E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

Scott Landstrom dealing with the defense and the special teams.
He submits that "Giant Pride' returned to the defensive huddle, and he's not only right but he statistically proves it.

By Scott Landstrom
Well, now that I have slept off the hangover associated with actually having to compare the laughable and inept New York Giants offense to our two main divisional competitors (Dallas and Philadelphia), we can "turn the page" and proceed to look at defense and special teams.

So after the misery of realizing that the Eagles and Cowboys offensive lines (in particular) are simply galaxies ahead of the conundrum that was, and is, the Giants' O-line, let's start out on an "up" note, shall we?

We all know how bad the 2012 Giants defense was, and that it finished a mere 7.8 yards per game out of dead last place in the entire NFL, ahead of only the record-setting New Orleans Saints in total yards allowed. That level of ineptitude was achieved by earning pass-defensive rank of 27th, and a rush-defensive rank of 25th and an "A-gap" run defense 32nd and dead last in the NFL. Put them together, and the once proud tradition of Giants defensive football finished just a whisker out of last place in the league.

So let's flash forward to the 2013 season, shall we? On the season this team improved by light-years, earning a season ending overall defensive rank of eighth, coming from 31st the previous season, but even that doesn't tell the true full story of their rebirth. Football Outsiders has a category it has developed that is apparently used by bettors in Vegas quite a bit, and it is their "weighted" offensive and defensive rankings.

The approach is to more heavily factor in more recent games, and gradually lessen the impact of games that were played some time ago, such that a Week 1 shellacking of a defense, for instance, has marginal impact on their rating by Week 14. The thought behind this approach is that events occur during the season - injuries, most importantly, but also scheme adjustments, the development of new young players who increasingly contribute (see: Will Hill, for instance), and the ability (or not) of defenses to see what tape their opposing offenses have put down on their favorite formations, calls, and plays - and adjust to stop them.

For example, if there is a better defensive tackle in the game than Geno Atkins of the Bengals, I don't know where you would go to find him. The kid is just an animal inside, even better than Ndamukong Suh of the Lions and Gerald McCoy of the Buccaneers, at least in my book. Well, Atkins, on a six-game positive score tear per the Pro Football Focus game grades, goes down to torn ACL in Week 9 against Miami and is done for the year. As the Bengals were giving up only 16.8 points per game up until that point, they then gave up 21.3 points per game for the rest of the season.

Since the boys in Vegas are of a "What have you done for me lately?" mindset, they want to handicap the Cincinnati defense the way it was, in reality, absent Atkins - so thus the approach to weighting games more heavily that are more recent.

So after some poor performances early in the season against Denver, Carolina and Kansas City, do you know where the Giants finished in "weighted" defensive ranking, analyzing their second half performance with more emphasis? How about fourth in the 32-team NFL, behind only the late surging defenses of Seattle, Carolina and Arizona. Oh, and even that level of performance was achieved against a schedule that Football Outsiders rated as the No. 1 hardest schedule in terms of the offensive firepower we faced in the entire NFL.

Want more? I had roundly chastised this team for getting "gashed" in 2012 by big plays, actually tying the Detroit Lions for dead last in the NFL in most "40-plus" yard plays yielded, with 17. Not far behind were the medium length gouges of our 2012 defense, with 70 "20-plus" yard plays yielded, good enough for 25th place in the league.

This season, in a year when all sorts of all-time NFL offensive records were broken (and a season where we merely had the toughest schedule of offensive opponents of anyone in the league), the Giants reduced that "20-plus" gash count from 70 to 48, and the huge plays associated with "40-plus" yard gashes from 17 down to five. So for you math majors out there, the 2013 Giants defense went out and played a much harder, more explosive set of opposing offenses, and cut their "medium depth gash count" by 17 percent and their "home run gash" plays allowed by an incredible 71 percent. Oh, and their horrible dead last place in "A gap" run defense moved all the way up to ninth, a dramatic recovery.

Yes, interceptions were down from 21 to 17, but what do you expect when you lose the NFL's second leading interceptor (Stevie Brown) in pre-season and he never plays a single snap, on top of chronic injuries limiting Corey Webster and Aaron Ross, with both eventually going on IR?

In terms of scoring defense, the Giants finished dead in the middle-of-the-pack, yielding 383 points on the season, a game average of 23.93 points per game. But wait, have you already forgotten the near world-record number of touchdowns yielded by this defense's bumbling mates on offense and special teams? NINE times, incredible as that is to get your head around, teams took the ball and crossed the Giants' goal line with our defense sitting on the bench, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Oh, and that doesn't even count the time Jerrel Jernigan (before he pulled his head out of whatever cavity it had previously been stuck in to play with startling talent the final three weeks) fumbled on our own three yard line on a kickoff return. So add that to the list of crimes … 10 touchdowns, 70 points total, yielded on interception and fumble returns against the offense, and punt of kickoff returns yielded by our coverage teams. The "average" number of such exotic scores given up by a team is THREE -- so had the offense and coverage units merely played "average" NFL ball with regard to allowing the other team to score in non-traditional ways, there would have been 49 less points allowed on the scoreboard.

