Since the Giants hired Steve Spagnuolo away from the Eagles to be their defensive coordinator, the media has been speculating and fans have been hoping that 'Spags' would implement a more aggressive defensive style than his predecessor, Tim Lewis.
Spagnuolo, of course, learned his craft under the ultra-aggressive Jim Johnson in Philadelphia.
You can't take too much from a three-day rookie mini-camp, but if Ernie Palladino of the Journal News is right, early signs are that the Giants will indeed ask their corners to be more physical in coverage.
Here's what Palladino had to say today in his Giants Journal after watching rookie first-round pick Aaron Ross for a couple of days.
But the fact that he was up on the line, trying to jam up receivers and knock them off their routes, was a good thing. As one of our frequent, knowlegeable responders to this blog said a couple of entries back, the Giants need to return to the aggression that turned their defense into one of the better ones in the league. That means pressuring the quarterback and banging the receivers all over the field.
The giveback to that is exactly what everyone was grousing about. Corners in press coverage do get beat from time to time, and aggressive coverage leaves defenses open to the big play. But in my opinion, better to get burned by a 50-yard touchdown pass once or twice a game than to muddle through three of those never-ending drives that leave the defense gasping for breath. You know, the ones where no receiver is punished for catching an eight-yard pass on third-and-6. Or where the ball winds up in the end zone anyway, after 14 plays. Nobody wins there except the opponent.
That hits the nail right on the head. You don't stop anybody playing passive defense. The only way to make plays and change games is to play aggressive, get in your face defense.
Hopefully, mini-camp is an indication that the Giants are moving in that direction.