Is our lack of pass rush the only reason?

Game situation makes up for a lot of it-- even when they've lost, the Giants have had leads late in games, which means that opponents have been passing a lot.

Football Outsiders' pass defense stat adjusts for things like this (as well as opponent strength), and has the Giants in the middle of the pack. That feels more right to me.
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should be "makes up a lot of it," not "makes up for a lot of it." Mixing my idioms.

In comment 12533260 Enoch said:

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Game situation makes up for a lot of it-- even when they've lost, the Giants have had leads late in games, which means that opponents have been passing a lot. Football Outsiders' pass defense stat adjusts for things like this (as well as opponent strength), and has the Giants in the middle of the pack. That feels more right to me. Link - ( New Window )

FO starts aren't gospel either (though I like them and think they're a good for perspective) but the NFL gross yardage stats are never an accurate measure.

to have completions late in games to help run out the clock. However, I am concerned mostly by the TEs running free through zones and the QB having all day to find him. Safety play recognition has to get better too. I like Collins a lot, but he is currently a little slow in identifying the ball and who he must cover. Lastly, good pass rush can cover up flaws in coverage and we know we currently don't have one. If we can't get anything out of Moore, Ayers and OO, we can bank on giving up lots of passing yards. We may have to get used to that this year, unless, somehow Spags can miraculously come up with a pass rush.

The other is leaving our poor LBs on guys like Witten. I think the first 2 games were not fair to Unga but we had to make due. I would like to wee where we stand over the last 2 weeks which is more indicative of where we are going than the first 2 games.

1) No Pass Rush - 5 sacks in 4 games is a telling stat and they have to blitz at least early in the game before the Whitlock Monster comes in.
2) They're committed to and effectively stopping the run
3) They don't have amazing cover LB's to lock down the TE

On 3) Dahl is seeing the field more, he may factor in to that as in the earlier part of the season he wasn't playing D. re: 1) Hard to see this changing this year. Moore is what he is - the best hope is OO emerging as a pass rush threat to complement Kennard.

The real question will be what will the Giants be able to develop or augment the team with when they are playing top end QB's. If the giants can win a few games here, the team has to seriously consider bolstering the pass rush. , but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Rating based on sacks or actual qb pressure bc I don't think the statement "no pass rush " is accurate , there's has been plenty

Just not getting to the qb

Having a rookie safety doesn't help either. He is still learning.

I think we have also allowed teams
Simms11 : 8:05 pm : link : reply
to have completions late in games to help run out the clock.

numbers should go down.

Right now, the very good run defense is forcing teams to be one dimensional.

Pass coverage may be pretty loose but if the DBs keep the game in front of them and they run to the ball when it's in the air, they can remain pretty competitive.

IMO, I think the scheme and coaching that has kept the Giants D from allowing 35+points per game. Giants D is doing all it can, and they should be 4-0. 2-2 is the best I could have envisioned. I give the D props. The offense has to be more prolific. Nice to see Harris and Randle play a bigger part. Need to keep them involved along with Vereen and keep Jennings fed, and hopefully Beckham can break loos from the attention he has been getting and make some big plays.

We have had a pass rush, but not the sacks. Very few QBs have broken contain and there has been pressure up the middle. Other than Romo in the first game, I don't think you can say that QBs have been comfortable vs, the Giants.

Just like Bill Parcells said - You are what your record says you are.

Aside from that it's very much how many times you take the ball from your opponent and how much you have it taken away (and of course WHAT YOU DO WITH IT).

Giants are in the top five (only weak sister in the group are the Jets) ...

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/givetake

are very good vs the run....plus have played some very good passing teams so far.

I;ll take the very run run defense and let the coaches figure out a way to get to the qb.

The more likely that will lose it to you (if you have a hard hitting defense).

Sacks are a good thing, but QB harassment is very close.

In comment 12533364 Doomster said:

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I think we have also allowed teams Simms11 : 8:05 pm : link : reply to have completions late in games to help run out the clock.

