Giants coach Tom Coughlin says he believes his defensive linemen, specifically his pass rushers, are “pretty resilient.’’ He could have said “pretty silent’’ and it would have been more apropos.
There’s no doubt Coughlin knows the meaning of the word — and he’s unquestionably taking the high road here — but there’s no semblance of “resilient’’ when it comes to the defensive ends assembled on one of the NFL’s two winless teams.
Based on what anyone has seen this season from Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka, has anyone noticed that trio living up to the definition of “resilient’’ by being “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions’’ or “able to recover readily from a misfortune’’ in anything they have done this sorry season?
Last week, Coughlin said he and the coaching staff would take a long, hard look at what was ailing the pass rush during the weekend break. It does not sound as if anyone came up with any startling revelations.
“I see obviously we don’t have many numbers,’’ Coughlin said. “We’re not getting to the quarterback. There are some pressures that don’t go without a stat next to them. I think what has to happen, for us, is we’ve got to do a better job in these one-on-one situations and also be alert there’s always a chipper around, particularly on the one side. But winning that one-on-one operation and, quite frankly, some of the max protections that we’re facing. Some of our pressure packages we’re not getting home with the kind of speed and timing that we need, so it’s a combination of things.’’
To say the Giants “don’t have many numbers’’ to show evidence of a pass rush is akin to saying Eli Manning has experienced some problems throwing the ball to the correct team. As a team, the Giants have five sacks, the fewest in the league. Kiwanuka has 1 1/2, linebacker Spencer Paysinger and Pierre-Paul have one apiece and Tuck, Linval Joseph and Cullen Jenkins all have been credited with a half-sack.
“I think one thing we need to do is get a better pass rush, we also need to get opportunities to pass rush’’ Tuck said. “I’ll be the first one to tell you that’s normally a strong point for us that hasn’t been that way this year.
“We’re not winning enough, regardless of the quarterback getting the ball out in less than 2.5 seconds, which normally happens, or we just didn’t have a good rush or the call doesn’t bode well for us being in a pass-rush situation, it’s a combination of all of that.
“I’ll be the first one to say it starts with me, it starts with what I do individually, and I feel every player on that D-line feels the same way. There is some things we still need to work on from a defensive standpoint to get us in situations where we’re not taking two steps and looking for the ball to be out and trying to bat passes down, which I’ve seen a lot from me. I think it’s more unconsciousness of being in those situations and not really getting opportunities to rush.’’