say you want about yesterday's game; the blame can be passed around to anyone from Chad to Nugent's kickoffs to the running game to Kassel to the coaching staff. in the end, the Defense didn't make enough plays. with about 7 minutes remaining, down 23-16, the Defense needed to come up with a stop to get our Offense the ball back. the Offense had just finished carving up NE's D, (finally using Baker) and drove for a field goal in approximately 2 minutes. instead of stopping Brady and the Pats, the D allows a lengthy drive and a score that put the game away. if we want to advance in the Playoffs, several things need to happen. but it's evident Defensive upgrades are essential. positions: DE/NT OLB, CB really, that isn't much to upgrade between Free Agency and the Draft. breakdown: 1) DE/DT - Kimo is worthless on the field, has been all season. maybe he's a positive locker room presence and adds big game experience, but he can't produce on the field and that doesn't win games. i'm not sure if the coaching staff wants to move D-Rob to DE and platoon NT's (including, Rashad Moore, Tui, and a new guy), but either way, one of these two positions needs some re-adjusting, with Kimo being the guy who's out. a name i heard several people suggest is Sands from Oakland. i haven't seen him play, but maybe he's a guy who can play the middle and allow D-Rob to slide over. 2) OLB - most of the elite Defenses have a game-changing pass-rusher, whether it's Merriman, Porter, Ware (although Dallas' D isn't elite), or Suggs etc. these guys create havoc and are bona fide threats to opposing Offenses. i don't know if we'll find anyone in FA; Thomas (from Chicago) is 28 which is too old, and i don't know how good Briggs really would be in this Defense. if Lamarr Woodley drops to #26, we need to pull the trigger and take him. an improved DL (with D-Rob possibly at DE) would allow Woodley to take over on passing downs, not to mention, he can play the run as well. i'd keep Hobson and rotate Woodley and him. 3) CB - Barrett's future seems doubtful, especially with the money he's making. Justin Miller will now have a full Offseason of working with Mangini and hopefully, his recognition skills will improve. Dyson is a wild card because he's notorious for getting injured; for the most part, he remained healthy this year, but got banged up towards season's end. Poteat may stay on as depth, but by no means is he a quality starter. if we don't go for a big name like Samuel or Clements (though i much prefer Samuel, as i think Clements is a tad overrated) then we at least need to sign/draft CB depth. Lito Sheppard dislocated his elbow last night and now Philly has to face a high octane Saints Offense without a starting CB. it seems NE suffers DB injuries every year yet finds guys to plug in who are effective. Mangini knows this and will add either quality or depth or both to the DB department. all in all, an upgrade or two and depth makes our Defense THAT much better. the key is to acquire the guys who will be difference-makers and perhaps next year the D makes a stop and gives the Offense the ball back to win the game. cheers
DE/DT we need some nasty big guys that apply pressure....without that will never get passed NE or even 1st rd.
right. but the pressure doesn't necessarily have to come from the front 3. if we have a bigger and stronger DL, imagine Bryan Thomas and Lamarr Woodley blitzing. it would be very difficult for QB's to drop back and find time to throw. cheers
Pressure has to come from the Front three..... and Kimo is not getting it done...i think we blitzed to much yesterday....it killed us
i think the Front 3 need to create problems; but you cannot expect 3 guys to generate pressure against 5. it may happen once every so often, but it's unlikely. cheers
shit, if you guys dont want Barret i would love for the Giants to sign him. he is a hell of a lot better than Webster and McQuarters...
Barrett plays inconsistently and for a guy who was in and out of the lineup all year, he's not worth what he's getting paid. cheers
thats why u have a rotation..... fresh legs all the time....it works.... and this year we've been running more of a hybrid 3-4/4-3 maybe we'll do the same next year.....but u have to have a good rotation of Dlineman
that could be true but McQuarters and Webster suck and we need a new corner. but what we need more than anyone new on defense is a new DC. Tim Lewis is horrible and should not have a job in the NFL. i dont want to go into all the things he does wrong but let me just say with a smart DC our D could easily be ranked top 12.
yeah i agree with that too....also u need Eli to grow some balls and play like a man....alot of his passes yesterday were really short.....
yea, but you gotta admit Eli did have a good game. and now with Gilbride at OC i think Eli will be a lot better. Huff was always horrible and the only reason why he kept his job for so long is because they didnt want to change the system on Eli going into his 2nd year and that in Eli's 2nd year our offense was soo powerful, not because of Huff but because we have so many weapons on offense.
yea ur right...... 2 many weapons dont know what the problem is...but it would drive me crazy if i had Eli as QB....do u think u guys overpaid for him?
yeah barrett is not worth the money for sure.....that was a rushed signing by the old regime.....sad but true
well right now i dont feel he was worth all those picks. but i also feel that if we would have kept Rivers or drafted Big Ben that we would have not accomplished what we have so far. i think both those QB's are in the perfect systems, ones where you run heavy. Big Ben only throws the ball 20 times a game and Rivers has the best RB in football on his team. also, another thing both thsoe QB's have that the Giants dont - great defenses. its hard to win when you need to score on every drive becuae your D cant stop the opposing offense
well chances are Barrett is gone. so that leaves Dyson, Miller, Poteat and Coleman; which means we need an upgrade AND depth. i really hope we make a run at Samuel. cheers
Back to OLB, I think Thomas and Woodley woudl make a perfect OLB combo, but I would still put in Hobson on running downs and Thomas in on passing situations. Thomas is a superior athlete to Hobson, but Hobson has such a mean streak and I wish someone could get a spark under Thomas. Even when Thomas gets sacks I feel like he never punishes QBs. We need a guy that really destroy a QB and force some fumbles. For a guy as athletic as THomas, he should be able to do that so I dont know why it hasnt happened yet.