It's called prevent defense Doomster. It provides a little context as to why our pass defense looks atrocious in the rankings.

that prevents nothing.....but to say they allow completions to run out the clock is ridiculous....

The middle of this defense is wide open....

We lose to two passing qb's....we beat an average qb and a rookie qb.....Teams with receivers and a qb, I don't think we can stop, especially with no pass rush....if not for turnovers/penalties in the fourth quarter, this team could be 0-4....of course, the defense did create those turnovers, too....

This is a different system.....each week, the guys should become more familiar with it, and get better...problems arise when guys go down, and you have to insert different players, and that can cause problems...Selvie, Kennard, Hosley, and McBride did not practice.....

Collins looked lost out there the first two games, but is definitely getting better....DRC is going to be a problem all season(staying on the field), from the looks of it.....Thomas and Casillas have to pick up the slack if Kennard is out....

Kap likes to use his legs to get time, then set and fire at open receivers......he is not a qb that relies on timing patterns.....don't have to sack him, just pressure him into bad decisions....just have to hope that Moore and OO get more confidence the more they play...right now they are just using athletic ability, and have not developed moves that come with experience...

But the middle of that defense, definitely has to tighten up...and the offense has to help, by not going to sleep, after they have a lead...

In comment 12533754 Doomster said:

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that prevents nothing.....but to say they allow completions to run out the clock is ridiculous.... The middle of this defense is wide open.... We lose to two passing qb's....we beat an average qb and a rookie qb.....Teams with receivers and a qb, I don't think we can stop, especially with no pass rush....if not for turnovers/penalties in the fourth quarter, this team could be 0-4....of course, the defense did create those turnovers, too.... This is a different system.....each week, the guys should become more familiar with it, and get better...problems arise when guys go down, and you have to insert different players, and that can cause problems...Selvie, Kennard, Hosley, and McBride did not practice..... Collins looked lost out there the first two games, but is definitely getting better....DRC is going to be a problem all season(staying on the field), from the looks of it.....Thomas and Casillas have to pick up the slack if Kennard is out.... Kap likes to use his legs to get time, then set and fire at open receivers......he is not a qb that relies on timing patterns.....don't have to sack him, just pressure him into bad decisions....just have to hope that Moore and OO get more confidence the more they play...right now they are just using athletic ability, and have not developed moves that come with experience... But the middle of that defense, definitely has to tighten up...and the offense has to help, by not going to sleep, after they have a lead...

Why is that ridiculous? That's what you see when we have the lead in the 4th, a prevent defense. They are trading short completions and allowing the other team to use up clock. Unfortunately, it hasn't always worked out with the time management issues we had in the first two games. I agree coverage has not always been there and i've said that on numerous occasions, but the Giants have given up yards late due to them playing a prevent, as well.

double digit leads in the second halves of each game. If people doesn't think a team playing from behind is going to be predominantly throwing and that will skew stats, I don't know what to say.

Funny to start a thread about the defense, lamenting about their passing stats and to not say a peep or acknowledge that they are #1 vs. the run.

Since they are passing more, there's more passing yardage. We're 20th in Opponent Yards per Pass Attempt.
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The run defense probably looks better on the stat sheet than it really is (aside from the one garbage-time run by Chris Thompson), and the pass defense looks worse. No question the run defense has been good, but the big leads have prevented opponents from wearing the Giants down on the ground.

I think the coverage has been decent overall. There's plenty of room for improvement as the players master their responsibilities, especially in zone. Hand-off of receivers still looks pretty ragged, and I don't think most of it can be attributed to conceding the middle of the field.

has played above expectations this year. they have done a tremendous job against the run including against two of the better running offenses. they are not only #1 against the run, but by over 10 yards per game over the second best time. they are also #5 in creating turnovers. they have given up chunks of yardage in nickel/dime situations in the 4th quarter and that has been their one weakness, and yes, pass rushing is part of that (or having to blitz to compensate for a lack of pass rushers in the front 4 creating favourable matchups for opponents).