Giants Semi Rewind

Here's the thing.  Either the Eagles win handily today -- telling us nothing -- or they look like crap, limp to a victory, or even blow the game.  If that last thing happens, I might as well start up a Sixers blog or begin reviewing potential draft choices like my man over here.

All of which means that if the Eagles do the expected and take care of business today, we're still going to be more focused on the Giants' game.  Which is why I'm even bothering with writing up this rewind.  And why -- assuming they win -- I'll be expanding it later to the second half.

Everything today is going to be to the point.  Don't have time to meander around.

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Everyone's jumping on McNabb this week for starthing this game slowly.  In the beginning of the year they were on him for starting fast but struggling in the second half.  Complete games would be nice, but so would some more systematic thinking.

On the Eagles' first drive, they scored a touchdown (short field). 

On the second, Demps fumbled. 

On the third, McNabb went 0-for-2 on passes to LJ Smith, but the real killer on that drive was that starting LG Nick Cole couldn't execute a simple down block on a guy lined up in the A gap (i.e., already standing in the spot Cole needed to keep him).  Because that guy got past Cole, Klecko actually had to take him as he was leading Westbrook through the hole.  That left the LB unblocked, who took down Bw for a three-yard gain.  If Cole manages to make perhaps the easiest block on the football field, chances are that's not a three-and-out. 

On the fourth drive, McNabb again was erratic.

On the fifth, he hit Curtis in the hands on second down but he dropped it.  Then he threw a dart to Jackson on third down that he also dropped.  At least Jackson had a guy draped over him, but NFL receivers need to catch that ball.

The sixth drive resulted in a touchdown. 

Spread the blame around.

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On the "wildcat" touchdown to DeSean Jackson, Giants rookie corner Terrell Thomas bizarrely decided to dive inside.  That equalized the number of blockers and defenders and was what enabled Jackson to get into the end zone.  The Giants didn't make many mistakes like that on Sunday.

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The Giants didn't blitz much in this game.  I charted this game and only counted four times in the first half that New York sent more than four guys.  The Eagles honestly didn't blitz that much either. 

Kind of a weird half for the two DCs going against their tendencies. 

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Brodrick Bunkley was a man in this game.  I counted three plays in the first half alone where he straight-up beat his blocker and made the stop.  He was the one guy who stood out positively on the defense this day.  I just want to get that out there before I start ripping the other 10.

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A match-up we were all concerned with heading into the game was how the Eagles' DEs would do setting the edge in the running game.  Our fears seem to have been confirmed Sunday night, as the Giants were consistently able to get outside for positive yardage.

However, in watching it back, I noticed that the Eagles actually didn't have their DEs responsible for outside stuff very often.  The Giants went double TE a lot, and the Eagles DEs kept moving inside pre-snap.  That left linebackers and safeties as the ones who were supposed to have outside contain. 

The downside of this alignment is that it makes it harder for the DEs to generate as much pass rush.

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The Giants ran an insane amount of play action in the first half.  I counted 25 pass plays with 11 play actions.  And the number went up as the half went on. 

One play in particular stands out.  At about the five minute mark in the first quarter, the Giants went from play action into a "max protect" set, meaning seven guys were blocking for Eli.  Unfortunately, because the Eagles' linebackers (and a safety) were so jumpy about the running plays, they all came toward the line of scrimmage, then froze in their tracks. 

So that left seven guys blocking four rushers and only three Eagles in coverage on three receivers.  That's pretty much the worst of all possible worlds for a defense right there.  Ended up being Amani Toomer's 20-yard in on Samuel.

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Eagles had one fantastic play call in the first half and one very stupid one.  With six minutes to go in the first half, the Eagles ran that sweet shotgun play that involved a fake handoff to Westbrook, a fake WR screen to the trips side, and then a wide open Jason Avant in the middle of the field.  I LOVED that play.  Great way to use the other team's film study against them.

Unfortunately, on the first play of the very next drive the Eagles ran the basic WR screen out of that exact same set.  Just watch how fast the Giants reacted to this play (there's a bonus run play at the end of this video, more on that in a second):

My theory?  One guy -- Marty or Andy -- was calling plays on the first drive and the other guy was calling them on the next.  Because it makes absolutely no sense to run those two plays:  A)  In that order or B)  right after each other.

Now, about that running play that came next.  Look at how the Giants are in nickel, with only two LBs.  Both Herremans and MJG end up blocking the same guy after they shoot to the second level.  Unfortunately, Kiwanuka -- who played LB last year -- identifies the play and actually plays it just like a LB, coming down the line unblocked and making the play. 

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Ok, so that's all the prologue.  Now let's talk about the meat of today's rewind, because I have an agenda today and by the end of this next section, I think you will to.

Let's start by considering a few stats.  Take a look at the FO team defense numbers on this page.  Skip the overall numbers and scroll down to how teams do against different types of receivers in the passing game.

