Big Blue View mailbag: Too much Malik, defensive woes, more

Mike Martin asks: I'm a suffering Giants fan from New Zealand. Let me first relay my thanks to you for the content you put out. I read the site daily and your s are appreciated.

I have never written in before but like an earthquake on the west coast the New York Giants rumblings are being felt way down here and felt the need to.

My question is this... After seeing the offense improve in week two, and much has been written of Daniel building rapport with Malik Nabers, do you think we run the risk of being too one-dimensional?

I can understand any offense is better than week one no offence...I get that... But isn't having a weapon also good to use as a decoy... What did Malik have... Like 18 receptions? Is there an argument he dropped the fourth down late because he was tired having been targeted so much?

I bring this up because I can't understand the use or lack of Jalin Hyatt in the offence... We traded up to get this kid... And throwing to tight ends... Theo Johnson.

I thought the oline was improved and Daniel showed better pocket presence so the pass is on. I love Malik Nabers and love what he brings to the offense...I just don't want our game plan to evolve into Daniel just find Malik. Thoughts?

Ed says: Mike, thanks for the support. Always cool to hear from Giants fans from a different part of the world.

Now, let's get to your question. So, think of this. What if the Giants had success throwing to Malik Nabers early in the game vs. Washington, then stopped doing it so they would have "balance" and spread the ball around? Giants fans would all be screaming about what an idiot Brian Daboll is for not throwing to Nabers more.

Instead, because Hyatt and tight end Theo Johnson never got the ball they are now up in arms that Nabers is being targeted too much. That 18 targets is not a sustainable way to run an offense. That other guys have to get involved.

Daboll knows that. When something is working, like throwing the ball to Nabers was working, why stop? If the other team can't stop it, why stop yourself? Just keep doing until they take it away.

Obviously, Nabers is not going to get 18 targets every week.

Here are some Odell Beckham target stats:

In 2014 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles , he was targeted 21 times. He had 12 catches for 185 yards. In 2016, Beckham was targeted 20 times in a game vs. the Eagles. He had 11 catches for 150 yards. As a Giant, Beckham was also targeted 18 times once, 17 times once, 16 times once, and 15 times on four occasions. Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings has been targeted 16 times on three occasions and 15 times twice.

Ja'Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals was targeted 19 times last season in a game against the Arizona Cardinals . He had 15 catches for 192 yards and three scores.

If the other team isn't going to make the Giants throw the ball somewhere else, why would they stop giving it to Nabers?

John Foti asks: The Giants are 0-2. As you have noted, some players have not performed well. As you have also noted, there have been some head-scratching personnel moves and play calling.

Let's start with Graham Gano. My biggest issue is that he was allowed to be a "defender" on the kickoff when he was not 100% and did not have a backup. You can make an argument that Gano should have not been used on the kickoff.

In the first game, Nabers was not targeted enough, but 18 targets in game two out of 28 pass attempts? One of the talking points after drafting Nabers was that he would open things up for the other receivers and he did draw double coverage on the deep routes but I haven't seen any plays designed to take advantage of the attention that the opposing defense is giving Nabers.

So my question is this, who is more to blame at this point? The coaches or the players?

Ed says: John, I think you know the answer. There is plenty of blame to go around. Brian Daboll (and probably Joe Schoen) for the game day roster decisions. If you want to say the Giants weren't prepared to play Week 1, that's on Daboll. The way things are going on defense, I think defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has a lot to prove.

That said, coaches don't drop passes. Coaches don't fumble. Coaches don't miss tackles. Coaches don't fail to execute their assignments. Coaches don't miss blocks. Coaches don't miss open receivers.

Everybody gets a piece of the blame.

Roger Sager asks: Several years ago, when Sandro Platzgummer was on the practice squad, it was mentioned that he was ineligible for promotion to the 53 man roster because he was an international player designee. I have seen to mention of Jude McAtamney being ineligible for promotion. Have the rules been changed?

Ed says: Roger, yes, the rule has been changed. Beginning this season International Pathway Program players on practice squads with an exemption can be elevated to the active game day roster three times during a season. They cannot be signed to a 53-man roster as long as they are on the exemption, but they can appear in three games.

Doug Mollin asks: Everything I heard from Bowen in the offseason gave the impression he was a pro. Not a blowhard, not someone reinventing football, just a pro who will try and get the best out of the players he has.

Do you agree that this defense will look a lot better as the season plays on?

Just looking at the names, there seems to be enough talent to at least be an average defense:

Dex, Thibs, Burns, Okereke, McFadden, Banks, Nubin, Phillips, Pinnock. That's 9 out of 11 guys that seem to be solid to good.

This is from an SI breakdown of Bowen's defense when he was signed by the Giants. His run defense was a strength:

"The rush defense has always been solid in Tennessee under Bowen. What you like about their run defense the most is how committed the players are to their run fits. It is much more difficult for backs to find creases and cutback lanes if every player is filling the gap they are supposed to fill.

"The defensive linemen make themselves big and force the offensive linemen to stay home, which allows the linebackers to attack their gaps first and run to the ball before the running back can get a burst through the line of scrimmage.

