How the NY Giants Have Gotten Back on Track After Slow Start to 2014 Season
The New York Giants began the 2014 season facing low expectations from most on the outside.
After all, what hope did the team provide in the summer? There were questions about the tight end position and the offensive line. There was the usual smattering of injuries to key starters such as linebacker Jon Beason (toe) and left guard Geoff Schwartz (toe).
There was the change on offense to a West Coast-inspired system that some questioned as a proper fit for starting quarterback Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls in Kevin Gilbride's vertical passing offense. Throughout the summer and into the first week of the regular season, Manning and the rest of the offense at times looked sloppy and uncoordinated in new coordinator Ben McAdoo's system. There were also questions as to whether head coach Tom Coughlin had lost his way in leading this team.
Well guess what?
Since that opening night, 35-14 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions, followed by a home-opening, 25-14 setback to the Arizona Cardinals, the Giants buckled up, went to work, stayed the course and believed in what the coaches were preaching.
The result is two wins in a row, the most recent of which came on a short week and on the road. In those two victories, the Giants completely dominated their opponents by a combined score of 75-31.
How have the Giants turned things around from their 0-2 start to find themselves within striking distance of the NFC East lead?
Let us count the ways.
The Giants Really Do Have Tight Ends
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The New York Giants began the 2014 season facing low expectations from most on the outside.
After all, what hope did the team provide in the summer? There were questions about the tight end position and the offensive line. There was the usual smattering of injuries to key starters such as linebacker Jon Beason (toe) and left guard Geoff Schwartz (toe).
There was the change on offense to a West Coast-inspired system that some questioned as a proper fit for starting quarterback Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls in Kevin Gilbride's vertical passing offense. Throughout the summer and into the first week of the regular season, Manning and the rest of the offense at times looked sloppy and uncoordinated in new coordinator Ben McAdoo's system. There were also questions as to whether head coach Tom Coughlin had lost his way in leading this team.
Well guess what?
Since that opening night, 35-14 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions, followed by a home-opening, 25-14 setback to the Arizona Cardinals, the Giants buckled up, went to work, stayed the course and believed in what the coaches were preaching.
The result is two wins in a row, the most recent of which came on a short week and on the road. In those two victories, the Giants completely dominated their opponents by a combined score of 75-31.
How have the Giants turned things around from their 0-2 start to find themselves within striking distance of the NFC East lead?
Let us count the ways.
Defensive Turnovers
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The Giants defense came so close to getting a turnover on any number of plays in their first two games. However, the turnovers just weren’t there for the taking.
That changed last week against the Houston Texans and continued in Week 4 against Washington. In two games, the Giants defense has nine turnovers.
Expanding that stat further, the Giants have been plus-7 in the turnover battle over the last two games, which is a big reason why they were able to win those two matchups so handily.
The Pass Rush
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After the Giants pass rush turned a lackluster showing in Week 1—a game in which the Giants defense produced one sack, four tackles for loss, one quarterback hit—the floodgates have opened.
Over the last three games, New York has eight sacks, 11 tackles for a loss and 19 quarterback hits. The pressure has impacted the play on the back end: In Week 1, the Giants recorded four passes defensed while getting just one interception. Against Houston and Washington combined, the defense broke up a 24 passes and snagged seven picks.
What you are seeing in those two wins is the result of a defense that finally has all three units working well together. But it all starts with the front four finally getting after the quarterback.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been nothing short of inspiring, as he has finally started to look like the disruptive player he was in 2011.
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Shutdown Corners
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The Giants signed cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to a five-year, $35 million free-agent contract with the idea of teaming up with Prince Amukamara, their 2011 first-round draft pick.
All this duo has done has limited the production of some of the game’s top receivers following a disappointing Week 1 showing in which Detroit’s Calvin Johnson caught seven balls for 164 yards and two touchdowns and Golden Tate had six catches for 93 yards.
Since then, the only other receiver to have any kind of production to write home about was DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans, who had six receptions for 116 yards but no touchdowns in a losing effort. Others such as Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals, Andre Johnson of the Texans, and DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon of Washington have all failed to gain more than 55 yards against the Giants defensive backs.
Worth noting is how Rodgers-Cromartie and Amukamara held Garcon and Jackson to a combined three catches for 37 yards.
The Offensive Line
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In Week 1, the Giants offensive line was eaten alive by the Detroit Lions defensive front. In that game, Detroit managed to record two sacks, three tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits.
Things started to improve as early as Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. In their last three games, the Giants offensive line has allowed three sacks, four quarterback hits and 11 tackles for loss.
Those numbers have come against names such as Calais Campbell of Arizona, J.J. Watt of Houston and Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan of Washington, all strong, active defensive linemen or linebackers capable of disrupting things up front.
A Willingness to Change
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Head coach Tom Coughlin might not know what an iPod is, and he might prefer the soothing sounds of Frank Sinatra over the rhythms and attitude of The Notorious B.I.G., but credit the 68-year-old head coach for reaching into his endless bag of tricks to keep his team from slipping away when things were not looking up.
As he did in 2007, Coughlin established a leadership council consisting of about a dozen veterans to serve as an intermediary between the rest of the locker room and the coaching staff. That council went to the head coach last week with the suggestion of allowing music to be played during Friday’s warm-ups.
“The players wanted that,” Coughlin said as per George Willis of the New York Post. “We’ve done that before. We did it years ago. It’s just a little bit of noise in the air, like a stadium pre-game, is the way they put it.”
The head coach conceded and the players spoke about how that one little concession, which lasted maybe 15 minutes in total before the team buckled down and got to work on individual drills, made a difference.
“I think it was great,” safety Antrel Rolle told reporters following the win over Houston. “It was something that definitely lifted the team’s spirits a little bit. It was something different.
“Sometimes change is always good. It was good. Hopefully we have some more music on Friday because it seemed to work.”
Rolle can probably count on that becoming a staple of practices moving forward.
QB Eli Manning
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Last but certainly not least, credit needs to be given to Eli Manning, who was one of the team's biggest question marks during training camp and preseason.
The uncertainty regarding Manning had much to do with the career-high 27 interceptions he threw last year—though to be fair, most analysts didn’t take into consideration how many times Manning was victimized either by receivers running the wrong routes or by a lack of pass protection.
The Giants, trying to salvage their franchise quarterback, scrapped most of the old system, a system Manning had run all of his professional career.
The Giants went with a West Coast-flavored offense, the lead architect of which, Ben McAdoo, hoped to encourage shorter passes, more completions and more more opportunities for generating yards after the catch.
After a forgettable start in Week 1 in which he completed 18 of 33 passes for a measly 144 yards and two interceptions, Manning now looks as though he’s been playing in this system his entire career.
He’s completed 75 of 106 passes (70.7 percent) for 786 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions in his last three games.
“I knew that first couple of games, it was going to take some time for us to understand the timing and rhythm of this offense," Manning told reporters.
"To get totally comfortable with new plays, new cadence, new people and a lot of new things going on. I think we’ve gotten better every week. That’s what we’ve got to continue to do."
Salary information via Over the Cap.
Patricia Traina is the senior editor for Inside Football. All quotes and information obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.
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