Linebacker

-Steve Hardin

Week 14 LB grades

...Blackburn was maneuvering as well as I have ever seen him in the box.  More and more, he has begun to use his hand to pop offensive linemen and create space to react to the play rather than burying his should into them.  When he does this, yes you do maintain your gap responsibility, but give yourself very little opportunity to make plays elsewhere.  As I noted in the play sheet, if he continues to improve on this, we are going to see him show up even more in the stat sheet.

...in coverage, we got beat twice (once Boley and once Williams) not resisting the urge to jump on short routes.  This is the NFL and especially against an offense like the Saints, they are not looking to complete 4 yard ins.  Almost every time we saw a route of this nature, there was something being run behind it, and both times we failed to recognize it, Brees hit the deeper route for a nice gain.

FILM STUDY

...it seems that Rivers, barring any more setbacks, will be counted on for significant snaps on the defense going forward. I want to be careful here because this has not been a trend throughout the season, and it is a point based on a fairly limited number of snaps due to injuries and what not, but I like Rivers much better in the 7 technique lined up on a tight end, then I do on the second level in a traditional LB alignment. He is very aggressive setting the edge when he is on the line, but when coming from depth, he appeared to have some issues in this game finding the correct run fits and missed one or two tackles when left in space. There is an example below which occurred twice on the film, which makes me hesitant to point out because they may be coached this way, but if that is the case, it is very unusual.

The Saints are going to motion the “H-Back” inside to double our tackle with the right guard as is drawn up below.  The fullback is going to be responsible for Rivers.

My belief is that Rivers should be meeting this block with his inside shoulder to force the play to Blackburn and all others who are flowing from the inside.

Instead, he uses his outside shoulder, which is not how the technique typically taught, and the running back can break this outside, where all we have is a safety coming from 12 yards. This essentially takes Blackburn and everyone inside of Rivers out of the play, because the RB will bounce this outside when seeing the leverage that the FB has. 

In this case, the safety makes the play, but you can see how we have already given up 5 yards, and with this much space, how easily it can turn into a big play.

Interesting to see how something as small as shoulder positoning when taking on a blocker can have such an impact on any given play.

Cornerback/Safety

-Andrew DeLoach

Week 14 CB/S grades

...the grades make is seem like the secondary played worse than they actually did. Collectively the group came in at -4 overall (+1 S, -5 CB) with Prince receiving a -3, Webster a -2, Rolle a +1, Brown -1 and Hill +1 Considering the Saints prolific passing attack, the defensive backs played a very solid all-around game. The Giants are becoming a team that can rely on the defense generating a turnover or two, so the yardage along the way becomes less of an issue. Especially when playing with a lead, the "bend-don't-break" mentality is perfect for a team who has been shaky against the pass. Early on, when the defense was at its best, coverage down the field great, and the Giants were doing a good job of rallying to the ball and tackling when Brees found an underneath receiver.

...the big concern, and the root cause of most of the bad marks, was the play late in the third and early in the fourth quarter.  With a lead, the focus has to be on protecting against big plays down the field.  Beyond that, if you lines up correctly, know your assignment and tackle, you are in pretty good shape.  The Giants got a little too complacent against a high-powered offense and although no harm was done, it's not the way you want to see your secondary playing. Missing tackles and letting receivers behind you is the best way to give a team like the Saints momentum and blow a big lead.  I hope that Rolle, along with the veterans on the DL, can keep the focus and intensity up in the future.

...again, all around great job keeping Brees and the Saints in check - a few big plays along with (generally) solid defense otherwise is going to be enough for Eli and the offense to get it done on most Sundays.

Defensive End

-George Richford

Week 14 DE grades

Rich: 

...like the defensive backs, the DE's graded out at a fairly unimpressive combined total of +1-- +1 for Osi and Tuck, 0 for Kiwanuka and -1 for JPP. This is in large part due to their inability to do anything that would resemble stopping the run. They have been poor in this area nearly all season and this one was no different. Whether this is a physical issue or an assignment issue, it is something that needs to be sured up FAST. And how about this--suring up the run defense will ultimately lead the opponent to pass more, with the opponent passing more the group will have increased opportunity to get at the quarterback.

