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The New York Giants are going from facing a rookie quarterback making his first start in the NFL in Week 1 to facing a a quarterback who has already built a Hall of Fame resume. They have seen first-hand what Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints can do to a defense.
“Preparing for a rookie is easy because they have a limited playbook,” cornerback Janoris Jenkins said. “With Drew Brees, he has an open playbook. To changing all the routes and switching plays, and seeing matchups he doesn’t like, and attacking. I think that’s a big difference.”
Linebacker Jonathan Casillas played with Brees in 2011.
“When you say you know what he is going to do, that is kind of a false statement because he is so good with the ball,” Casillas said. “You know he is going to pass it and you think you know where he is going to go with it, but he is so good at putting it in places where he knows he is going to go. It is crazy how he is getting better every year. He is still throwing for 5,000 yards like he is a young kid out there, and it looks like he is having fun like he has always been doing.”
Giants’ defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon know that Brees’ quick release can make it difficult to get to him with the pass rush.
“That is just a part of the game,” Vernon said. “It is on us, as a defense, to put pressure on him. We can’t let that deviate us from doing what we are good at. So we just have to put as much pressure on him as we can.”
“He gets the ball off very quick,” JPP said. “You can’t get frustrated at times. We know he’s going to get the ball off very quick. Our cornerbacks, I hope they do a great job covering, which I know they do. We just have to get there. We have to stop the run first before we get there.”
Giants would like to control the clock
The Giants ran just 54 offensive plays to 75 for the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, and had the ball for only 23:17. They would like to change that against the Saints.
“Definitely going against the Saints, you are harping on trying to convert those third downs,” guard Justin Pugh said. “We were 50 percent on third downs last week and we will continue to build on that. Last week it was the opposite, where Dallas had controlled the ball and they held onto it. We only ran like (54) plays, so obviously we want to be on the other side of that this week and make sure we control the clock. But if you look at our offense, we are no-huddle, we do get up to the line and go quick. That is who we are, but at the same time, I think running the ball will help us out.”