Each week, the first drill put in motion by the Giants coaching staff is designed to hammer home a familiar lesson.
“Take care of the ball,” Tom Coughlin said.
Each week, ball carriers are instructed to hold the ball high and tight, to secure the football in traffic, to treat it as a precious commodity not to be squandered. Like a drumbeat, the Giants with numbing regularity are reminded of the fate of those teams that do not heed this warning.
“Turnovers lose football games,” Coughlin said. “Obviously, against this team that is a critical factor.”
When it comes to tomorrow’s game, pitting the Giants and Lions in a battle of 6-3 teams with playoff aspirations, turnovers could be the determining factor. When it comes to takeaways, no team does it better or more often than the Lions. They lead the league with 28, with 15 interceptions and an NFL-high 13-fumble recoveries. Incredibly, 10 Lions have at least one interception, with cornerback Kevin Smith leading the way with three. Smith doesn’t even start.
The Lions also lead the league in forced fumbles with 29 and in points scored off turnovers with 97. Ten different players have forced at least one fumble and eight have recovered at least one fumble. Not surprisingly, much of the mayhem has been triggered by a strong pass rush. The Lions have 26 sacks, led by Dewayne White with 51/2, Shaun Rogers with 4½ and Jared DeVries with four. White, however, is recovering from a triceps injury and not expected to play.
This havoc is indicative of a speed defense, which is unquestionably what the Lions are. In their six victories, the Lions have 14 of their 15 interceptions.
“Well, we have to think about it but you can’t take away from your aggressiveness,” said Eli Manning, who has thrown at least one interception in eight of the Giants’ nine games this season. “You still want to get the ball down the field, you still want to throw it and obviously we are going to try to run the ball and do our play-action. They do make plays on defense and they have a good scheme and they disguise their coverages, so you have to have it in the back of your mind but it shouldn’t be the only thing you are worrying about.”
Creating turnovers greatly enhances the likelihood of success but it does not guarantee it. The Lions forced four turnovers last week in Arizona yet lost 31-21. The main culprit? You guessed it, turnovers. The Lions lost three fumbles and Jon Kitna was intercepted twice.
“They have a high amount of turnovers on their offensive side of the ball, too,” Jeremy Shockey said. “We do what we do every week; we protect the ball. Turnovers are our enemy, or anybody’s enemy, to say the least in this league. We are going to try to do a great job just making plays. Obviously we are always concerned about turning the ball over. If you have the ball in your hands, you are not worried about stripping it or fumbling or throwing an interception.”
The Giants operate a high-risk, high-reward attack and rarely can be accused of pulling in the reins to avoid mishaps. Manning has been intercepted 11 times, but the Giants have lost just five fumbles: Three by Manning and one each by Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw (on a kickoff return).
“I don’t think it impacts what you are going to do in terms of your philosophy or your scheme, but I think it is something that you certainly talk about,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. “Make sure, even though we have always talked about taking care of the ball, and fighting for as much yardage as you can, but realizing the ceiling of the play and when you are not going to get any more, get down, do what you have to do. It is certainly something that is accentuated even more this week because of their ability to get the ball out.”