ESPN Identifies "Red Flags" for teams - For Giants it's Linebackers

[BleedinBlue]

Linebacker a 'red flag' for Giants? Football Outsiders thinks so

by Ed Valentine on May 15 2013, 2:19p

 

As part of a series identifying 'red flag' positions for each NFL team -- 'red flag' defined as a team's biggest remaining issue -- it has to come as no surprise that Football Outsiders has identified linebacker as the Giants' 'red flag' position.

 

In an article for ESPN, Sean McCormick of Football Outsiders writes:

 

The current starting trio of Dan Connor, Keith Rivers and Jacquian Williams is typical of the patchwork approach general manager Jerry Reese has taken during his tenure. Connor is a solid two-down plugger who is vulnerable in the passing game due to his lack of speed. Rivers is a former top-10 pick who has accumulated more surgeries than sacks in his five-year career. And Jacquian Williams is a guy named Jacquian Williams; he reportedly played in each of the past two seasons, but Giants fans can neither confirm nor deny his presence on the roster.

 

McCormick also called it "surprising" that the Giants did not draft a single linebacker and beat the drum for the team to pursue free agent Brian Urlacher. Let's say I understand the first sentiment, but completely disagree with the second.

 

Here is the Giants' current linebacker depth chart, including the signing of Curry and rookie agent Etienne Sabino.

 

 

SLB

 

Keith Rivers

 

Aaron Curry

 

Etienne Sabino

 

 

MLB

 

Dan Connor

 

Mark Herzlich

 

Jake Muasau

 

 

WLB

 

Jacquian Williams

 

Spencer Paysinger

 

 

 

That isn't going to knock anybody's socks off. Jerry Reese knows that.

 

Here's the thing, though. You can't solve every problem you believe you have during a single offseason -- you have a salary cap and a limited number of draft choices. I have come to believe what I think Reese and the Giants believe -- if you are going to have a questionable or 'red flag' position on defense linebacker is the place to have it.

 

Why? In a standard 433 defense you have fewer linebackers than defensive linemen or players in the secondary. Plus, the linebackers are the players coming off the field in passing situations where 4-2-5 and 4-1-6 alignments become the norm.

 

So, you have a situation where the linebackers have the most limited role on your defense and it makes sense to allot a smaller portion of your limited resources to that area.

 

None of that should be taken to mean that good linebackers are not important, or that a dominant three-down, sideline-to-sideline linebacker would not be a welcome addition to the Giants' defense. The Giants, I'm sure, would love to have one. Issues at linebacker, though, seem like the easiest ones to cover for on defense.

 

Even the best linebackers aren't going to make plays if you have a defensive line that can't occupy blockers and let them roam. Average ones will make tons of plays when allowed to constantly run free to the ball. The Giants have spent the offseason bulking up the defensive tackle position (Cullen Jenkins, Mike Patterson, Johnathan Hankins, Shaun Rogers) to create such a scenario.

 

The Giants have Will Hill and drafted Cooper Taylor partially to help in sub packages when linebackers come off the field. If his knee holds up perhaps Terrell Thomas could also do some of that. In run-heavy situations the Giants could also stand up Mathias Kiwanuka or Damontre Moore.

 

Also, the Giants found out the hard way last season that when the pass rush does not function at maximum efficiency nothing works on defense. Also, that weaknesses in the secondary cost you big plays, touchdowns and, ultimately, games.

 

The linebacker position, on paper, obviously does not look like a strength. If you are going to have a weakness, or 'red flag' position, linebacker seems like the most palatable. It seems to be the easiest one to cover for.

 

[JMFP]

Reese isn't good at linebacker.

[Herc]

the guy's answering his own question. more passes every year = less snaps with 3 linebackers on the field. it's the least valuable of the 3 defensive layers and we're allocating our resources there accordingly

[JMFP]

the guy's answering his own question. more passes every year = less snaps with 3 linebackers on the field. it's the least valuable of the 3 defensive layers and we're allocating our resources there accordingly

 

I take an opposite approach.....we just don't have linebackers that can fucking cover and run. The NCAA is now producing them, they just need to be drafted.

 

If the NFL were pitch and catch between guys like Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald, then yeah, pull the linebackers off the field, and go with 4 DE's and 7 corners. But now we've got A-holes like Kaepernick and RG3 that frankly can't be contained by DE's. We've got TEs that will smoke dudes like Chase Blackburn, but can't be manned up by corners. We've got LeSean McCoys that make guys like Osi look like morons.

 

I'm of the opinion that the pendulum is going to swinging back to linebackers....fast linebackers that understand coverage. Dudes that played safety in highschool and then just kept on growing.

[BleedinBlue]

I take an opposite approach.....we just don't have linebackers that can fucking cover and run. The NCAA is now producing them, they just need to be drafted.

 

If the NFL were pitch and catch between guys like Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald, then yeah, pull the linebackers off the field, and go with 4 DE's and 7 corners. But now we've got A-holes like Kaepernick and RG3 that frankly can't be contained by DE's. We've got TEs that will smoke dudes like Chase Blackburn, but can't be manned up by corners. We've got LeSean McCoys that make guys like Osi look like morons.

 

I'm of the opinion that the pendulum is going to swinging back to linebackers....fast linebackers that understand coverage. Dudes that played safety in highschool and then just kept on growing.

 

A few years ago we were introduced to the West Coast Offense and in the past decade, pretty much all teams have gone that route. The days of teams pounding it out on the ground 3 yards at a time are long gone. The whole idea behind the WCO is to stretch out the defensive backs to make bigger plays possible. That in itself makes the linebacker position less important...because they aren't going to see that many running plays in a game...unless of course, you have a porous defensive line then the opposing team will run the ball more. Once the defensive line is a wall that keeps the holes plugged, the linebackers are freed to move around in case there's a dump pass or sweep by a running back.

 

In the past year, our LB's had to stay close to the defensive line because it was porous...especially when we send 2 out of 4 guys after the QB. Teams figured out that when playing the Giants, there will usually only be 2 guys manning the line opening up a whole new set of quick plays to avoid the sacks.

 

Regardless...until the West Coast Offense loses its luster and teams start going back predominately to the ground game, LB's aren't going to be that important...IMHO.

 

[Treehugger]

They didn't list Kiwanuka. They've just assumed he's a regular DE.

 

In run-heavy situations the Giants could also stand up Mathias Kiwanuka or Damontre Moore.

 

This is a shitty article.

[K3VIN]

I Could care less about our OLB. I want a Solid MLB. There the Field General out there