Shakeup looming for Giants D
By Ralph Vacchiano
December 4, 2009 11:53 AM
Six weeks of bad defensive play has finally caused defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan to make some changes — or so it seems.
It appears that defensive end Osi Umenyiora and defensive tackle Fred Robbins have been sent to the bench in favor of end Mathias Kiwanuka and tackle Chris Canty. Kiwanuka and Canty were working with the first team this morning during the brief portion of practice open to the media, and Umenyiora and Robbins were working with the second team.
I should also note that there was reportedly a report on the NFL Network this week (I didn’t see it, nor have I confirmed it, which is why I’m saying “reportedly a report”) that Umenyiora will only be used on passing downs. And after the way the Denver Broncos appeared to target him (and, at times, Canty) with their runs last Thursday, that probably shouldn’t be a surprise.
That shakeup is probably long overdue since the Giants’ defensive line has been shockingly ineffective lately. Robbins has had one sack this season and Umenyiora has only five. Neither of them have had a sack since the bye week. Of course Canty, who got a six-year, $42 million deal from the Giants in March and has only been back from injury for the last three games, is still looking for his first sack of the season. And Kiwanuka has just three sacks on the year, including none in the last four games.
Meanwhile, defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, he of the four-year, $16 million free agent contract, might be even farther down in the rotation. The Giants practiced a goal-line defense drill during the portion of practice we were allowed to watch and Bernard - - one sack this season, none in the last seven games - - wasn’t included.
Maybe we’ll get some more information on this shakeup when Tom Coughlin addresses the media in about an hour … though I wouldn’t count on it.
As for the rest of the defense, it appears to be as expected, but without safety Michael Johnson, who is missing his third straight day of practice with a strained groin. It appears that C.C. Brown will be reinserted into the starting lineup in Johnson’s place, with Aaron Ross picking up third safety duties in the dime defense.
Interestingly, when the Giants ran their second-team defense in practice while the media was present, they ran it with only 10 players. Nobody was filling the second safety spot.
I have no explanation for that. It’s hard to imagine they’re trying to hide something. It’s not as if the thought that they might promote Sha-reff Rashad or Vince Anderson off the practice squad to play on the second team would force the Cowboys to alter their game plan. And they’re not going to sign an impact safety this late in the week. In...
-12-04-2009, 10:22 AM
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