Here is some simple addition: The Giants invested $99 million in two free agents plus high draft picks in four youngsters to build a premier secondary.
It’s the more complex math — like the geometry involved in identifying correct tackling angles and the calculus formulas for substitution patterns — that is creating headaches as the Giants struggle to get a return on investment from the back end of their defense.
“I feel like we play some of the hardest positions on the field,” safety Tyler Nubin said. “When you make a mistake, it’s a touchdown, or they are moving the ball quite a good amount. We have to be better. We can be better on first and second down so we can put them in disadvantageous positions so that we can go eat.”
Nubin lost leverage and bit on a double move that allowed speedster Rashid Shaheed to get deep for an 87-yard touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.
It was reminiscent of Nubin chasing after the ball on long touchdown runs by the Cowboys (when he filled the wrong gap) and Chargers (when was slow to the edge) earlier this season.
“We’re working through some things, doing our best to teach them these techniques, these fundamentals,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said, “and hopefully we can work out the kinks and become a little bit more consistent and not have those plays that put us in harm’s way.”
When the Giants are in the right position, flags are flying.
Dru Phillips — who leads the NFL with eight passes defended, including two interceptions — offers a give-and-take as the league’s most-penalized defensive player.
Rotational cornerback Deonte Banks — who quickly gets targeted whenever he checks in for starter Cor’Dale Flott on third downs — is among the most-flagged players-per-snap (four on 100 compared to Phillips’ six on 275).
Penalty yardage isn’t even accounted for in the 237.2 passing yards allowed per game (ranked No. 25 in the NFL). If the coverage fails, the vaunted pass rush will be neutralized by quick throws.
“We have to eliminate the penalties — the grabbing,” Bowen said. “Whether we’re slipping or not, we have to do a good job not coming into contact with those guys on those underthrown tipped passes. I think these guys are actually in decent position as we’re going and then just as it keeps getting extended, the panic sets in a little bit. We have to be able to find some comfort when we’re on-body and be able to locate the football and not foul.”
Cornerback Paulson Adebo (three years, $54 million) and safety Jevón Holland (three years, $45 million) haven’t yet made the major difference expected during free agency. They have a combined six passes defended — Holland had an interception negated Sunday by Banks’ pass interference — while allowing 30 catches for 333 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus.
Nubin has one pass defended on 1,144 career snaps.
“They’ve been competitive,” head coach Brian Daboll said of the secondary. “We gave up that big one [to Shaheed], which we’d like to have back. I thought they did a good job of hanging in there when we turn the ball over five times and give [the Saints] opportunity after opportunity.”
The biggest head-scratcher in the secondary continues to be the rotation between Flott and Banks despite Flott outplaying Banks at every stage of the competition.
One conspiracy theory is that the front office is exerting influence to get Banks on the field so as not to zero out another first-round pick after busted offensive tackle Evan Neal. But that hasn’t happened simultaneously with 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt on offense, and Flott is a former third-round pick whose development also matters.
“These players earn what they get when they get here. That’s how it is. That’s how it’s been,” Bowen said. “As a staff, it’s something we discuss day in and day out. It’s about finding the guys that can put us in the best position to win.”
Bowen revisits the rotation “week to week” and Banks played a season-low eight defensive snaps against the Saints, so maybe it is on the way out.
One plausible explanation for sticking with it this long is that lightening Flott’s workload helps to keep him fresh after a history of hamstring injuries.
“Tae, when he’s able to get his hands on guys and challenge guys, he’s been able to be tight [in coverage],” Bowen said. “I think that plays into it a little bit.
“I think Flott has done a really good job. Flott has developed immensely here this offseason. He’s earned the right to play as well. I think both those guys, with how they’ve worked, there’s been improvement.”
The Giants just need a lot more improvement. Quickly.
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