4 Adjustments New York Giants Must Make in Week 2 Matchup with Atlanta Falcons

While the debate about the New York Giants’ clock mismanagement will likely continue to rage on, head coach Tom Coughlin, his coaches and players need to start thinking about ways to increase their chance of winning their 2015 regular-season home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Based on the showing Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, there are a few personnel and technique corrections they can make that might help their cause against a Falcons team that is coming off a Monday Night Football matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s look at four such changes that, if implemented, could make sense for Big Blue.

Pull the Base Defense's Middle Linebacker from the Nickel Package

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One of the biggest surprises of the Giants’ Week 1 opener was that middle linebacker Uani’ Unga, making his first NFL start, took 100 percent of the defensive snaps.

The problem is that when the Giants went to their nickel defense, Unga stayed on the field, and the results in coverage weren’t pretty.

While it can be argued that Unga has to learn and that the only way he can learn is by being out there, that didn’t help the Giants in what was a must-win game against an NFC East opponent.

Per Pro Football Focus, Unga was targeted 11 times in coverage, allowing nine receptions for 99 yards (65 after the catch) and one touchdown.

And no, it wasn’t just future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten burning the youngster; running backs Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar all had success against the former BYU star, who ended up with the worst coverage grade of the Giants’ defenders.

If Jon Beason (knee) isn’t ready to go, it will be interesting to see if defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo turns to veteran safety Craig Dahl to serve as a big nickel back.

Dahl was limited last week after arriving a few days before the Giants commenced preparation for Dallas, but he knows Spagnuolo’s system and is no doubt coming up to speed on the terminology to where he should be able to make more of a contribution.

Sit Receiver Preston Parker

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Everyone makes mistakes. Even franchise quarterback Eli Manning has shown he is capable of committing a big-time blunder.

However, when your job description is to catch passes and you proceed to drop three big third-down conversions as receiver Preston Parker did Sunday night, that’s simply inexcusable and definitely worthy of a benching.  

Going into camp, Parker seemed like a long shot to make the 53-man roster, especially after the giants added Dwayne Harris to handle the return duties.

However, despite adding veteran James Jones to their summer roster, the Giants decided to stick with Parker over Jones, their leading receiver in the preseason, most likely because of the calf injury that has sidelined Victor Cruz.

Because Parker can play the slot, coaches appeared to have little choice but to let Jones go and keep Parker, who, per Pro Football Focus, had one dropped pass in the preseason.

If Cruz isn’t ready to go this week—Coughlin told reporters Monday he did not have an update on Cruz—the Giants need to go in a different direction at slot receiver.

Give RB Shane Vereen More Touches in the Running Game

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Of the three Giants running backs who had an opportunity to carry the rock against the Cowboys, Shane Vereen received the most snaps on offense, behind starter Rashad Jennings and backup Andre Williams.

However, Vereen also had the fewest carries of the three, getting three touches as a rusher compared to the 13 and six Jennings and Williams received, respectively.

As defenses continue to try to jam up the inside running lanes against the Giants, they’re going to need to counter with a running back who can hoof it to the outside and turn nothing into something. That running back is Vereen, who has the quickness and vision to beat defenders to the edge.

The proof was in the pudding against Dallas. Per Pro Football Focus, Vereen averaged 5.5 yards per carry when rushing to the left end, the best of the Giants' runner.

Simply put, Vereen offers so much more versatility as both a runner and a pass receiver that it’s almost criminal that he wasn’t used more in the running game. If the Giants are serious about establishing the run, this needs to change moving forward.

Get Their Hands Up on the Defense Front

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If Sunday night’s game was any indication, the Giants just aren’t going to have much of a pass rush this year.

If that’s going to be the case, there is something the front four can do until they find a matchup that favors them: put their hands up.

While a sack is always the end goal, if the Giants front four can knock down a few passes and perhaps even tip a few in the air to where maybe a nearby linebacker can come down with the pass, even better.

It doesn’t sound like much, but getting their hands up would sure beat standing there spinning their wheels out there only to get nothing done.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.

Follow @Patricia_Traina.