...although they failed to get a sack until the 4th quarter the Giants DEs did a much better job of getting to the QB in recent weeks. According to PFF, the Giants were able to pressure Brees on 18 of his 44 drop backs in this one, an acceptable but not outstanding total. And although it sounds like an excuse for not compiling sacks, Perry Fewell swears that the plan in this one wasn't so much to get at the QB with reckless abandon, but rather, attack with a purpose and alter the dangerously-accurate QB's launch point: 

"It's kind of the strategy that I put them in last week," Fewell said. "Our guys are very cooperative. It took a lot for them to do what I asked them to do last week. It wasn't the most sack-friendly game for them, but it was the way that we felt we had to win that football game."

Wide Reciever/Tight End

-Steve Gesuele

Week 14 WR/TE grades

...feed Martellus Bennett. The Black Unicorn signaled this much to Eli Manning after a 2nd quarter catch and the Giants did just that. It resulted in one of Bennett's most complete games of the season. Although his 5-32-1 line wasn't gaudy he graded out to a season-high +6. He was one of several who was featured in the passing game with eight targets and even had one long catch called back by a holding penalty. To UltimateNYG's delight Bennett's touchdown grab came in a place we like to see the tight end used: the red zone. Perhaps the most pleasing takeaway from Bennett's performance was his consistency in the blocking game. He only had one negative play in the contest which was a great sign.

...the wide receivers as a whole put together a tremendous effort themselves. Cruz (+9), Nicks (+6), and Hixon (+4) graded out to an unbelievable +19 and didn't have a single negative play between them. Cruz's routes were sharp as usual, his best one coming on his touchdown grab where he undressed his man at the line of scrimmage and was wide open for the score. Rich: the route looked a little something like THIS. Cruz's line was impressive, finishing with eight grabs for 121 yards and a touchdown. He is steadily putting together and All-Pro type season and has yet to disappoint in his sophomore campaign.

...Nicks had some highlights of his own as well. He was open not only on his touchdown but also on play 27 when a similar fade route would have led to another score. He hasn't been putting up monster numbers that Giants fans know he is capable of but considering that most reports have Nicks hobbling on BOTH legs during the week it is remarkable what he is still doing on gameday. His solid performance over the last few weeks is a testament to the raw ability and determination of one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL.

...in a game filled with plenty of them, the best play of the day was play 37. It was a jaw-dropping throw and catch for a touchdown that came at an important time right before the end of the half and was one of the prettiest balls that Eli has thrown all season. But the most rewarding aspect of the outstanding catch was who made it: Domenik Hixon. Some Giants fan may have put Hixon on the proverbial back burner as he has battled injuries over the last few weeks and other receivers have filled the WR3 role (to varying success). With that one play Hixon reminded Giants fans that he is more than capable of filling that pivotal role in the lineup. Hixon can take a lot of pressure off of Cruz and Nicks when teams focus in on shutting them down (see Manningham, Mario on the run to SB XLVI for a reminder on how important that can be).

...minus two mishaps from Jernigan and Barden, the Giants receiving corps graded out to an unheard of +25. Yes, that is as good as it sounds. Easily the best performance of the year for this group. Had Eli been a little more on target the score would have been Madden-esque and a better representation of how well this group played. 

Offensive Line

-Rich Conforti

Week 14 OL grades

...a very, very, very outstanding overall performance by the ENTIRE unit with a combined score of +23 highlighted by a +9 from Will Beatty and a bounce-back +7 from Chris Snee along with a +1 from Kevin Boothe, +4 from David Diehl and a +2 from David Baas. While the effort was certainly outstanding, a strong performance was to be expected against the underwhelming Saints DL. I'd imagine the Giants were not the only team this season to have one of their top offensive line performances against a Saints group that is last in the NFL against the run (by a comfortable 7 ypg margin) and bottom five against the pass. Regardless of the opponent, these are a group of professionals, one that was physically dominated by the Giants OL.

