NEW ORLEANS — The pressure will now be turned up on Eli Manning to continue to prove he’s “elite.” The heat will get turned up soon on Tom Coughlin to once again find a way to save his job.
But if this Giants’ collapse, now seemingly in full swing, becomes the “historical” disaster that Justin Tuck warned it could, don’t blame the quarterback and don’t blame the coach. This franchise used to be known for a strong defense and a devastating pass rush.
Now both have all but disappeared.
PHOTOS: SAINTS MAKE IT LOOK BIG EASY VS. GIANTS
They were absolutely shredded Monday night by the New Orleans Saints in a 49-24 rout that was nearly “historical” and could’ve been much worse. Drew Brees, on his way to 363 yards, had so much time in the pocket he could’ve set up a lawn chair and thrown passes with a drink in his hands. He was never short of open receivers exploiting the gaps in the gap-filled Giants’ secondary.
By halftime, Brees had already thrown for 265 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints had 354 yards of offense by then, on their way to what Antrel Rolle said was an “unacceptable” total of 577.
It wasn’t just unacceptable, it was one of the worst defensive performances in franchise history — the second-most yards they’ve ever allowed in a game, the most being the 682 piled up by the Bears on Nov. 14, 1943, in a 56-7 romp.
Worse, the Giants didn’t seem to have any idea as to how or why it happened, which is another part of this increasingly disturbing defensive trend.
“We’ve got to look at the film and take a serious look at how they were able to basically do whatever they wanted,” said defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. “We didn’t play fast enough. We didn’t play hard enough.”
“Obviously we had a tough time stopping them,” added Coughlin. “They’re good. They’re talented. They did a good job of spreading the ball out. Their quarterback does a good job of getting the ball out of his hands fast.
“We just weren’t able to cover them.”
They haven’t been able to consistently cover anyone all season, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. The surprise has been the strange and sudden disappearance of a pass rush that was once among the most feared in the league. They entered the weekend with an NFL-leading 31 sacks and were stuck on that number after getting zero against Brees. They were credited with six quarterback hits, but even that seemed like a stretch considering the defense barely bothered the Saints quarterback at all.
“We were close a couple of times, but we weren’t effective enough in disrupting what they wanted to do,” said defensive tackle Chris Canty. “They kind of did what they wanted to do. We didn’t put enough consistent pressure to make them uncomfortable.”
That wouldn’t be so alarming if it wasn’t a trend. Since their five-sack performance in a win over the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 30, they’ve had just five sacks and 14 quarterback hits in the last four games. Perry Fewell, the Giants’ defensive coordinator, was asked last week where his pass rush has gone, and he said, “I can't put my finger on” the answer.
He better do it soon, though, because if Brees can slice through his defense like he did on Monday night, what is Aaron Rodgers going do when the undefeated Green Bay Packers come to the Meadowlands on Sunday afternoon? The Packers are better and more explosive. Rodgers is more accurate and has more weapons.
If Rodgers gets the kind of time to sit back in the pocket that Brees had on Monday night, the reeling Giants (6-5) will have absolutely no chance to stop their three-game losing streak. And then they’ll have to travel to Dallas to face Tony Romo, another elusive quarterback, with their season on the line.
There are plenty of reasons for this unfathomable defensive meltdown. Tuck, thanks to injuries, is a shell of his old self and only has two sacks. Osi Umenyiora has slowed down considerably and now has an ankle injury that ended his game in the first quarter on Monday night. Jason Pierre-Paul (two sacks in the last four games) looks, as Fewell seemed to fear a few weeks ago, as if he’s overworked and slowing down.
