BBV Mailbag: Damontre Moore's playing time, and a wide receiver question

The Big Blue View Mailbag has not been opened in a while. Let's dip into it today while we wait for this afternoon's kickoff between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, and see what is on your mind.

How is Damontre Moore getting only 17 plays? Especially when the biggest problem the Giants have is that they give the QB too much time so he picks apart the defense. Moore is far and away their best pass rusher. I didn't notice him get into a play until almost the very end of the first half when the game was out of reach already. And when he did get in there was a noticeable difference

I think Coughlin lets Fewell deal with this. After Game 1 he admitted that Moore should have played more. Why is Moore in the doghouse. He is much better than kiwi at this point. They are really a different team with him in there. I used to preach similarly about Will Hill - only an injury to brown forced them to insert him and he made a huge difference in the team. It was really him more than Beason that turned the defense around last year. Someone should be fired for not getting Moore on the field. -- Ari Glass

Ed: What gives anyone the idea that Moore is in the doghouse? Since that first game, during which he played only 10 snaps, his playing time has been consistent. He has played 17-21 snaps in each of the last five games. Should he be playing more and Mathias Kiwanuka, who has played 313 snaps, be playing less? Probably, and I believe that time is coming -- soon. Moore has two sacks, three quarterback hits and six hurries in 64 pass-rush snaps. Pro Football Focus scores his pass rushing productivity at 13.7 percent, best among the Giants defensive ends and second-best in the league among 4-3 defensive ends who have played at least 25 percent of their team's snaps. Tyrone Crawford of Dallas (13.8 percent) is No. 1.

Moore is still only 22 years old, and the Giants still don't fully trust his ability to anchor vs. the run or play his responsibilities properly. Not that long ago the explanation was that the Giants trusted Kiwanuka's run defense, which is why Moore has been playing only as a pass-rush specialist. That really isn't the case any longer. Not only has Kiwanuka's pass rush (6.1 percent overall pass rushing productivity score) been non-existent the past couple of weeks, but his run stop percentage of 5.7 is in the bottom half of 4-3 defensive ends and his overall run defense (-0.1 for the season) isn't really anything to write home about.

To be honest, I can't really explain why Moore isn't getting increased snaps. If the Giants lose Sunday, falling to 3-4, it will become even harder to explain if Moore doesn't see additional playing time after the bye week.

@bigblueview with Cruz out for the season, how will it impact the receiving unit for week 7? #bbviewmailbag

— Andrew Kwok (@skippykwok) October 16, 2014

Ed: Well, vintage Steve Smith (franchise record 107 receptions in 2009) isn't walking through the door to replace the best receiver on the Giants' roster. The Giants have the inconsistent Rueben Randle, exciting rookie Odell Beckham and decent veteran Preston Parker. They signed veteran Kevin Ogletree this week and still have untested rookie Corey Washington. Simply put, the Giants will do the best they can with what they have. Parker has shown the ability to make some plays, and Dallas will have to respect Beckham's speed. The Giants will likely move guys around, try to creat match-ups, and maybe try to get the ball to the tight ends more in the passing game. It isn't perfect, but it never is when you try to replace a star player.