That would have put New York at 329 points allowed, good enough for FIFTH best in the league! So let's not burden our vastly improved defensive unit with the sins of their brothers, shall we? So, given all the positive trends above, especially compared with the disastrous 2012 season on defense, there are still some gripes I have that could make this unit even significantly better, as follows:

Pass Rush: We all know that the cornerstone of traditional Giants defensive philosophy begins with a formidable pass rushing defensive line. Note that I did not just say "pass rush" because one can achieve that end with augmentation on the pocket push with linebackers and defensive backs, albeit with an "opportunity cost" of doing so on the back end pass coverage, and on the second-level run defense.

Well, if one goes back to the final three games of last season, with JPP playing with a back that required epidural shots pre-game and Justin Tuck playing with a badly damaged shoulder, we note that the pass rush all but disappeared. That trend continued throughout the Giants' first seven games of this season, a stretch they merely had a 1-6 win/loss record during, such that their total was nine sacks in 10 games over this two-season period. Having a Giant pass rush that averages less than one sack per game is like having the famous "Bronx Bombers" in pinstripes that call Yankee Stadium their home end up being a bunch of slap-hitting singles guys. Does not compute. Is not consistent with the way this team drafted, built its defensive schemes, and believes are the keys to competing in a winning fashion.

That said, unlike the offensive comparison I did, wherein the "benchmark" that Philadelphia and Dallas have set seems light years ahead of the Giants current woeful state on that side of the ball, we will not do comparisons on defense to their teams, for the simple fact that the Eagles were mediocre, and the Cowboys and Redskins were 29th and 30th in the NFL respectively. So since there is nothing to be gained by benchmarking against "scrub" defenses, let's just focus on the Giants, shall we?

So one of the keys to the 7-3 finish to the season is that Tuck shifted into overdrive, rediscovered some of his youthful pass rush moves and led this defense to a much improved level of pressuring the opposing quarterback, registering 29 sacks in those last 10 games, after just five during the first six games. That 29-sack pace works out to a season-long rate of about 47 sacks, which would have been good enough for sixth in the league, and that is more what this team has been built on in the past. Also note that it wasn't just Tuck, but a brief meteoric three-game appearance of JPP once his back finally recovered from the June surgery - then he blew up his shoulder, and that was that.

So imagine what a healthy JPP would add to this element next season. Also, the Giants got as consistent interior pressure from their defensive tackle rotation as any team in football, so that was extremely helpful in this area as well. Defensive -- Pro Football Focus full season rating highlights and lowlights as follows (and remember, a player who earns a Plus 9.0 rating would be a "top 10 percent in the NFL" talent):

Justin Tuck: Plus 15.4 - With 11 QB sacks, four passes defensed, one interception, and two forced fumbles. A tour-de-force comeback season for our defensive captain which should earn him a new contract with Big Blue. Tuck "talked the talk, and walked the walk" as a team leader, and deserves to be paid and locked up such that he can finish his career as a Giant, the way Michael Strahan did.

Mathias Kiwanuka: Minus 28.1 - Words cannot express how disappointing this season was for the thoughtful, articulate, team-oriented Kiwanuka, a former first round draft choice out of Boston College. Put it this way - no other 4-3 defensive end in the NFL who was worse than a minus-15 PFF rating got on the field for 700 snaps, and Mathias got 892 with the third worst rating in the NFL at his position. I hate to say this, but he has to go. In a defense of many highlights, he was a dismal, underperforming shock.

Linval Joseph: Plus 9.9 -- Despite only playing 596 total snaps, due to the Giants' active DT rotation, Joseph finished FOURTH in the NFL in total tackles from a defensive interior lineman (NT and DT) with 59, and showed some flashes of good pass rushing as well. As a free agent, he will attract interest, and is only getting better. Bottom line: I hope we can keep this up-and-coming stud defensive tackle.

Cullen Jenkins: Plus 6.2 - With 5.0 QB sacks in 716 total snaps, Jenkins still has an effective assortment of power and finesse pass rushing moves for a man his size (330 lbs). Jenkins actually had a marginally negative (-0.8) score in defending the run, but his pocket penetration talents more than made up for a middling performance against the run.

Jonathan Hankins: Plus 8.0 - Yes, I "panned" this pick when Jerry Reese made it, and part of me still stands by that critique. Reese had already signed THREE free agent defensive tackles (Shaun Rodgers, Mike Patterson, Cullen Jenkins), as well as having one of our best up-and-coming players at this position in Joseph. Both Aaron Klein and I wanted Eddie Lacy in this slot in the second round (1,178 yards rushing, led the league in rushing yards per start upon taking over in Week 5), and neither of us is going to retract that opinion, based on the facts of how this season went down. Yet let's give Hankins his due: in only 195 snaps, he showed very solid run defense, earning a score almost equal to Joseph in about 1/3 of the opportunities.

