Week 3 Jump to Conclusions Mat- Safeties Edition

-Andrew DeLoach is responsible for the evalutation of the Giants' safeties for the Ultimate22 project. Below are links to his complete grade sheets for the first three weeks (which include notes) as well as observations from last Thursday's game against Carolina on the play of the Giants' safeties. 

Week 1 grade sheet 9/5 vs Dal 

Week 2 grade sheet 9/16 vs TB

Week 3 grade sheet 9/20 @ Car

Week 3 notes

…certainly the best defensive output thus far, but still some things that need to get worked on from a secondary standpoint. Here's a few notes from the game:

…when the Giants put a safety in the box, they either play Cover 1 Lock, or Cover 3.  Either way, showing it early makes them highly susceptible to 1-high beaters.  Unless Rolle is coming on the [pass] blitz there is no reason to give away the coverage so early. Phillips has plenty of time to get to deep middle starting from 12 yards deep and Rolle can cover enough ground without being in the box pre-snap. Veteran QB's are going to be able to read this, check the play, and really do damage unless the Giants mask the coverage better.

…the Giants still have a tendency to be a little robotic in their drops. Rather than running to a spot, guys need to have their head on a swivel and know who the threats are in their zone, and align themselves better to take that threat away. They did, though, do a much better job of this than in weeks 1 and 2.

…it was nice to see Hill and Brown get some quality reps in. Their ability to make a play here and there bodes well for the Giants down the road. Rolle and Phillips have taken nearly every rep through 3-weeks, but if Fewell can trust those guys for a few reps every once in awhile, it could keep more fresh bodies on the field.

…the Panthers added up a decent amount of yards once the game was well out of reach. I like that the Giants kept everything in front of them and took away deep routes, then rallied to the make tackles once Newton checked down. The only problem is that Rolle and Phillips sometimes sit back waiting for ball carriers to get to them. Better breaks could save some yards, and more importantly first downs, later on in the season.

…solid effort all around by the defense.