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The New York Giants have surrendered 289 points in 10 games this season, the most in the NFL. There are a ton of reasons and theories behind the huge step back they’ve taken in Year 2 under defensive coordinator James Bettcher.
Many say the scheme is at fault. Others point to the dearth of talent while some blame the organization for stocking the roster with too many rookies and inexperienced players.
No matter which of those are the culprit — and all three are salient points — there isn’t much the team can do about it 10 weeks into the season. To install a new scheme would take as many weeks as they have left in the season.
Adding players isn’t a real option mid-season (although they’ve been doing that where they can) and as for gaining experience, we all know there’s only one way to accomplish that — by playing the rookies.
There have been some interesting nuances this season and a few moves that had fans and pundits questioning the team’s direction.
Defensive snaps: BJ Hill clearly the odd man out on the DL. He has played 28% and 25% of the snaps since the Williams trade. Loading up on DL in a 3-4 that mostly plays 2 DL was always a head-scratching move. Ximines' playing time has been reduced greatly. Bucannon a non-factor pic.twitter.com/Z2UJkrnvaT
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) November 11, 2019
Last year as a rookie, B.J. Hill was a budding star, playing in all 16 games (starting 12), racking up 5.5 sacks, eight QB hits, six tackles for a loss and two passes defensed.
This year, Hill has been invisible, especially on the stat sheet. Through 10 games, he has no sacks, no QB hits and no tackles for a loss.
When the Giants traded for Leonard Williams two weeks ago, we suggested that Williams was not going to be added to the defensive line rotation along with Hill and the others, but rather as a replacement for Hill. So far we are right about that. Hill’s snaps are way down since the trade.
Duggan also points out the decreasing usage of the Giants’ prized third-round pick, linebacker Oshane Ximines, and the fact that they continue to play packages that favor speed over bulk.
Deone Buccanon was picked up because he is a Bettcher disciple from their days in Arizona, but he hasn’t made any type of impact. He was released by Tampa Bay for a reason and now we know why. He doesn’t appear to be the same player he was a few seasons ago.
The scheme might be too complicated for some of the young players. Most defenders are trained to attack. The Giants haven’t shown much aggression on defense. Instead, they are usually on their heels, conceding way too much yardage underneath in fear of surrendering big plays, which they’ve ended up doing anyway. More than any team in the league in fact.
No doubt, there will be more changes to this defense in the offseason. A bona fide pass rusher would go a long way, as would a solid addition at each level of this defense. Granted, doesn’t every team need that?
A return to the “get after it” style would benefit this group rather than having a slew of young players standing around wondering what their assignments are.
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