...again, we know that the Saints have struggled all season long, especially on the DL, but it was refrreshing  to see an explosive Snee full of the that leg drive that has made him a top-flight guard. Snee was  back to being aggressive out of his stance and more importantly "finished" blocks regularly against an overmatched Saints DL. On one particular double team, Snee and David Baas (+2) each earned the elusive 2 rating with a tag team block that you only see in football movies. The two powered the helpless Saints DT nearly 10 yards off the line of scrimmage right into the LB that the two was responsible for picking up. Take a look at the screen grab to the right for a better idea where you can see the two mid block already about five yards into their block.  Wilson only gained three yards on the play, certainly with no blame going to Snee or Baas. Good to see from an offensive line that has struggled with push in the run game all season long. 

...while we don't have the data sorted to back up this claim yet, the Giants did an excellent job on play action plays and a lot of the credit goes to the offensive line for firing off the ball and selling the run. They moved as a unit and often had the defense WAY out of position. I also expect the data to highlight a new wrinkle--PA pass out of the shotgun. Our season long data shows they have done this only 4 times prior (last week's game vs Wash not included) and have not showed it since way back in Week 5. It was very successful drawing in the defense, who like all of us know how much the Giants (and rightfully so) enjoy running the ball out of the shotgun. Keep an eye out for plays like this going forward.

...and as usual, hats off to this group for keeping the Giants' prized possession, Eli Manning, clean in this one. The group does a great job of providing a pocket and throwing lanes for the QB and he certainly understands the need for urgency in getting rid of the ball. While there is no data compiled to support this, I count on every passing play and it is rare that I ever get to "three-one thousand" with him. As many have noted also, Manning is one of the best at the league at a. taking hits and most importantly b. adjusting/turning his body just before being hit so as to reduce the impact of it. Think of it as the complete opposite of what Michael Vick does did.

Quarterback

-Peter Grudin

Week 14 QB grades

...just as he wasn’t responsible for the loss last week, Eli Manning wasn’t really responsible for the win this week, not with the sensational play of Stevie Brown once again, and for the first time of David Wilson. Eli was 22 for 235 (63%) for 259 yards with four TDs and no sacks. Even with two interceptions, his overall QB rating was 99. These are good numbers, and they mirror good play. All things considered (expectations, his ability to excel, defense, etc) the grade of 0 seems just right.

...Eli showed good leadership throughout the game, but relied less on play-action (one of his strengths is the run-fake) and screens (seemingly the perfect play for a guy like Wilson) than I hoped he might. He was not called for a penalty (unlike last week), and some of his passes were things of beauty.

...specifically there is the perfect strike to Hixon in the right corner of the end zone (2nd, 0:25) easy and well—timed and put just where only 87 could reach it. There was the perfect strike to 80 (2nd, 1:14). Then there was that long easy lob falling right into Cruz’s hands like a gift from above for a TD in the 3rd (8:21).

Rich: ...another one was the sideline pass to Cruz for 35 yards. Some may assume that the throw to Cruz was missed short by Eli, but if you watch the wide coaches film you will see that it was placed there by Eli, as Cruz had burned the guy behind him but the safety over the top was still in play if the throw was left inside. If the throw is outside, the sideline comes into play. Leaving it behind Cruz (the high percentage play) ensured that the pass was completed.

...on the other side of things there were mistakes, although not lethal , that had me wondering what other games were being broadcast. The intercept on the ball thrown to Jerrigan in the 1st quarter (9:54) was as bad a pass as Eli has thrown all year. Not only was it off-target, it might well have been intercepted had it been thrown much better. Jerrigan was flailing about in a virtual mine-field of defenders. The pass failed because it was badly thrown, but probably would have failed had it been thrown well. Simply deciding to throw there was a huge mistake, something we might expect of a rookie, and not the brightest rookie, either. Right before that Eli had done nearly the same thing, underthrowing Hixon and putting the ball right into the bread basket of a defender so amazed he dropped the ball.

