Here is a pretty darn good summary of the issues our New York Giants have. It comes from Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post, and it echoes much of what I said the other day in the 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'
From my viewpoint, the Giants are too slow on defense, especially at linebacker. They lack explosive players and seem unable to shut down the extra yards. They’re not fast or quick to the ball, and the holes never seem to close down fast enough, nor are they able to explode on the ball carrier and force turnovers. This has been the G-Men’s problem all season, and each week it becomes more relevant. They just don’t seem to be able to defend the horizontal width of the field because of their lack of speed within the structure of their defense.
Then their offensive line is not nearly as dominating as it’s been in the past, which prevents them from being explosive on offense or able to consistently execute on long drives. Just because they have the same five players on the offensive line each week, it doesn’t mean they’re all playing to the same level as they have in the past. They just don’t look as effective as they once did. Whether it’s because they’re injured or have gotten old, they still are not as productive.
Your thoughts?