NY Giants defense out to show depth against Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles

NY Giants defense out to show depth against Michael Vick and Philadelphia Eagles


Keith Rivers is out. Jayron Hosley is out, too. Corey Webster is choosing a cast for his right hand, and Antrel Rolle, the leader of the secondary, has a nasty cut on his knee.

Such is the state of a banged-up Giants defense as it prepares to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles, meanwhile, will return a key piece of their big-play air attack: wideout

Jeremy Maclin is fully over the hip injury that sidelined him last week and all but certain to play.

Add in dangerous rusher LeSean McCoy, and the Eagles have the arsenal to attack the Big Blue “D.” But the Giants are hardly worried.

After all, said Webster, they have been here before.

“We’ve been doing this for the last couple years, actually,” Webster said Friday. “We’ve been kind of filling in and preparing like starters for a long time right now.”

Added safety Kenny Phillips: “We’ve been banged up for like two, three years.”

Dealing with all those injuries — along with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s coaching philosophy — has resulted in a balanced unit that is “deep at every position,” as linebacker Chase Blackburn put it.

Nearly every key defensive player on the roster has in-game experience or heavy practice experience. Blackburn said Fewell treats Giants defenders like “interchangeable parts,” routinely shifting them in practice and prepping the team.

“It’s like TC (Tom Coughlin) always says,” linebacker Michael Boley said. “Next man up.”

Rivers, perhaps the Giants’ most athletic linebacker, will sit out with a hamstring injury, but second-year linebacker Jacquian Williams played plenty of snaps last season. Rookie corner and nickelback Hosley’s out, too? Last year’s first-round pick, Prince Amukamara, made his NFL debut against the Eagles in Week 11 of last season, intercepting a pass on his first defensive snap, and veteran Michael Coe, an option at nickel back, started at corner in the 2012 season opener against the Cowboys.

The Giants’ battered secondary is so certain that its understudies can deliver that Webster worries most about himself. He is playing with a broken bone in his right hand, and he will wear a protective cast on Sunday.

Webster said that he used his left hand to make a pick in practice Friday.

“I’m expecting to have a few more balls coming to me,” Webster said. “It’s a great opportunity, and hopefully I can make the best of my opportunities.”

NY Giants visit Philadelphia with eyes on punishing Eagles quarterback Michael Vick

PHILADELPHIA — The first time Eli Manning played in an NFL game he took a hit that he recently remembered as “the biggest one that I’ve taken in my career.” It came on the road against the Eagles in 2004 when he was hammered by Philly defensive end Jerome McDougle. He was hit so hard, his father Archie later said “I thought he was dead.”

That was one hit in one game eight years ago and Manning still remembers the feeling.

So imagine how Michael Vick must feel after the dozens of hard hits he’s taken this year.

Don’t think the Giants (2-1) haven’t taken notice as they head down the New Jersey Turnpike for their Sunday night showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles (2-1). Vick, the Eagles’ battered quarterback, has taken a beating behind his struggling offensive line this season. Vick has always taken hits, because he loves to move out of the pocket.

But it sure looks like he’s taken much more punishment through the first three games this season than he’s ever taken before.

“Honestly, yes, it does,” said Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. “I don’t know what the cause for that is. I think more teams are just attacking him or just blitzing, blitzing, blitzing and just trying to get to him as often as possible. That seems to be the game plan. And people are getting to him.”

The rate defenses are getting to Vick is alarming – at least to the Eagles. He’s been sacked nine times and, according to the stat sheets, absorbed a league-high 28 hits. Add in the tackles at the end of most of his 21 rushes and other bumps and hits the stat crew may have missed and some people believe he’s been hit more than 60 times in three games.

And even though Justin Tuck believes Vick is “still one of the most dangerous people on the football field,” the licking Vick’s taking may still be having an effect on his play.

“I don’t know, I saw some plays in that game where he still looked the same and he got out of the pocket and started running,” Tuck said. “But it’s tough. He’s getting some clean shots on him and obviously that’s going to take a toll on any player.”

Want proof? Vick is completing just 55.9% of his passes (69 of 125) after completing 61.3% over the last two seasons. He’s got just three touchdown passes and six interceptions. Add in his three lost fumbles (five fumbles overall) and he’s responsible for nine of the Eagles’ 12 turnovers so far.

He really was showing the signs of a battered quarterback last Sunday in Arizona, when he was sacked five times, hit 13 times on pass plays alone, gained just 15 yards on his four runs and completed only 45.9% of his passes (17 for 37). The Eagles were embarrassed by the Cardinals 26-7.

So sure, the Giants’ defense is licking its chops – especially the defensive ends who have accounted for only 2 1/2 sacks (one for Osi Umenyiora and 1 1/2 for Jason Pierre-Paul) and three quarterback hits this season. But as Tom Coughlin pointed out, even with all their problems in pass protection they still have big-play capabilities. “Something,” he said, “is happening there.”

And when he’s not laying flat on his back, that something is usually because of Vick.

“(He’s) courageous,” Coughlin said. “He steps up, he takes a hit and gets right back up. The next play he throws the ball 60 yards in the air to some of the speediest players in the league. He’s a tough, tough guy. You know when he pulls it down and runs, you’re holding your breath.

“There are a few guys in this league that are exceptional at extending plays. He’s one of them.”

In other words, the Giants are looking at Vick in two ways Sunday night. They see a quarterback who may be vulnerable that they need to knock down. It’s the perfect time to finally get their struggling pass rush going.

But if they miss, Vick is like a ticking time bomb. He’s got dangerous weapons and an offense that might just be ready to explode.

“Well, if it does,” Coughlin said, “not (Sunday night), I hope.”

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Author:
RALPH VACCHIANO