"It may seem simple or easy, but there are a lot of teams that struggle with run fits; the Giants have struggled with consistency in their run fits over the past few years. It has resulted in inconsistency in stopping the run, especially in critical situations.

Seems to play into exactly what Okereke himself said, "we have to shore up our run fits and have more discipline doing our job"

Do we finish with a top 15 defense?

Ed says: Doug, I don't know the answer to whether or not the Giants finish with a top 15 defense. I do know that historically teams with new defensive coordinators face a learning curve and it takes some time to get fully up to speed.

There was some hope that would be mitigated by the fact that Bowen's defense in some respects is simpler and more straight forward than Wink Martindale's was. It still involves differences in gap responsibilities and expectations for how various plays will be defended.

What we're seeing right now, as multiple players have admitted, is guys trying to cover for each other's mistakes by going beyond their responsibilities on some plays. That is creating bigger mistakes.

This defense will be good if Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Brian Burns are dominant. If Deonte Banks can be good enough covering the best receiver on the other team. If Dru Phillips and Tyler Nubin can handle major roles.

The jury is out.

Brennan Kilpatrick asks: So far in 2024, the league is off to it's slowest start in terms of passing touchdowns through 2 weeks in the past 10 years:

It's certainly possible those numbers increase in the coming weeks, but it's hard not to notice the drop off in passing production league-wide. If you look at the end of season TD totals league-wide, 2022 dropped significantly versus 2021 even though it started off with similar numbers through 2 weeks:

My question is two-fold:

2) Long term impact: Do you think it's possible this is the start of a shift in the league from being a pass first/heavy league, back to a more old school ground and pound philosophy? Or do you think most teams will continue to view the league as a 'passing league' and this drop off in passing statistics from the past few years ends up an outlier?

Ed says: Brennan, obviously this has been a developing trend in the NFL for a few years now. There are many reasons.

Defenses have adapted to the proliferation of three- and four-wide receiver sets by getting smaller and faster. Many teams now play a high volume of 4-2-5 sets. These sets, which the Giants use a lot, have two real defensive linemen, two edge defenders as either standup or hand in the ground ends, two linebackers (one of whom is often a smaller player), and five defensive backs.

Teams are playing a lot of "two-high" shell coverages and forcing teams to go on long, sustained drives. That, of course, increases the possibility of mistakes by an offense.

Defenses have also gotten better and better at taking away passing lanes in the red zone, where the field is compressed. To me, one of the big reasons for that is because they have become smaller and faster. You have better defensive athletes now covering a tight red zone space. Offensive execution has to near perfect many times to complete passes into the end zone.

Yes, I think we will see — and have already begun to see — teams run the ball more. This is the great chess match of NFL football. Offenses forced defenses to adapt. Now that they have, the next move is up to offensive coordinators.

Read more about this here .

Paul Laveault asks: Hi Ed, I saw this morning that 7 all time Giants have been submitted to the Hall of Fame. Maybe I'm showing my age but how can everybody continue to over look Jim Katcavage. He is not even in our Ring Of Honor, it's a shame. Although quarterback sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982, Katcavage is unofficially credited with a career total of 91+1⁄2 sacks, placing him fourth on the New York Giants' unofficial list. After retiring from playing, Katcavage served as defensive line coach for the Giants from 1969 to 1973. He is one of our greatest all time Giants and deserves recognition. What's your thoughts on this, and is there another player that you feel is being overlooked.

Ed says: Paul, I'm not going to disagree with you. I don't remember Katcavage — I was a little kid when he played. But, he did play 13 years for the team and earn All-Pro honors three times. As for overlooked players, I don't have one in particular. You could probably go through the recently-named Top 100 players in franchise history and make arguments for several.

Mike Winterode asks: The Giants like most teams usually deploy just 2 down linemen. Doesn't this make it that much easier for defenses to be gashed on the ground? If the Giants used a 3rd down lineman more often, even though the talent behind Dex is lacking, would this help the run defense?

Ed says: Mike, you are right that the Giants don't use three true defensive linemen a lot. I went through the personnel groupings at NFL GSIS and as far as a I can tell (I admittedly might not be perfect in this calculation) the Giants have been in a base 3-4 defense on only 21 of those snaps. That's just 16.5%.

That is obviously not a lot. It is also not unusual the way teams play defense now, defending the pass first with a higher volume smaller, quicker, more athletic players on the field.

Technically, the Giants are a base 3-4 team. Like a lot of teams in today's NFL, though, a 4-2-5 set with two true defensive linemen, two edge defenders functioning as defensive ends, two off-ball linebackers and five defensive backs is something we see a lot of.

It really comes down to players doing what they are supposed to do. They have to tackle better. We have all seen a few plays where the Giants missed opportunities to make tackles. Believe it or not, though, Pro Football Focus ranks the Giants 10th in the league in tackling.

The bigger problem is players not sticking to their responsibilities. Brian Daboll has talked about that this week. Bobby Okereke, Micah McFadden, and Dexter Lawrence have talked about it. Shane Bowen has talked about it. Players have to trust each other. When they start trying to cover for mistakes by others, things get worse. Play your gap. Do your job. Don't fall down on your job by also trying to do someone else's.

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