How can the New York Giants fix their defensive woes?

For a variety of reasons, the defense has been unable to get off the field

Through two games, the defense appears to be a bigger problem for the 0-2 New York Giants than the offense.

What is going on, and to what extent can it be fixed with the personnel on the current roster?

How bad is it?

Let’s start with some numbers that tell us where the Giants stand after two weeks.

Some baseline numbers:

• Points against (49) — 25th
• Yards allowed — 26th
• Rushing yards allowed — 27th
• Rushing yards allowed per attempt (5.3) — 29th
• Opponent third-down conversion percentage (41.67%) — 23rd
• Opponent yards per play (6.1) — 28th
• Completion percentage allowed (79.2%) — 32nd
• Yards allowed per pass attempt (8.2) — 28th
• 20+ yard pass completions allowed (7) — (Tie 29th)

Here is some more advanced data:

• The Giants are 26th in defensive DVOA (Defensive-Adjusted Value over Average).

There are also these EPA (Expected Points Added) numbers:

• The Giants overall EPA of 0.177 is 30th in the NFL.
• The EPA against the run is 0.050, 26th overall.
• The EPA per drop back is 0.278, 28th in the league.

Basically, the Giants defense has done nothing well. It looks like this on a grid:

It starts with run defense

A team can’t get into pass-rushing situations or prevent long, time-consuming drives if it can’t adequately defend the run. The Giants, as we saw Sunday when they surrendered 215 rushing yards and allowed the Washington Commanders to keep the ball for an astounding 37:32.

Asked what the biggest problem with the defense was on Sunday against the Commanders, head coach Brian Daboll went right to the run defense and the thing that goes hand-in-hand with it.

“!‘d say two things. Usually this happens for run defense, two things, tackling and then run fits,” Daboll said. “So those are two things that we stress them every week but put an added emphasis on them this week.

“We just [have] to do a good job of accounting for all our gaps … The fundamentals of tackling and then the discipline of gap control are two areas we’re going to continue to work on.”

How do the Giants fix it?

The personnel the Giants have isn’t going to change in any significant way. They have the phenomenal Dexter Lawrence at nose tackle, but the remaining down linemen are all role players.

There aren’t any difference-making moves the Giants can make with their personnel. The best players they have are already playing.

“It’s probably just a combination of everything,” Daboll said when asked what changes could be made. “Everybody’s accountable to it. Run defense takes all 11 (players) to be on the same page and to make sure… I’d say it’s not just a gap control but tackling, too. I think it was quite a few missed tackles yesterday that gives them extra yards or gives them first downs or second and short situations or takes third down, (they) hand it off and now you’re in a first down. We’re going to continue to work on those fundamentals.”

When it comes to being “accountable to it,” defensive captain Bobby Okereke was exactly that on Monday.

“Defensively we got to do a better job tackling. We need to shore up our run fits. And just have more discipline doing our job,” Okereke said. “Talking about me specifically, kind of three quarters doing your job, a quarter trying to do someone else’s job, trying to make a play and that trickles down. I think everybody just needs to focus on doing their job.

“I think my focus just wasn’t 100% on doing my job. And if it was, I think we would have had a better result.”

Okereke said “a multitude of things” can cause defensive players to try and “do someone else’s job.”

“As the game gets going, you want to make a play,” Okereke said. “It’s early in the season. You want to get some momentum going. That’s the foundation of fundamental defense, 100% doing your job.”

Okereke said that defensive coordinator Shane Bowen wants players to be accountable.

“Shane (Bowen) talked about it today: guys taking accountability,” Okereke said. “(It) Starts player to coach, coach to player, really everybody demanding more from each other so that we can have the result we want.

“It really started last night (Sunday night) on the bus watching the film. I’m watching the film with guys like (outside linebacker) Kayvon (Thibodeaux) and (defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence). I think it’s really just being honest. Having those honest conversations, being self-aware, realizing when you made a good play and when you didn’t make a good play, when you did your job and when you didn’t.”

Other issues

Third-down defense: The Giants are 23rd in the league in third-down conversion percentage (41.67%). How they have surrendered some of those first downs has been the main issue.

Against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, the Giants committed two third-and-long penalties that ended up costing them 14 points. Against Washington, the Giants committed two more third-down penalties that extended drives and led to points being allowed.

The Giants are not talented enough to survive constant mistakes like that.

CB2: The Giants still have not settled their second cornerback situation. Adoree’ Jackson played only 14 snaps vs. Washington. Cor’Dale Flott gave up a 34-yard reception the only time the Commanders targeted him.

Pass rush: The Giants defense is built around the idea that Lawrence and edge defenders Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns will be game-wreckers. Neither Thibodeaux nor Burns has a sack or even a true impact play yet. That has to change.

It all starts, though, with run defense. And with the idea that players need to do their own jobs and trust that teammates will do theirs.