Mike Patterson: Plus 2.1 - Especially if Joseph is wooed away in free agency, this kid was a bargain at the veteran minimum salary, and should be brought back, earning a solid plus 6.4 in run defense in only 413 snaps.

Jason Pierre-Paul: Plus 2.7 - It is a testimony to JPP's sheer strength and athleticism that he was able to earn the 12th highest run defense score for any 4-3 defensive end in the league, at plus 9.6, despite missing several games. But, conversely, his pass rushing moves, other than that three-game stretch in between back recovery and shoulder injury events, were a shadow of his former self and earned a minus 6.0 rating (compared with a plus 8.4 when he was dominating in 2011). Nothing is more important to this defense' continued re-emergence than for this force-of-nature to become fully healthy again in 2014.

Jon Beason: Minus 13.4 - Very surprised at this PFF rating. Beason was a tackling machine in the running game, totally 74 tackles in 11 games with the Giants, almost seven per game. However, PFF took him to task for alleged large shortcomings in the pass coverage game (minus 11.2 in pass coverage, the fourth worst score for a MLB or ILB out of 55 players with qualified snaps). Opposing QB's had an astronomical passing rating of 108.7 when throwing to Beason's assigned man in pass coverage, which was the ninth worst in the NFL out of this group.

All other linebackers: Blah - Add up Spencer Paysinger, Jacquian Williams, Keith Rivers, Mark Herzlich and you get mediocrity throughout … marginally positive (less than plus 1.1) to negative. Reese's continued determination to ignore the linebacker position in the draft is producing exactly the results one would anticipate. In a defense potentially poised to be GREAT next season, with the return of Stevie Brown and JPP as healthy contributors, and all other units showing distinct promise, the linebackers of the Giants look distinctly like a group of journeymen, according to the PFF ratings.

Prince Amukamara: Plus 4.0 - Again, I am surprised, as I was with Beason's score, that it is not higher, but Prince did a good job in both the run defense and pass coverage aspects of his position, particularly in the former, where his solid tackling resulted in the #1 rating in the NFL for CBs in the run game (plus 5.2). His coverage score of minus 2.7 surprises me, as QBs only had a rating of 87.7 throwing to his man, and he only allowed two TD passes all season.

Trumaine McBride: Plus 6.6 - Despite his fairly diminutive status (generously listed at 5-9, 185) that earned him a minus 2.8 in run defense, his coverage skills were obvious to all of us, especially in the final three games, earning him a pass coverage score of plus 6.8, second only to Will Hill on this team. In fact, opposing QBs only managed a passer rating of 57.4 against McBride's man, good enough for fourth in the entire NFL for cornerbacks with at least 500 snaps.

Antrel Rolle: Plus 7.4 - Rolle probably had his finest overall season as a Giant, playing well in both run defense and coverage aspects, and having the third best "QB rating against" of all safeties with 500 snaps, at a very impressively low 43.1. As good as he played, and as solid a leader as he clearly was in this difficult season, he may be tough to bring back, as his cap number for 2014 is the second most lucrative of any player except Eli Manning at $9.25 M, and the Giants have Brown returning to join Hill as competition for playing time at safety.

Will Hill: Plus 15.7 - Hill was clearly the "Cinderella story" of 2013, finally delivering on all that talent that had him rated in the top three high school safeties in the nation coming into his freshman year at Florida, before on-and-off field problems compromised his career. At a position with brutally tough competition across the league, Hill had the fourth highest "run defense" rating out of 86 qualifying safeties, as well as the sixth highest "pass defense" rating - a stunning two-way assessment of his capabilities, since had four less games to accomplish those metrics.

Hill narrowly beat out Tuck for the highest PFF rating at any position on the Giants, so he needs to be "locked up" with a contract extension, going into the final year of his contract in 2014.

Josh Brown: Plus 23.2 - Hey, he had a very solid season, but don't get fooled - the scale for rating kickers seems to be pretty lenient, with Brown's PFF score of being only good enough for 17th position in the NFL. He was a "breath of fresh air", only missing two field goal attempts under 50 yards all season - exactly half of the number of similar misses that departed kicker Lawrence Tynes managed in 2012. While the "average" kickoff distance of 69.0 yards was only three yards more than Tynes metric of 66.0 yards, it was a critical difference. It turns out that Brown achieved 34 touchbacks, compared with 24 for Lawrence, despite the fact that Giant touchdowns (which give the kicker another kickoff attempt) dropped from 47 to 32, and Giant field goals made dropped from 33 to 23 - so Tynes effectively got 25 more attempts to kickoff, and still had ten less touchbacks.

Steve Weatherford: Plus 8.0 - The "Tale of Two Cities" here, as his gross punting average (46.9 yards)was good enough for seventh in the NFL, but the brutal coverage units during the first 10 games (four separate TD returns allowed) relegated Weatherford's net punting average (38.2 yards) to 29th in the league.

Kick and Punt Coverage units: Puu-leasse - These two units were just awful for the first half of the schedule, and then finally found their way, avoiding setting a new NFL record for punt return touchdowns allowed by pitching a "shutout" their last nine games.

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