Last week Andy discussed the issues the Giants defense faces when taking on higher caliber NFL Quarterbacks. The end result showed that their losses came against QBs with higher passer ratings. If we break down how QBs performed on a game by game basis we get more evidence that the Giants’ defensive schemes are built to fail against the best QBs:
Versus the Giants: |
|
Season Totals: |
|
Losses: |
|
|
|
Kitna |
124.1 |
Kitna |
88.9 |
Manning |
145.5 |
Manning |
91.9 |
Young |
105.7 |
Young |
98.6 |
Vick |
83 |
Vick |
100.2 |
Vick |
97.6 |
Vick |
100.2 |
Rodgers |
139.9 |
Rodgers |
101.2 |
Avg. |
116 |
|
96.8 |
Wins: |
|
|
|
McNabb |
68 |
McNabb |
77.1 |
Schaub |
53.1 |
Schaub |
92 |
Garrard |
57.1 |
Garrard |
90.8 |
Moore |
32.6 |
Moore |
55.6 |
Cutler |
40.7 |
Cutler |
86.3 |
Stanton |
73.4 |
Stanton |
78.4 |
Whitehurst |
44.3 |
Whitehurst |
65.5 |
Grossman |
88.8 |
Grossman |
81.2 |
Jackson, T. |
46.2 |
Jackson, T. |
63.9 |
Kitna |
86.3 |
Kitna |
88.9 |
Avg. |
59.1 |
|
78.0 |
The evidence supports the conclusion- Fewell’s schemes make very good QBs better and mediocre QBs even weaker.
This is a dramatic contrast in performances and how good QBs are having their way in picking apart Fewell’s scheme. Scary how proficient Manning and Rodgers were versus their season average. Yet even Kitna, who is an experienced decent quarterback with a talented surrounding cast, outperformed his season average in his second game. The only anomaly is Cutler, which can easily be explained by the Bears’ weak Offensive Line before their bye.
ADJUST! As Andy points out, if you want to do the ‘Darren Sharper’ and victimize the weaker QBs, keep doing that! Watch the QB’s eyes IF he is a mediocre QB. But when the QB is better, bump that WR at the line and watch him instead of the QB, because the better QBs do not give away freebies.
If we look at next year’s schedule it doesn’t get much easier with the likes of Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Vick twice, Romo twice and the very accurate Bradford. Unless Fewell reduces his bias toward Tampa 2, CBs eyes trained on the QB and less press at the line of scrimmage, his schemes will be built to fail vs the best. And that means another Christmas sleigh ride to an “acceptable” season WITHOUT a title. It will also be interesting to see if Reese will attempt to provide him with the personnel to match his scheme, ie a dominant linebacker.
Roethliseberger vs Rodgers in the Super Bowl. Your defense WILL play against the league’s best QBs if you want to win a title.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!