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E-GIANTS THE AGE OF RECONSTRUCTION: By Aaron Klein
While unlikely, it's not impossible to imagine a situation in which all three are offered a reduced salary. Maybe not. However, for now, they are gone. For our purposes today, we will focus on the defensive changes that have been made, ones we will consider permanent, and those that could be on the horizon. If you were paying attention last season, beyond the injuries, the inconsistency, the chatter, the inexplicable losses and the inability to secure a playoff spot just a season after winning it all, you saw the Giants struggle against a particular style of play, notably the Read-Option run by the Washington Redskins and their spectacular quarterback, Robert Griffin III. You also saw others struggle with RG-3 as well as with Seattle's Russell Wilson and the Seahawks' own version of that read-option. San Francisco, once second-year pro Collin Kaepernick got rolling, the 49ers' Pistol offense, not to be confused with the read-option, fluster all but the eventual Super Bowl champs, the traditional Baltimore Ravens. The Giants will also welcome the inaugural season of new Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Chip Kelly's version of the read-option, the one he ran so well at the University of Oregon. The Giants, to confirm what you already know, need to adjust -- and fast. Not only will they face the Redskins and Eagles twice each this season, but will have to contend with Seattle and Carolina as well. Oh sure, they'll also play Denver and Peyton Manning, Green Bay and Aaron Rogers, among others, but those teams run more traditional offenses, the kind the Giants know how to defend, at least on paper. The team's list of unrestricted defensive free agents -- excepting Boley, Canty and Bradshaw -- is filled with contributors like middle linebacker Chase Blackburn, free safety Kenny Phillips, defensive end Osi Umenyiora, defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and linebacker Keith Rivers. The team could release cornerbacks Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas and may have to renegotiate with Antrel Rolle. Why all the changes? The Giants have a need for speed on defense. Speed and athleticism. Speed, athleticism and discipline, please, if they want to compete and overcome the aforementioned challenges found in Washington, Philadelphia and Seattle. The Giants won't have to contend with a full-time Pistol offense next season unless they meet the Niners in the playoffs. While we don't know for sure what Kelly has in mind for the Eagles, or even who his quarterback will be, suffice to say that he will look at some hybrid, some wrinkle that keys not only on the personnel he has but on the personnel he will face. Leaving the Pistol aside, the Read-Option, or Zone Read, makes it difficult for a defense, especially a slow or reckless one, to figure out what's happening before it is too late. At the heart of this scheme is a running quarterback who can take a beating and excellent blocking from the offensive line and wide receivers downfield. The speed of the offensive players, let alone the pace of the offense itself, proves worrisome for an opposing defense. Teams implementing the Read Option/Zone Read usually run out of a shotgun formation, from which the quarterback reads either defensive end, depending on the direction of the play. Simply put, if the defensive end takes the inside gap, the running back takes it. If the defensive end goes outside, the quarterback takes it in the opposite direction of the zone-blocking scheme, which drives defensive linemen and linebackers out of position, something the Redskins and Seahawks do particularly well. Sounds easy, except the defensive scheme has to trick the offense into thinking that it's taking one path or the other. The best defense, as we've discussed, is to utilize fast and athletic linebackers, even quarterbacks, to counter the movements of the defensive end and hide its coverage, forcing the offense into an option it doesn't really want. Washington has had great success with this scheme with RG-3, one of the best running quarterbacks in the league, rookie Alfred Morris, outstanding downfield blocking and an athletic bunch on the offensive line. Seattle and Wilson use bruising running back Marshawn Lynch in the package, but Wilson, while is not as good a runner as RG-3, might be a better passer. If Seattle adds a weapon or two at receiver, and finds a truly dazzling running back, the Seahawks could rival Washington's Read-Option. However, as much as RG-3 is fast and athletic he is also slender and maybe slightly more prone to injury than Wilson. Forget the knee injury Griffin suffered, but remember the concussion. Wilson is shorter but maybe more stout and built for the pounding. Now, consider Carolina and Cam Newton. That's right, the same Carolina Panthers the Giants crushed early in the 2012 season. The Panthers have the biggest and strongest quarterback of the trio we've discussed. If Newton can keep his head on straight, maybe he's the most dangerous if not the best. Carolina has not yet shown a great love for this system, probably based on personnel. However, if head coach Ron Rivera can get his hands on the right group of offensive linemen, he should be able to implement the Read-Option more successfully with running back Jonathan Stewart, assuming he's healthy, and tight end Greg Olsen. So what do the Giants need to do? With Boley gone -- he had a hard time staying healthy in 2011 and 2012 -- and Umenyiora likely to follow, the Giants need outside speed. They expect Jacquian Williams to take over Boley's WILL role, backed up by another athletic linebacker, Spencer Paysinger. What of the SAM spot, now occupied by Matthias Kiwanuka, who's really a hybrid LB/DE, who was backed up by Rivers in 2012? With Osi gone and Justin Tuck at least approaching the downside, the Giants could consider moving Kiwi back, but that would require either Rivers becoming the full-time weakside 'backer, or finding another. We can assume both options are on the table. The Giants will also push Adewale Ojomo and Adrian Tracy this summer to see what's there, but will still need to explore free agency and the draft for edge speed. Yet they also have to seriously consider the personnel at defensive tackle, not necessarily a key in defending Read-Option plays but vital to the bread-and-butter of the Giants' 4-3 defense. With Canty and his bad knee and big contract out of the picture, and Shaun Rogers re-signed, the Giants currently have Linval Joseph, Markus Kuhn, Marvin Austin, Rogers and reserve/future free agent Bobby Skinner. That's not enough. Is Tuck the kind of player who can make a move inside? Would the Giants want to make such an earth-shattering decision? Probably not, but he has lined up in that spot before and he may no longer be up to the task of dropping into coverage for much longer, as required for a defensive end by coordinator Perry Fewell's Tampa-2-style defense. An aside: The stock of defensive tackles in this spring's draft is talented and deep. Another key to the defensive retooling will be what the secondary looks like come September. Phillips and Thomas could be gone, but Webster will probably stay, especially if the team can get him to restructure his deal. Still, the Giants two young corners, Prince Amukamara and Jayron Hosley, are still works in progress but both appear ready. Teams usually put a single safety on top with three corners against the Read-Option, which means the Giants will be picking between Antrel Rolle and restricted free agent Stevie Brown if Phillips goes. The Giants' defense, it would seem, was not designed for the Read-Option, where the best defense is a stout, four-man front backed by athletic linebackers and a bunch of fast defensive backs, the defense the Giants will have to use against Washington, Seattle, Carolina and probably Philadelphia. It's the defense the Giants hope to create and the rebuilding has begun. It should be an interesting project. Let's see how things look when the paint dries. Have something to say?
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