New York Giants Defense vs Arizona: Six-Pack of Notable PFF Grades
By Adam Ganeles
Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Giants defense played strong enough to win most weeks, but against a stiff, rusty backup quarterback, the D failed to seize control of the proceedings. They held Drew Stanton to 14/29 completions and sacked him four times, but the Giants front allowed Andre Ellington to churn out six yards per carry and couldn’t get off the field on 3rd and long. While Stanton possesses questionable arm strength at best, the game turning interception from the Giants beefed up secondary just never came. Here’s how Pro Football Focus graded out the New York Giants defenders in week two.
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Cullen Jenkins, DT | 1.7 pass rush rating | Jenkins’ stat line doesn’t look glamorous — one QB hit — but he got interior push all game long (40 snaps), opening up rush lanes for the defensive ends to finish his dirty work. That’s back to back strong weeks from the 33-year old on his quest to replace Linval Joseph in 2014.
Johnathan Hankins, DT | 1.4 run defense rating | “Big Hank” held up his end of the bargain on the line of scrimmage. In addition to his large presence against the run, Hankins displayed impressive finishing burst on a sack of Stanton. His mobility is much improved from his rookie season, and that speaks volumes because even in 2013 Hankins was surprisingly nimble chasing plays down the line.
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE | 2.0 run defense rating | Despite recording a pair of sacks, JPP’s pass rush grade was in the negative, and it was his performance against the run drew significant merit. Honestly, it’s hard to figure with the number of times Ellington broke contain to the outside…
Robert Ayers, DE | 2.2 overall grade | Another impactful performance by Ayers in limited snap count. In 26 plays he recorded two sacks (1.3 pass rush) and three stops (0.8 run defense). If Damontre Moore isn’t going to see the field, there’s no reason Ayers isn’t out there for a heavy workload. Reward your performers.
Prince Amukamara, CB | -1.6 pass coverage rating | Amukamara was targeted three times and allowed two completions for 28 yards. What exactly is the basis for this negative grade…? His bogus illegal contact penalty on 3rd and 10? Prince notched team-highs in solo tackles with eight (not after receptions) and stops with four. He’s on the precipice of developing into an elite CB in this league.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB | 2.4 pass coverage rating | DRC allowed only two of the seven targets in his direction to be completed, for a total of 16 yards and ONE YAC. It should be noted that Rodgers-Cromartie committed two illegal contact penalties and his grade doesn’t look any worse for wear. Subjectivity will always play a role when evaluating player performance on a given Sunday.
In other news, Jon Beason has been ruled out indefinitely following an aggravation to his training camp foot injury. With Devon Kennard nursing a hamstring, who would you like to see get an uptick in defensive reps at the linebacker spot for the New York Giants?