Breaking down the breakdown

[Mr. Scot]

So why did the defense lay such an egg last night?

Here's an examination of some of the factors that led to the defensive breakdown.

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FATIGUE: First off, it's worth noting that the defense was somewhat better in the first half than in the second and in OT. A number of factors wore them down as the game went on, not the least of which was the Giants O-Line. Truthfully, we've played a 'bend don't break' style of D for most of the year. I'm not a big fan of that style for a lot of reasons, one of them being that it lends to late game fatigue. Throw in weather conditions like you had last night and an offense that's capable of a strong run game and it just gets all that much worse.

HEALTH: On a similar note, injuries and health issues made a huge difference last night, and again this was more evident as the game wore on. Jon Beason wasn't full strength, but even if he were it's likely no one would have been affected more by the loss of Ma'ake Kemoeatu than Beason. Then on top of that you lose Damione Lewis, and suddenly the interior line is being manned by two backups - one playing with a broken hand - and a guy who was just promoted from the practice squad with no rotation. Disaster? Pretty much.

ADJUSTMENTS: Give Kevin Gilbride credit. The second half adjustments they threw in on the Giant offense worked like a charm, not the least of which was leaning more on the smaller, faster Derrick Ward late in the game when the defense was doing at least an okay job against big, strong Brandon Jacobs. That allowed them to wear down the D and use Jacobs in just the right places. Mix in the stuff they did with Kevin Boss to take advantage of dead spots in the coverage and you've got a winning second half plan.

BALANCE: One of the things I haven't seen much chatter about yet, but which seemed huge to me, was that the Giants managed to field a way more balanced attack than anyone expected. Why? At least in part because the Panthers overcommitted to stopping the run. There were several plays when it was pretty clear the defense was thinking run and, as a result, got burned by the pass. And while I agree that stopping the run was key, both the coaching and the players should have been more conscious of the possibility of misdirection.

What's most unforgivable about that? We just watched another team make that exact same mistake, last week, playing against us :nonod:

PASS RUSH: A load of blame has been heaped on the secondary, Ken Lucas especially, since game's end. Some of it is deserved, but not all. Any secondary is going to look a whole lot better when the opposing QB doesn't have time to make reads or wait for someone to come open. For most of last night, Manning had enough time to do both.

Interior pass rush was probably the biggest issue for me. Peppers did okay even with the Giants scheming heavily to control him. Johnson and Brayton were likewise decent from the other side. The interior, outside of a spot or two from Lewis, not so much. Injuries probably play a big role here, and the fact that the Giants have some decent interior linemen? Well, that's a big part of it too.

QUICK PASSES: On a similar note, you have to factor in that the Giants did a fair share of short/quick passes last night, taking the "west coast" approach at some points to balance and supplement the run game. The keys for when that happens are one, for linemen to clog passing lanes and get their hands up early and two, for secondary guys to recognize what's coming and jump routes when they see it. Outside of a spot or two, neither of those happened much (not sure I ever saw the second).

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Those are the things I see off the top of my head (haven't watched the tape yet). Yet even in the midst of all that, we were in it up till the end. A bounce or two here and there and we might be celebrating today.

But such is the NFL.

[Kurb]

Pretty much sums it up.

[Jackofalltrades]

Kemo is/was the difference.

[JuliusP_90]

Kemo is/was the difference.

Kemos is one guy. Yea he would've made a huge difference but I think our defensive play in the second half was the real difference. With Kemo there I don't think he couldve done much.

Also the only reason they scored in OT was that big run by Jacobs. Honestly both defenses were so tired by the end of the game that run could have happened to us or them.

Bad break for us honestly and good break for them.

[Guest]

We were in it til the end, for sure. How about the lucky bounce on the punt in the 4th? Ball bounced right back into that guy's lap instead of on the field where Marshall could get it. Luck. And a gust of wind. Dammit.

[mountainpantherfan]

As always, very wise Mr Scot. I think your point about the balance of the Giants offense is dead on. However, I wonder if that had more to do with the injury to Kemo. I think it was a case of overcompensating. And for good reason.

Side note: Wasn't Thomas Davis a safety in college? His coverage skills were horrible last night. At least to me it seemed like all of Boss' catches came from a blown assignment from Davis.

[Mr. Scot]

Davis has always been more intimidator than coverage guy. Ditto Chris Harris.

I'd say that's the pedigree of player that John Fox prefers.

[scpanther22]

i dont think the D laid a egg.we have ben getting picked apart like this all year but most of the time we just pick it up late.

[Ncstatefan]

The DT situation is what lost us the game in my opinion

[Mr. Scot]

I'd have to agree with Fang too that the bounce to McQuarters was huge.

Sometimes you don't get the breaks. You have to play through such things

[jdl]

As always, very wise Mr Scot. I think your point about the balance of the Giants offense is dead on. However, I wonder if that had more to do with the injury to Kemo. I think it was a case of overcompensating. And for good reason.

Side note: Wasn't Thomas Davis a safety in college? His coverage skills were horrible last night. At least to me it seemed like all of Boss' catches came from a blown assignment from Davis.

all i keep hearing is "injury to kemo". Dear panther fans, people get hurt, and others step in.

[Mr. Scot]

all i keep hearing is "injury to kemo". Dear panther fans, people get hurt, and others step in.

Valid, but you can't really deny that it played a role.

I'd have to disagree with anyone suggesting it's the only factor though. That's why I listed others. Some of them do relate to Kemo being out, but not all of them.

[mountainpantherfan]

all i keep hearing is "injury to kemo". Dear panther fans, people get hurt, and others step in.

You're right. And the Panther don't have the personel that can "step in." It wasn't that Kemo was hurt but more that there was a lack in talent in the backups.

[AKPantherFan]

I thought we played great until the last 10 minutes.