New York Giants: Can Pass Rush Fix It All?
The New York Giants are probably going to get after the passer this season with the best of them, with or without the help of Jason Pierre-Paul. Robert Ayers, Damontre Moore and rookie Owamagbe Odighizuwa are very good players at the defensive end position.
Kerry Wynn and George Selvie are also players who could make a big impact as well and that’s not even accounting for the pass rush from Jonathan Hankins from the defensive tackle position. The Giants have a lot of talent in the pass rush department and these pass rushers will have to deliver.
The Giants defense has it’s issues behind the offensive line. The free safety position is about the biggest mystery in the world of Big Blue football. The strong safety job is locked up by Landon Collins but he is still a rookie. The Giants secondary as a whole could be very suspect, with Prince Amukamara being the lone sure-thing-star in the group.
At the linebacker position the only thing the Giants know for a fact is that they are excited about the play of second year linebacker Devon Kennard. They may have found a bona fide star in the USC product. Other than that the linebacker position isn’t a given.
Jon Beason is a dependable linebacker when he is healthy but he is really injury prone. Jameel McClain is a sure tackler but he struggles to fight off blocks and does better in the 3-4 defense with somebody next to him to do the dirty work. J.T. Thomas is expected to be a starter but that isn’t a given.
The point is that the only thing we really know for certain about this defense is that the pass rush is going to have to make up for an awful lot. The Giants were fourth last season in quarterback sacks with 47. The defense was still one of the worst in the league and the team went 6-10.
The Giants pass rush won’t stop because of the Pierre-Paul situation. That being said it isn’t something that is going to help this team. The Giants pass rush needs to be lights out for the Giants to have any chance to be successful but the Giants need overall defensive performance.
Next: New York Giants: Evaluating The Depth Chart