Yes, you can go home again.
The single best coordinator in Tom Coughlin’s 11 year reign as head coach of the NY Giants has been Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “Spags” captained the defensive ship in 2007 and 2008 with great success. He returns in 2015 to the NY Giants.
We love the move. Why? Not because of nostalgia. Because Spags got it done and he will get it done.
Two of the best defensive players for the Giants this past decade agree. Antonio Pierce and Osi Umenyiora give effusive praise to their former boss. Note what they talk about and think about first with Spagnuolo. .. the adjustments. How many times does this subject come up on this NY Giants blog? Unfortunately too many times. Why? Because the failures and inconsistency in performance are all too often about not making adjustments to what the other team is doing. This is not brain surgery. When the offense is getting run over in the middle of a game, our former OC did not help his OL with shorter routes, 3&5 step drops, the things you counter when the DL is shredding your pass protection. When the defense is getting shredded by SEA in the read option, and there is no response all game from our former DC, you cry out for adjustments. Steve Spagnuolo makes adjustments and he puts your team in a position to win games.
Umneyiora and Pierce went out of their way to praise Spagnuolo a week before he got the job. “No-brainer,” said Pierce. That pretty much sums up the thoughts of Wonder too. When the final days of the season were wrapping up and Fewell’s future was up in the air, we posited the question about releasing Fewell and getting Spagnuolo. It took all of 2 seconds for Wonder to endorse the move, acknowledging it is a significant upgrade. Spagnuolo was his first choice, followed by Jim Schwartz, who was not interviewed. He was not excited about Allen. The Giants went with Spagnuolo, a move we like very much.
Steve Spagnuolo was arguably responsible for reclaiming Corey Webster’s young career. Tim Lewis did little to help the young player. And stories captured a tale of negativism where Webster lacked encouragement and support. Once Spags arrived, he got that guidance and lift he needed. And there is no way the Giants win XLII without Webster. We are not implying that Fewell did not support the development of his young players. What we are arguing is that Spagnuolo has the ability to get the performance out of his youth. Hankins is a budding star. Kennard is on a solid trajectory to be a consistent playmaker. And Damontre Moore is the player we think can get a significant boost from Spagnuolo. If I am Spagnuolo, I do whatever I can to leverage this young player. Yes, he will have to learn a new scheme, which will set him back initially. But Moore has the pass rushing skills that Spagnuolo (and any DC in the 21st century) craves. If the two of them can work together the way we think … the way we know was accomplished by Spagnuolo in the past… then 2015’s defensive potential is bright.
Coaches coach. Players play. Good coaches get their players to play. Good coaches tap their players’ potential. Hankins, Ayers, Moore, Amukamara, DRC, Kennard, JPP(?)… if the Gmen can get the field general Beason healthy enough for a season, the Giants D can reclaim the competitiveness we expect. We already know the Offense is capable of consistent fireworks with The Deliverer. The arrival of Steve Spagnuolo gives the Giants more tools to be in a position to win.
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