Went over the game real quick and broke the numbers down. Keep in mind it's virtually impossible to tell exactly who to blame 100% of the time because we don't know the calls but usually it's pretty obvious so with that here we go. EDIT I might add a couple GIFs later on. Buster Skrine 8 Targets 5 Receptions for 124 yards, TD 1 Ball Thrown out of bounds 1 Flag (Defensive Pass Interference) Struggled a lot in zone coverage it seemed, he got confused and blew a couple assignments including the 72 yard touchdown by Odell Beckham where he left him wide open in the middle to cover somebody that David Harris already had. In man coverage he sticks with his guy but rarely does he play the ball, he always has his back turned to the QB which is why he gives up a lot of catches despite good coverage. Antonio Cromartie 6 Targets 2 Receptions for 18 yards 2 Deflections 1 Ball Thrown out of bounds Wasn't really tested but had good coverage the entire game, made a couple of plays as well. Gave up one catch where he tackled the receiver at the 1 yd line, so that could have been a touchdown but either way he had a really good game. Calvin Pryor 2 Targets 0 Receptions 2 Deflections Not sure why he's not getting any love in the media but he's playing flawless football this season and he's having a huge impact on our defense/team. I can't really think of a better safety in the AFC off the top of my head that is as important and versatile as he is and having the same type of impact, being able to stop the run, play the pass, deliver big hits and not make mistakes in coverage. If he keeps it up and he doesn't make this Pro Bowl this year it's a robbery. Demario Davis 2 Targets 2 Receptions for 7 yards Davis' numbers look decent but he didn't play all that much, especially on passing downs when he was replaced by Erin Henderson & Lattimore. So there wasn't much for him to do wrong in the passing game but at this point we should just take it, it sure beats giving up bigplay touchdowns to RB's on wheel routes. Clean game. If only he'd stop with that dumb dance he does whenever he doesn't miss a tackle...for some reason it's irritating. David Harris 4 Targets 1 Reception for 5 yards 1 Dropped Pass by receiver Was consistent and always had his man (usually the RB). The Giants had some good screen passes where nobody really bothered to cover the backs, those I didn't count. You could put those on any of the linebackers or even linemen. Jamari Lattimore 2 Targets 2 Receptions for 70 yards His numbers look ugly as that new TE beat him twice for bigplays but I can't really blame him, both times he had decent coverage and went up high (two jump balls) and still couldn't make a play on the ball. Perfect throws by Eli. Marcus Gilchrist 2 Targets 1 Reception for 22 yards 1 Dropped pass by reeceiver Didn't have a good game, was lucky one bigplay (35 yard pass to WR White) was called back because he got beat there pretty bad. Played a bunch of slot corner, brackets to keep OBJ in check because of the lack of depth. With Revis and Marcus back next week hopefully he returns to his normal role at safety. Darrin Walls 3 Targets 1 Reception for no gain 1 Dropped pass by receiver 1 Flag (Illegal Contact) His numbers don't look too bad but he didn't play all that well. Couldn't stick with receivers, almost gave up the touchdown to OBJ but Pryor knocked the ball loose at the last second. Had another stupid penalty on 3rd and 20 that gave the Giants a fresh set of downs. He is what he is, a fifth corner at best, a special teamer. Rontez Miles 2 Targets 1 Reception for 16 yards 1 INT Had a great game overall. One deflected was wiped out by a flag, had the key interception at the goal line. Between him and Dion Bailey we really had two rock solid backup safeties who could come in at any time and get the job done. Sheldon Richardson 1 Target 0 Receptions allowed Wasn't a great idea to pick on Sheldon. He delivered two vicious hits on the sideline. One on the TE where he was able to knock the ball loose and the other one on OBJ. Cromartie was shell shocked when he saw Sheldon knock OBJ out, he just plays the game with way more intensity, he doesn't take the foot off the gas just for a second. Wish the rest of our defense (minus Pryor) would have this attitude.
The more Demario Davis is off the field, the better off the Jets are. Wasn't he in on the play when Odell went in for that long touchdown? I think he missed the tackle?
You know it. I still don't get what Skrine is doing there and why they'd put 2 guys on a RB if this was really drawn up that way. Especially with a guy like OBJ. To me it just looks like Skrine tried to make a play there and blew his assignment instead of sticking with Odell. And yes, Demario once again missing a tackle, taking a poor angle. Can't blame the catch on him but he should make the tackle there. Same for Gilchrist to be honest. Cromartie also doesn't look good there, quit on the play long before anybody even laid a finger on OBJ.
0 snaps for Milliner and Dex. Don't get it but it is what it is. Either they don't show enough in practice and Todd has no faith in them or he's being very conservative by playing veterans over those guys which probably goes back to the trust issue again.
Eli looks that way and apparently, Skrine thought it was a done deal. Looks schemed to me since safety and LB are in vicinity of catch. A mere mortal gets tackled there. Appreciate you posting this film.
Yeah Skrine, I have no idea what he was thinking, big time miscommunication - but Davis has to make that tackle - he wasn't even looking in that direction either. As an ILB he has to be aware of who is on the field. He doesn't deserve all of the blame, but still - that guy is pure bad luck
Can't really be too hard on a defense that gave up 13 points. OBJ, although early in his career, is a great WR. Hard to defend a guy who makes some of the catches he does. Cro was either pushed off, or got turned around on the goal line play, still he recovered quickly to save the TD. Eli is Jeckel/Hyde, he can look great one series and suck the next. Thankfully we saw more Hyde yesterday, but the D came up big when we needed them.
Small correction...Cro didn't quit on the play, it was Gilchrist or Skrine who did. Cro was still running hard. Gilchrist/Skrine let up about the 10 or 15 yard line.
When one player is 90% of the other team's offense, and he gets 173 yards, 1 TD, that's fantastic. It means the team ended up with 220 yrds, 2 tds all game long. And that's very beatable (ask the Giants!)
Cromartie stopped for a second when he really should have went in there and tackled OBJ. Instead he stands there and watches to see whether Gilchrist and Demario make the tackle. Don't stop until the whistle blows.
I think the key with Demario is you have to put him in a situation to succeed. Which means keep him off the field on passing downs (unless he's blitzing). His role right now is perfect. He could probably even be a decent sideline to sideline MLB in a tampa 2 type offense where he's being protected and he can just chase the RB. But in a 3-4 etc. where he has to fight through trash he just always ends up running into blockers, he has no instincts. Wouldn't be surprised if Indy gives him a shot next year.
What's interesting is that Beckham play pretty much happened at the exact same time in the game (late 2nd) as the Cruz play 4 years earlier. Looked like history was about to repeat itself.
I notice no mention of Walls in this post. Isn't he the corner chosen over Milliner and Dex? If memory serves me right, he didn't impress out there. EDIT: Shit, I missed it on first read. My bad. Am I right in saying he didn't do much though?