...in the 2nd (8:35) Nicks beats his man to the corner of the end zone, but Eli underthrows him. Deduct a touchdown. In the 3rd (5:10) it’s Bennett who has his man beat in a chunk of under populated real estate, only issue is that the Saints safety was baiting Eli into the throw (again something usually reserved for a rookie) and jumped the lofted pass for an easy INT. The only way this throw should be made is somewhere where it is out of reach for all, except for the chance that Bennett makes a spectacular catch on a throw high and outside.

Rich: ...the 1st quarter 3rd down pass to Domenik Hixon not only needs to be completed, but it needs to be completed for a walk-in TD. Not sure where the miscommuncation was, but you can see in the screen grab on the right that Hixon had gotten over the top of his man with no safety help. Instead of firing the ball inside, Eli would have been best suited lofting the ball over the top, allowing the generally sure-handed Hixon to pull in the ball for the TD. PS: This play was one of the shotgun PA passes mentioned earlier, notice how hard the safety (circled in red) bites on the effective run fake. The red X just gives an idea of where Eli should have placed the ball. Come January that opportunity needs to result in six points.

...the mistakes didn’t kill us, the great plays helped a lot, and  so things go with Eli. His general attitude and leadership were a plus. His total score was 0. That’s average (for Eli), but more than acceptable when players like Brown and Wilson are winning the game.

...Come back tomorrow for part 2 where we look at some defensive performances including a few key alignment and formation notes for the LB position and a look at a Giants secondary that played an excellent game (minus one rough stretch!) led by Rolle, Brown and NJ's own Will Hill.

What would you say if we were told before the game started that these would be the following stats:

Pretty tight game, eh?

What if we shared these stats instead?

This blog is not a stat sheet blog.  But we try to analyze the team to figure out why the team is winning and losing.  The Giants have done a lot of both this year, unfortunately, leading to a 7-5 record going into this game.  In the past 4 games, the Giants went 1-3, and the reason why is that they simply did not play enough good football.  Versus the Steelers, they did not tackle well and did not play w urgency.  Vs the Bengals, they did not play with energy.  Vs the Redskins they committed too many penalties.  Versus the Saints, the Giants defense did not do a lot of good things, but when you combine an offense that was able to move the ball, a 4-2 turnover margin, less penalties and a special teams unit that undressed the opposition, it was a strong win.  The Saints are as enigmatic in 2012 as the Giants are, but the Giants have enough order this year plus a home field to get the W.

Antrel Rolle and David Wilson made impact play after impact play.  It took too long for the Specials coach of NO to adjust and stop kicking to Wilson.  Even Jerrel Jernigan got into the act with a great return of his own.  For his part, David Wilson has been ripping off many great kickoff returns this year, but so many were negated by the other 10 men committing penalty after penalty.  This time the penalties were cut out and each run was able to stand.  If this happened vs WAS (2 Cordle penalties negating huge returns), the Giants could have easily won the game.  If I am facing the Giants, I am very concerned about this rookie named Wilson killing me on specials.  He is that good.  He runs full speed through holes and he is hard to catch.  This "Hidden Yardage" is not so hidden when the Giants AVERAGED 48 yards per kickoff return.  Very big stuff.

Rookies are very big stuff in the NFL.  We have been talking on this NY Giants blog for many years about how important it is to have rookies get you over the top.  In today's Salary Cap League, you better get meaningful contributions from your rookies because these are the cheaper players making your roster that WILL be called upon to fill in when veterans go down.  In 2007, it was Ross filling in and getting meaningful playing time, Boss lighting it up when Shockey went down, Bradshaw stealing Jacobs' thunder, Johnson filling a huge role at Safety, Steve Smith on 3rd and 11 in the Super Bowl... In 2011, it was faux-rookie Victor Cruz who carried the entire team.  In 2012, we have the emergence of Wilson on specials and 3rd year player (but really his first chunk of starts in the NFL) Stevie Brown.  It is pretty amazing that Stevie Brown broke a NY Giants franchise record with most return yardage for a season on INTs.  These are impact plays, and you need them to win games.  The Giants were in an offensive dogfight until Brown blew the game open with a huge INT at the NYG 8 yd line that was returned all the way to the Saints 22.  That is a 70 yard return.  Add another 21 yards of INT return yardage on the first play from scrimmage in Q3, and you get a football field from this faux-rookie.