Those numbers are striking.  The Eagles are basically shutting down opposing WRs.  Lito Sheppard may be a whiner, but it also turns out he's not a bad guy to have around as a nickel CB.

But look at the TEs and RBs.  We knew about the tight end problem, but it's a running back issue too. 

Who (primarily) covers tight ends?  Linebackers, particularly the SAM when he's in the game.

And who primarily covers running backs?  Ding, linebackers again.

Let's take a look at some other numbers.  Here are FO's defensive line stats.  Notice that the Eagles rank second in the league in "stuff" percentage (that's a good thing).  Notice also that the Eagles are 17th in the league in percentage of runs that gain more than 10 yards.  That's not a good thing.

Put those two numbers together and it suggests that perhaps the team's run defense issues -- which have, admittedly, been somewhat less extreme than in years past -- might have more to do with the linebackers than the defensive line.

One last stats thing.  Scroll down that page a little bit lower and see the Eagles defensive numbers across the field:

 

There's only one really bad number in that table.  One potential reading is that Juqua Parker is not stout enough against the run.  I think that's perhaps true, but I don't think it's the full story.

Most offenses in the NFL are at least somewhat right handed.  That means most of the time the formation you see will be strong right.  Which means you'll have the tight end on the right. 

Which means, and here's the kicker, you'll have the strongside linebacker over there too.

So let's go to the tape.

Let's accept as given for the moment that I don't know diddly about playing linebacker at the NFL level.  So if I say someone's technique is off for they're not correctly playing leverage, maybe we don't take that too seriously.

But some guys who DO know how to play NFL linebacker are the guys who ... play NFL linebacker.  Which means if we want to get a good sense of how one guy is playing the position, all we have to do is look at the two guys next to him and then compare.  Let's do that now.

Watch three things on this play:

1. When the TE motions to the right side, Omar Gaither moves JP inside and becomes the outside force. 
2. Omar gets swallowed up.
3. Look at the other two linebackers.  Both get blocked by guards who come through free.  Neither does a great job defeating that block.  But see which guy eventually gets off the block (and makes the tackle downfield) and see which guy would still be moving backwards a week later if the whistle hadn't blown.

Here's one on a passing play.  Unfortunately, because I cut it down to a square rather than widescreen, you can't really compare the coverage of Gaither and Gocong as well as you could with the full view.  You can still watch Gocong, however.  Top of the screen.

Here's another running play.  We have the end zone angle on this one.  Notice the way the counter action (Jacobs fakes going to his right before he goes left and the line blocks down and pulls) gets all three linebackers flowing the wrong way.  Unfortunately, it's the SAM who has to be the one making this play and once he gets trapped inside, it's all over:

Here's another one for compare and contrast.  Watch how differently Bradley and Gocong play this one.  Bradley attacks the line and engages at the point of attack.  Gocong stands around trying to read the play and ends up getting blocked by the tight end five yards off the line.  

Here's another shot of Gocong in coverage.  It's play action, which he has trouble reading, then when he sees it he finally does attack the line.  But by the time he gets there, it's clearly a passing play, so he turns around and hightails it backwards to try to cover the fullback.

First problem -- he doesn't do it very well.  And that's not exactly Brian Westbrook running that route.  Second problem, why doesn't he just crunch Hedgecock at the line?  He's got a free shot at him, why play like a cornerback?

Third -- and biggest -- problem.  Look at how the Giants come out with TE right, then motion him to the left.  After the play action, Eli rolls right and is looking at his fullback the entire time.  What does that probably tell us?  The Giants wanted it to be Gocong -- rather than Gaither -- as the guy covering that fullback because they thought they could take advantage of him.  That's why they came out strong right and motioned the tight end.

Here's another running play.  Watch how Gocong overpursues and gets out of his gap, leaving a huge cutback opportunity.

End zone angle of the same play (yes, that would have been a big gap anyway because Trent Cole was so far upfield.  I'm not saying every play here is 100% Gocong's fault, just that there's a common theme.)

Here's another one on a screen pass.  I'm not even criticizing anything about the screen coverage, but at the very beginning of the play, watch how much quicker Bradley is to recognize pass and drop into coverage.  Gocong is still moving forward while Bradley is racing off the screen.

Here's a bootleg.  Wait for the end zone angle and then watch how Gocong is -- literally -- running around in circles while everyone is playing around him.  If that had been Gaither, he would have gone and crunched the QB.

Here's the last one.  It's a "WR" screen in the sense that Ward is lined up at WR.  Even thought Ward crosses directly behind the guy that Gocong is covering, he still doesn't see him, overplays his coverage outside, and takes himself completely out of position to play the screen.

The game's about to start, so I'll leave it at that.  But I think the issue here is pretty clear. 

And remember, these were only the first half.