How Robert Ayers Jr. Can Help the New York Giants Pass Rush
November 25, 2014
It’s been several days since the New York Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys on a seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended in a 13-yard Tony Romo touchdown pass to Dez Bryant.
Despite having time to think about it, head coach Tom Coughlin, the official voice of the Giants when it comes to personnel and play-calling, wasn’t able to answer a simple question posed to him by reporters during his Monday conference call.
Why was defensive end Robert Ayers Jr., the team’s leader in sacks, on the bench for the Cowboys' final two plays of that game-winning drive?
“I can just tell you there were reasons why perhaps Robert wasn’t in there. There was sound thinking behind that,” Coughlin said.
“If you remember the play in which we jumped, there was a pressure called there. I, quite frankly, think that we scared ourselves out of that because of the penalty.”
Hey, credit Coughlin for being honest in admitting they gave into their fears.
The Giants were scared because of what is believed to be the neutral-zone infraction called following the two-minute warning against defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who was on the field for that ill-fated defensive sequence?
Wait, Coughlin’s answer gets better.
“We know Tony Romo very, very well. When allowed to stand back there and have no pressure on him and wait for people to run and get open, he’s made a career out of that,” he said.
“I hear you and, on paper, theoretically I agree with you. We all feel that there should have been more done, more accomplished perhaps even throughout the entire game but definitely in that last drive. We’d love to be able to do it over.”
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. ... Didn’t.
There are no mulligans in football obviously, but moving forward, if the Giants are serious about winning, they need to get their best players on the field on both sides of the ball.
On defense, one of those players has to be Ayers, the Denver Broncos' first-round draft pick in 2009 and the 18th overall pick in that year’s draft who, per Over the Cap, signed a two-year contract worth $3.75 million.
According to the Giants’ weekly game release, Ayers has seven fewer tackles (21) than Kiwanuka (28) despite a significant difference in game snaps. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Ayers has 350 snaps to Kiwanuka’s 558.
Per PFF, Ayers has graded positively in seven of the Giants' 11 games played so far. Those grades include five positive finishes in the pass rush.
So why wasn’t he on the field? One possible theory is that his run defense grades haven’t been quite as good since the early part of the season—PFF has him down for a minus-1.8 grade in run defense, which is still better than Mathias Kiwanuka’s minus-9.4 mark for the season.
Scouting Ayers
Last year, Topher Doll of SB Nation’s Mile High Report wrote an analysis of Ayers’ athletic ability and football sense. Of particular note in Doll’s analysis was this nugget:
Last year Ayers proved again to be a smart player who rarely makes mental mistakes. He stays committed to his assignment and only bit on play action and the draw run on rare occasions. He was able to…accurately judge and adjust based on what the defensive captain saw and then try and make the play. He showed surprising ability to adjust rapidly, on the fly, as the play developed, almost never far away from the ball.
Doll also noted that while Ayers doesn’t have a top-tier-level burst for a defensive end, “He still possesses adequate burst and above-average straight-line and lateral speed to make plays.”
These are characteristics that continue to show up on tape: disciplined play, quick thinking and good hustle.
Per PFF, Ayers has generated 41 pressures out of 210 pass rush snaps (19.5 percent). That’s a better percentage than the Buffalo Bills' Mario Williams (14.3), even though Williams has seven more sacks than Ayers.
Why Ayers Needs to Play Ahead of Mathias Kiwanuka
There is no question that over the years Kiwanuka has been everything the team could have asked for and then some. That includes being selfless when asked to sacrifice his stats (and potential big money) to move to outside linebacker during his prime years.
With that said, Kiwanuka’s best years are behind him. He has mostly struggled against solo blocking, and if he can’t at least draw a double-team block a few times in a game, that means someone else (Jason Pierre-Paul perhaps) is.
While Ayers, whose 15.2 pass-rushing productivity (PRP) score is the best among 4-3 defensive ends listed by PFF, hasn’t drawn double-team blocks very often this year, he has been able to win most of his battles against solo blocking.
Let’s look at his eight-yard sack of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
On this play, Ayers has no trouble beating Seahawks right tackle Justin Britt. Ayers explodes off the line as soon as the ball is snapped and at the last minute cuts inside, leaving an off-balanced Britt defenseless to top him.
Because the running back has released into his pass pattern, it becomes Ayers against the mobile Wilson, with Ayers winning the battle.
Another characteristic that has served Ayers, who can also line up inside at defensive tackle, well is that he is relentless. He showed that on this play against the 49ers" target="_blank">San Francisco 49ers when running back Frank Gore attempted to cut him low.
The athletic Ayers anticipated Gore’s move and was able to avoid having his charge being cut. Once past Gore, he forced quarterback Colin Kaepernick to hurry his pass, which fell incomplete.
If the Giants coaches are serious about winning, they can’t afford to be intimidated by a lack of success on a previous call because now they’re giving into the opponent rather than dictating the tempo.
The best players need to see the field. Although Ayers hasn’t had as many snaps as his cohorts, he’s been among the most consistent and productive defensive players the Giants have this season.
Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted (subscription required).
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football and The SportsXchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.