This is as good a moment to praise Antrel Rolle as I can think of.  That Q3 pick by Brown was created by great coverage of TE Jimmy Graham by Antrel Rolle.  Antrel Rolle has been as consistent a player as anyone on the NY Giants this season. JPP is up there in impact, but even the great JPP has been held silent in sacks the last 3 games (as well as victimized by edge/run).  Eli Manning, who threw two awful picks (again, 1 for a TD the other way) vs the Saints, has simply not been consistent.  Cruz has gotten more attention this year from defenses, and has dropped too many balls.  Nicks is the walking wounded.  Antrel Rolle caused one fumble, picked up another, caused an INT and made a key stop on 3rd down.  Did I miss anything? He plays Corner, he plays Safety. He guards slot receivers, he guards TEs. This defense needs a credible LBer to stuff the run and some revitalization on the DL.  Antrel Rolle and Stevie Brown are making tons of plays for the defense.  They will make even more if the front 7 can stop the run and get to the QB.

So where are the Gmen right now? At 8-5, they are still in control of their own fate. They need to win out. RGIII (barring a positive MRI) is lighting up the Skins.  One game at a time for the Giants. Beat ATL in Atlanta.  Everyone says that ATL is vulnerable, and I am not buying their stock either.  They haven't shown the ability to beat the best teams, especially in January.  So next Sunday will be a good test for both teams. Because the Giants were sloppy enough earlier this season, they lost games they could have and should have won.  Now they need to win a few games they can lose. 

This is what the regular season needs to be.  For the NY Giants, they need to improve in order to win a title. Eli needs to protect the ball better and play 4 solid Qs.  The DL needs to play better.  Rivers and Williams need to help the LBer corps.  Hixon's huge grab is what the WRs need to do to take the pressure off of Cruz and a hobbled Nicks.  Wilson needs to learn his protections so that he can be used down the stretch in passing situations (the run keys are killing him and Gilbride).  There is still plenty of time to improve, win games and start peaking for the playoffs.            

Decided to open with the picture of Eli just overthrowing Cruz in the first quarter, a missed opportunity for the Giants. This game was full of missed chances for the Giants, who played well at times but beat themselves offensively with a handful of penalties and a few explosive plays that the Giants left on the table. Defensively, let's just hope we don't face Griffin again this season.

With a visit from Drew Brees and the hated Saints looming, the Giants offense needs to play sound penalty-free football and capitalize on opportunities for explosive plays (which of course are set up by the :small ball" plays we constantly harp on on here). We know that the Saints can and usually do just that as well as anyone around, so it is on the offense to keep up in the expected high scoring affair, one with an over/under of 53 in most books that you can bet on the NFL. Coming off of a 5-int game, Brees will certainly be prepared and crisp in the passing game so it is on the front four to not allow him to get comfortable. With that, a look at some grades from Week 13.

Offensive Line

Rich Conforti

Week 13 OL grades

...although both Snee (+2) and Boothe (+4) graded out fairly well the offensive line as a whole turned in an uninspiring performance and one of their most inconsistent of the year. Most of the two's solid grades came on plays where they pulled to be the lead blocker on a run, other than that, they too struggled like the rest. As a whole the group recorded 22 negative plays and their overall combined score came in at a very unimpressive -3. Really not much to say about this one other than that. Much like the overall result for the Giants in this one, there was a lot of good, a bit more bad and some pretty average play in between. And along those lines---the group recorded a -8 collectively in the 2nd half. Not good.

...even though he came in at a +2 and had some moments, Chris Snee is either still hurt pretty badly (not unlike many guys at this time of year) or has lost the leg drive that has made him a great OG both in past seasons and earlier in this one. My guess is that he still has a pretty significant hip injury which is something that would explain the lack of drive coming from Snee in the run game. He is also a bit slow to get off the ball, something you don't hear often about Snee.

