think Devon Kennard may end up being a very good player at Linebacker for the Giants, keep your eyes on Jacquain Williams this year folks. In my notes I commended his pass coverage multiple times, and he read the play perfectly on his near interception in the redzone. He's been solid for most of his career, but he may very well have a breakout year in 2014.

- I really hope someone teaches our Ends how to contain sometime soon. Moore bit hard on a fake hand-off and let the Quarterback get the edge for a ton of easy yards. As a Giants fan, I've seen way too much of busted contain in the past (sorry Osi). If we fail on containment, it will be taken advantage of over and over again.

So that's all from me folks, if there's anything I left out or anything you disagree with, let me know! Ya know I love hearing from ya'll.

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