Watch the middle of the field. That’s the area the Giants were able to exploit last year against the Panthers and, unless there have been major adjustments, an area the Giants want to attack again Sunday.
“The type of defense they play, they give it up a lot, unless they make some changes we’re going to try to take advantage of that area of the field and hopefully make some more plays,’’ receiver Rueben Randle told The Post. “The ’backers kind of bite on the run a little bit, which leaves the middle of the field open so we’re just trying to take advantage of that middle of the field.’’
Taking advantage is one way to view the impending battle between the potent, albeit mistake-prone, Giants passing attack and quite possibly the most vulnerable defensive backfield in the NFL. It’s not that the Panthers aren’t competent, it’s that they aren’t whole. Not even close.
“Most certainly,’’ Panthers coach Ron Rivera said, when asked if he thinks the Giants will go after his beat-up secondary. “I think that’s a part of who they are.’’
The decimation from last week’s last-second loss in Buffalo was been nearly all-encompassing. Starting free safety Charles Godfrey, a player Tom Coughlin describes as “a real force in the secondary,’’ is out for the season with a torn Achilles. Strong safety Quintin Mikell (ankle), cornerback Josh Thomas (concussion), cornerback Josh Norman (knee) and defensive back D.J. Moore (knee) all came out of the game with serious injuries and none practiced on Wednesday.
“They’ve had some nicks in the secondary of late and we’ll have to see how that plays out in terms of who is available and who isn’t,’’ Coughlin said.
Asked if the Panthers are vulnerable, Hakeem Nicks said: “You would think.’’
Victor Cruz said the best way to see if the Panthers are depleted is: “Just attack ’em. If we get an opportunity to get one-on-one or something we feel we can attack that coverage and that specific person we have to go out there and attack.’’
Eli Manning, who has aired it out this season with his highest two-game total (812 passing yards but also seven interceptions) made mention of the Panthers “very, very talented’’ front seven. The best he could say about the back line is, “Their secondary is a little banged up right now.’’
At full strength, the Panthers a year ago were no match for the Giants passing attack.
“I just remember last year we played those guys and they came in here with backups, and they embarrassed us with backups,” safety Captain Munnerlyn, one of the few left standing, told the Charlotte Observer of last season’s 36-7 rout by the Giants.
The backups included Andre Brown (career-high 113 rushing yards) and receiver Ramses Barden (nine catches for 138 yards), subbing for Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks. Brown is on short-term injured reserve and Barden is no longer on the team as the Giants this time come into Bank of America Stadium with their full complement of skill players surrounding Manning.
Of course, Manning has been a turnover machine, with the most interceptions he has ever thrown in a two-game span. Those momentum-draining plays can suffocate even the most prolific passing spree.
The Giants are an NFL-worst minus-eight in turnover differential and have been so self-inflicting that, asked what needs to be fixed, Coughlin flatly stated: “We can fix a lot by hanging on to the ball. A lot of what we can accomplish for ourselves would be to be able to take better care of the ball.’’
Cruz, off to a flying start, said: “I think this weekend will be the one for us.’’
Randle might assume the role Barden filled so effectively, last season, subbing for Nicks and dominating by running slants over the middle.
“I don’t think we got to attack ‘em any differently,’’ Randle said. “We have to use it to our advantage, we know they’re going to have second- and third-string guys out there so we got to take advantage of that.’’