...Locklear recorded a +1 on his last play of the season, which was fitting becasue he certainly was a + for the Giants offensive line in his time this season. He was a very solid pass protector and was just effective enough in run blocking. It is also fitting that his last play of the season came with him pass setting on a draw play, something I have often complemented him for this year. For the game he came in at -1. This injury is a killer not just because the loss of Locklear (seriously---Diehl isn't as bad as you think) but it also means that little-used OT James Brewer now slides into the extra-OL role with the first team offense. 

Wide Receiver

Steve Gesuele

Week 13 WR/TE grades

...the wide receivers had a generally good game this week grading out to a total of +11. While it wasn't the +17 of last week it was still a pretty solid performance. Cruz and Nicks both were open deep on routes early in the game that Eli simply missed them on (plays 16 and 13, respectively). Cruz's best two plays came on play 31 and 56. On those two catches he totaled 79 of his 103 yards on the night. The first play, which went for 30 yards, was probably the most impressive route as he used a double move to perfection to gain space down the field. Cruz was far from perfect though. He had a bad drop in the red zone on third down late in the third quarter. It looked like he heard footsteps over the middle and the Giants had to settle for three there.

...Nicks had a solid game overall bringing in five grabs for 43 yards. His longest catch went for 16 on the patented Nicks-slant/post/dig down the middle of the field. He did a nice job coming back to the ball as usual and his hands were great as we have come to expect. Nicks was lacking that one big play that would have made this a great game instead of just a good one. Had Eli connected with him on play 13 it could have been a much more impressive stat line for Nicks.

...Bennett had his best day in the passing game in quite some time. He broke a few tackles to gain extra yards and his routes were a lot sharper than usual. He caught his first touchdown pass since Week 3, which was especially nice because it was in the red zone (something that we here at Ultimate NYG love to see) but his best play of the day came on the final play of the first half. Bennett used a great head fake to make his defender bite and he found himself wide open to catch a pass from Eli for 28 yards to set up a field goal just before half time. However----

...as nice as it was to see Bennett perform well in the passing game it was frustrating to watch him in run blocking situations, where he graded out to a -2. AND If it wasn't for two outstanding blocks it could have been a pretty ugly number for the Black Unicorn in that category. Bennett has the talent and most of us knew that he would be a project if he was to become the "tight end of the future" but as of now he is clearly just that: a project. However, his great offensive production is covering for his inconsistent--at times lazy--play in run blocking. With some time and proper coaching I fully expect Bennett to become a top tier tight end in this league. He has shown that he can be a top-flight run blocker but needs to do so on a much more consistent basis.

Quarterback

Peter Grudin

Week 13 QB grades

...Manning played well in a losing effort---cutting down on his mistakes, guilty of no turnovers, and making some fine completions. He cannot be held responsible for penalties—except, of course, for the two he managed to perpetrate himself: one delay of game (hard to forgive) and one intentional grounding.

Running Back

Matt Poliquin

Week 13 RB grades

Defensive End

George Richford

Week 13 DE grades

A lost opportunity to keep the NFC East a one horse race in this one. While the Redskins deserve the credit for winning a huge divisional matchup (in what was basically an elimination game for them) you can't help but feel that this was one of those games where the team who beat the Giants the worst was the team in white. As often as the Giants tried to take themselves out of this one, they continued to hold onto a lead until early in the 4th quarter. And if the Giants defense was able to get the ball back to Eli one more time maybe the story is different this morning. With that, some thoughts:

...all in all a pretty sloppy effort from the Giants at a time when they needed a crisp game in all three facets. Offensively, the sloppy play and mental errors take away from what was a pretty solid showing from the unit. Hate to waste a game in which your offense converts 9-of-15 3rd down attempts, gets 100-yards rushing from its RB, has three players with five catches and plays turnover free football for 60 minutes. Unfortunately this was all wasted when the Giants picked up NINE PENALTIES in this one, seven of which came on offense.

