Black & Gold Xs & Os: Saints Defensive Gameplan Vs. NY Football Giants

If you followed any of the NFL offseason discussions in the spring or summer, you would know that one of the largest questions was who, if anyone, would step up for the Giants at the receiver position?

That question has been answered and then some. Steve Smith leads the league in yards and TDs. Mario Manningham is a big-play threat extraordinaire. Hakeem Nicks in recent weeks has provided a third-wheel to what was previously a dynamic duo.

Here is a brief scouting report of the New York Football Giants offense.

QB Eli Manning

Manning is hampered with a bad toe and only played in the first half last week against Oakland. Nonetheless, he had a perfect QB rating and led his team on four scoring drives in that time.

He has excelled in the playaction passing game and on intermediate and deep throws. Where he becomes a little less effective is when he has to scramble, or against pressure (as is true with just about every quarterback).

If Manning gets hurt, former No. 1 overall pick David Carr would take the reigns of the offense. He is very capable, and the offense would not change drastically. Perhaps, there would be a few more rollouts and the running game would become a more integral part of the offense, but volume-wise the Giants would not change much if anything.

RB Brandon Jacobs & Ahmad Bradshaw

Jacobs and Bradshaw make up one of the better RB duos in the league this year. Jacobs is the big physical back who would rather run a defender over than run by him. Bradshaw is also a physical back, but has upper-echelon speed to run by guys as well.

Both are good at catching the ball out of the backfield and do a good job in pass protection.   

WR Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, & Hakeem Nicks

Smith runs very precise routes, catches the ball away from his body when necessary, and has good quickness and speed to beat man-to-man coverage. Most of his yards are had by running his patterns and catching the ball, but he is capable of making things happen after the catch. Smith is Manning's undisputed go-to receiver in clutch situations.

Manningham, like Smith, is a smaller receiver who relies on his quickness and speed. He also runs good patterns, and does a good job of catching the ball at its highest point. Manningham is a little more explosive after the catch than Smith, but Manning trusts Smith a little more at this point.

Nicks has developed fairly quickly for a rookie receiver. He is the guy you want to throw the ball to short and let him run with it. He is very strong and has good speed. He also has great hands, and reminds me a lot of Terrell Owens, as far as his build, speed, and style of play.

TE Kevin Boss, Johnson, & Travis Beckum

Boss was hurt a week ago and did not play, but he is the do-it-all TE for the Giants. He is good run-blocking as well as in protecting Eli. He runs good routes when he has his hand in the ground, and when he is lined up in the slot or out wide. He catches the ball well, and is capable of making yards after the catch.

Johnson is mostly used as a blocker, although he will occasionally line up like a receiver in a similar role to Boss. He is not very explosive and can easily be covered by a linebacker.

Beckum is another one of the Giants' exciting young receiving prospects. They have included him in the gamplan about the same time that Nicks started becoming a part of the plan. He is very versatile and is basically a receiver wearing a TEs number. He is quick with good hands, and an ability to run after the catch. They don't ask him to do a lot of blocking.

Offensive Line

The Giants offensive line has been together for three years straight now. That continuity is a big reason the Giants rank as one of the best teams running the football and protect Eli Manning very well. They haven't seen a ton of blitzes this season, but generally handle them well.

What The Giants Do Scheme-Wise

The Giants are a bit more traditional in their schemes than much of the current NFL. They use a lot of Base personnel (two backs, a tight end, and two receivers). They will generally start the game in this and try to stay in it as much as possible.

On only snap in four games did they ever use more than three receivers in the game at one time. It is more common for them to use three receivers, a tight end, and a back. Or sometimes they'll use two tight ends and three receivers and go Empty.

They also line up a lot with two tight ends, a back, and two receivers, which is another good running formation. However, in passing situations, they will generally resort to the 11 or 12 personnel, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.

In the running game, they are pretty basic. They like to run the inside zone, but also will run a zone play, that is not a stretch or inside zone, where they are trying to hit the play off-tackle. They also will use the stretch on occasion. Finally they like to run counter trey from a couple different formations.

In the passing game, they use a lot of playaction, much of which is used to hit Smith or Manningham on deep routes. The Giants use the entire route tree, and because of that they are difficult to stop. They work the middle of the field with Dig routes quite a bit. They'll throw the post over the top of that on occasion.

They'll throw crossing routes in short-yardage situations. They also like slant routes in short-yardage situations. They also like to flood one side of the field with receivers, as they have a shallow, intermediate, and deep route to find a hole in the zone coverage.

Truth be told, I didn't find any real holes in their passing game. They can do it all. They also like screens out of the backfield.  

Gregg Williams' Gameplan

Honestly, I have no idea how to stop this offense. They do so many things well. While they are not going to trick you, they don't have to. They execute as well, if not better than anyone else.

The key, as is normally the case, is to get them into long-yardage situations. In order to do this, you must commit to stopping the run on early downs. Of course, getting ahead in the game would help as well.

I guess the biggest thing is to bring up the eighth defender but move him back into a cover two shell if the Giants elect to throw the ball. Mix this up between Harper and Sharper. Give them different looks, so that they cannot start choosing a side they want to send their receivers to.

I would play the receivers press man with that cover two shell. This should stop the receivers effectiveness against zone coverage. I would also mix in some Robber One coverage which is where a linebacker takes the intermediate middle of the field and a safety works over the top of him. This is to stop those post-dig combo routes.

I would play Johnson and Boss with linebackers. Beckum I would probably play with Sharper or a cornerback.

Blitzes can be effective, especially on third down. They need to be well thought out and well-executed though, because if they are not Manning will burn one-on-one coverage.

The noise of the dome and an early lead would be huge helpers in this game. If neither of these happen, it could be a long day Sunday afternoon, at least for the Saints defense.