New York Giants: The Benefit Of Aggressive Defense
Now that the New York Giants have been reacquainted with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo they will reap the rewards of his aggressive style of defense. The Giants defensive coordinator is always in attack mode and the Giants defense will have a tenacious pass rush.
The most entertaining basketball teams move up and down the court with a frantic pace and cause turnovers with aggressive in your face defense. That is kind of how the Giants football team is built. The offense will move up and down the field and put up a lot of points on the scoreboard. The defense will attack to create extra opportunities for that high powered offense.
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For the Giants it isn’t about completely stopping the opponent on defense. Surely, Steve Spagnuolo wouldn’t mind if they did but that isn’t realistic. The Giants vision on defense is to make big plays. Sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles will be the defensive legacy of the 2015 defense.
It all starts with getting after the quarterback. Rushing the passer makes the passer less accurate and less effective which leads to him making boneheaded turnovers. Sacking the passer kills drives. Whether or not the pass rush gets there, just making the opponent’s quarterback wildly uncomfortable creates more chances for Eli Manning to make the opponent’s defense uncomfortable.
Spagnuolo will show the opponent just about any look in the world. With his base 4-3 defense he can do some pretty creative things. While Spagnuolo isn’t reckless he knows when to send the extra blitzers. This is a defensive coordinator who understands that taking risks on the defensive side of the football gives the team a chance for bigger rewards.
Sep 21, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (90) pressures Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
He won’t just tell his defensive linemen to pin their ears back and rush the quarterback. He’ll have them do it strategically. With well timed and creative stunts, he will create favorable situations for his best pass rushers.
Spagnuolo has a perfect grip on what defensive football is all about; it is read and react, it is being the hammer and not the nail. He is a payer’s coach, he gets how they work and they get how he works.
With the talents of players like Jason Pierre-Paul, Damontre Moore, Robert Ayers, George Selvie and Owamagbe Odighizuwa competing for snaps at the two defensive end positions the Giants have no shortage of pass rushers. Despite questions surrounding the free safety position the secondary is a strength for this team.
With great pass rush the Giants could lead the NFL is takeaways. This will help an offense that doesn’t need much help dominate on a weekly basis.