...an average starting position just inside of the Washington 10 didn't help out either.

...9 penalties with many of them coming at the MOST inopportune times seemed to kill the Giants. 9 penalties are unacceptable as is but they become even more infuriating when they come at crucial points in the game. The Giants offense opened the game moving the ball well but had both drives stalled by penalties inside the Redskins' 30, forcing the Giants to settle for two field goal attempts (one missed by Tynes) early on. Two penalties by Jim Cordle on kickoff returns were also killers, including one that called back a return that was taken all the way to midfield in the 2nd half. Just a note--on both Cordle penalties three officials threw their flags. And of course Beatty's hold on the Giants final possession.

...the Giants' final drive felt a lot like the final drive in Philly earlier this season. In both situations, struggles earlier in the game left the Giants with little margin for error. Back in Week 4 the crucial offensive PI penalty by Barden pushed them out of Lawrence Tynes' field goal range. In this one, a blatant hold from Will Beatty flipped the situation from a 1st and 10 inside Redskins territory to a 3rd and 20 at their own 33. The Giants continue to put themselves in tough situations late in games and as we are starting to see it will come back to bite them.

...a first half with 16 first downs, nearly 300 yards of offense and four trips past midfield need to result in more than 13 points. That is a failure on everyone who is a part of the offensive unit; starting with the coaches down to the offensive line. That type of success cannot be wasted-- take advantage of those opportunities and the Giants get the ball to start the second half with much more than a 13-10 lead. The lack of success in the red zone is going to be the death of this team. Their defense just isn't good enough to compensate and in fact are at their best when they can let the front four put their hand in the ground and go at the passer. Something that needs to change and needs to change fast. 

...in a four-play span in the 1st quarter Eli missed both Nicks and Cruz on deep routes that had the potential to end up in touchdowns for the Giants. Both receivers had a step or two on the coverage with Eli underthrowing Nicks on the sideline route and overthrowing Cruz as he ran down the seam. If you look back at the Cruz overthrow you'll see him look back for the ball just past the 2nd level and this throws off the timing between him and Eli on the play. Cannot leave potential big-play TDs on the table, let alone two in a four-play span. 

...yes the defense only allowed 17 points but they were once again shredded by the Redskins rushing attack, with the shredding beginning right up front on the defensive line. Just from watching it live, it seemed that the entire DL (especially Tuck and Canty) was playing on its heels all game and losing the LOS. While credit certainly goes to the Redskins' OL, you have to think that this group once again struggled with the discipline needed to carry out your responsibilities against an offense such as the one they faced. Too many times (as has been a trend all season long) we saw the Giants lose the edge on a run. Too much peeking into the backfield looking for the ball rather than a focus on carrying out an assignment against the read option plays. If the Giants came into this one better prepared for facing the read op, it certainly didn't show. If the defense is going to get shredded by an offense anyway, why not try to beat it with an attacking/aggressive approach. Force the Redskins hand--offer RG3 a "give" read on the read option plays. Either way--the Giants defense didn't execute any type of plan for containing the read option. Wouldn't it be better to force the offense to react rather than the opposite? The Redskins dictated the flow of the game when they had the ball and it showed in the 2nd half as they ran for just under 150 yards.

...Kenny Phillips' injury forced the Giants to open the game and play good chunks of it in a traditional 4-3 base rather than the three safety look they used down the stretch last season and for nearly every snap last week. Having three linebackers on the field is not a something that plays to the Giants advantage and their lack of speed   as a unit hurt them in this one. Not sure how many snaps Phillips got in for but even then he was not fully ready to be a contributor. 

...the Giants rushing attack found plenty of success in this one as Bradshaw carried 24 times for 103 yards. Even more importantly they picked up four 3rd and Short's in the 1st half, something that they have struggled with all season. The Giants (I'm pretty sure about this) came out in the shotgun formation on each one of them and were able to convert with ease. And outside of the two missed long throws in the 1st quarter, the Giants passing game was able to get into a rhtyhm, with Eli finding seven different receivers in this one including Cruz, Nicks and Bennett five times each.