Giants vs. Patriots: 5 Patriot Defensive Issues That Need to Be Fixed

The New England Patriots are mired in a two-game losing streak—a streak that has materialized largely because of a struggling defense.  After allowing Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to pass for 365 yards in a 25-17 loss, New England bounced back by shutting out the New York Giants in the first half.

However, the fun didn’t last for Pats fans. Eli Manning marched his Giants team down the field for the game-winning touchdown in New York’s 24-20 victory over New England. 

With the team desperate for a win, there are problems on the Patriots defense that must be fixed—and fast. 

With a defense this poor, I’m not sure if you can fix much.  Nevertheless, here are five problems that the Patriots must at least try solving on defense immediately.   

Less Man, More Zone

While it certainly hasn’t been Bill Belichick’s cup of tea over his coaching career, the New England Patriots may be well-advised to integrate more zone coverage into their defensive schemes from here on out.  An increase in zone coverage could’ve helped in the loss to the Giants.

With New York trailing 13-10 midway through the fourth quarter, Kyle Arrington was victimized by a debilitating 35-yard pass interference call on a play in which his back was to the ball. 

A short time later, he was beaten by Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham for a 10-yard touchdown pass.  Had Arrington been in zone coverage on both of those plays, maybe the Giants wouldn't have marched down the field to reclaim the lead.

Tighten Up on the Tight End

For two straight weeks now, the New England Patriots have struggled to keep the opposing tight end under wraps.  In Pittsburgh, Steelers tight end Heath Miller carved up New England’s defense, especially in the first quarter, where he hauled in six passes. 

Going to Miller early allowed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to establish a quick rhythm.  As a result, Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s win.

This time against the Giants, the tight end waited until the very end to demoralize New England’s defense.  New York tight end Jake Ballard had two big catches on Big Blue’s game-winning touchdown drive: a gorgeous 30-yard pass he hauled in on a seam route, and obviously his winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining. 

The Pats did a marvelous job in keeping opposing tight ends under wraps early in the year.  They need to get back to doing so fast, because tight ends are killing them right now.

Keep the Blitzes Minimal

I realize it must be frustrating for New England Patriots fans to watch the team’s pass rush (or lack thereof) on a weekly basis.  In some games, they apply decent pressure to the quarterback (like against the Steelers). 

While in others, they allow the opposing quarterback to sit in the pocket untouched.

Against the Giants, the Pats definitely needed to turn up the heat on quarterback Eli Manning.  The Giants' quarterback wasn’t sacked once, and went unpressured in guiding the Giants to two fourth-quarter touchdowns in their win over the Pats.

Keep the Blitzes Minimal (continued)

Although applying more quarterback pressure would be nice, it won’t come courtesy of increased blitzes.  Why not?  Because dialing up more blitzes will leave an already-reeling secondary even more vulnerable.

Do you really trust guys like linebacker Tracy White and safety Sergio Brown in situations where they’re on an island while New England blitzes six or seven players? 

I didn’t think so. 

Pats fans are just going to have to hope that linemen like Andre Carter and Albert Haynesworth can bounce back from their poor outing against the Giants quickly. The only way the Patriots are getting to the quarterback is from the defensive line—nothing more.

The Other Safeties Must Step Up

Safety Patrick Chung has played well all season for the New England Patriots.  His partners in crime, however, have struggled more times than not. 

Since cutting James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather in the preseason, it’s been a revolving door at New England’s other safety position.  And quite frankly, the patchwork trio of James Ihedigbo, Josh Barrett and Sergio Brown haven’t gotten it done.

Against the Giants, it was Brown’s turn to disappoint.  Brown had a devastating pass interference penalty on New York’s game-winning touchdown drive, a play in which he basically tackled Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz as he was going for the ball. 

The Other Safeties Must Step Up (continued)

The penalty put the ball on the New England one-yard line and essentially sealed the Patriots’ fate, as three plays later, Eli Manning hit Jake Ballard for the winning touchdown.   

Whoever it is, one of these other safeties needs to step up and prove to Bill Belichick that they’re not a liability on the back end of the defense. 

If they do so, it will allow Chung to come up and possibly create more chaos at the line of scrimmage, like Rodney Harrison did in his days as a Patriot.

Get over It

The last two games haven’t been very kind to the New England Patriots’ defense. 

In Pittsburgh, the Patriots were down six with all three timeouts (plus the two-minute warning) remaining and close to three minutes left on the clock.

But instead of trusting his defense, Bill Belichick instead opted for an onside kick to get the ball back to his offense, which ultimately failed.  Although the defense played better against the Giants (even pitching a shutout in the first half), they were the ones who failed to hold a Patriots lead with a minute-and-a-half remaining.

Get over It (continued)

The aforementioned events have the potential to demoralize a Patriots defense that has been fragile throughout the season.  Instead of dwelling on what has gone wrong in this two-game slump, the Pats’ defense needs to move on.

There’s no time for them to sit around feeling sorry for themselves.  If the Pats are going to get back in the win column, the defense will need to play like they did in the first half against Big Blue.

And if they perform again like they did the first time against the Jets (forcing several three-and-outs, keeping Ground and Pound in check), then the Patriots will be fine.  If not, there will officially be a state of emergency in Patriots Nation.