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He Made the Difference
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I thought this article was interest, as it highligts the dearth of good free safties in the league these days ) it may turn out the team that solves their FS problem comes out on top. ______________________________
Demps is under fire
Friday, December 8, 2006
By VINNY DiTRANI
STAFF WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD -- Seems like every time something disastrous befalls the Giants' defense, Will Demps is in the area.
On the third-and-22 Thomas Jones draw play that went for 26 yards and turned around the Bears game – and perhaps the season – Demps missed the tackle in the hole.
On the Vince Young escape from Mathias Kiwanuka, Demps could have stopped the Tennessee quarterback after a modest gain, but didn't.
And on Sunday's 42-yard Tony Romo-to-Jason Witten pass that set up Dallas' winning field goal, Demps was in coverage, but didn't prevent the completion.
So No. 47 has become the symbol of what has gone wrong during this four-game losing streak. Even coach Tom Coughlin, who rarely says anything even remotely negative about one of his players, addressed his free safety's play.
"I'm not going to put any added blame on any one player, because we're all at fault in everything that we say and do," Coughlin prefaced before commenting on Demps directly. "His play can be better. He can be in position to play the ball better, for example, and I would hope that he will improve."
The improvement had better come quickly, however, since the Giants face Carolina on Sunday, with receivers Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson. It appears quarterback Jake Delhomme will miss the game with a thumb injury, but his replacement, Chris Weinke, actually throws a better deep ball. With Smith more than capable of getting behind the secondary, Demps can't afford to be late in his coverage as he was against Witten on the key play Sunday.
"It bothered me a lot knowing I did get too wide," Demps said Thursday in confirming Coughlin's criticism of him on that play. Covering half the field, the safety paid too much attention to wide receiver Terry Glenn, running an out to the sideline, than to Witten steaming up the seam. Romo breaking contain toward that sideline influenced Demps to keep an eye on the outside receiver.
"I saw what I saw," he said. "Things happen so fast. Maybe if I got closer to Witten, [Romo] throws it to Terry Glenn going up the sidelines for a touchdown. You never know. Things happen in a split second. That one was on me, but there are a lot of plays that can win or lose a game. It's part of the game, being accountable."
The former Baltimore Raven, who signed a five-year, $12 million free agent deal in the off-season, was expected to play a prominent role in the Giants' revamped secondary. He was coming off knee surgery that cost him the final five games of the 2005 season and also forced him to miss some of training camp.
He has never used the knee injury as an excuse, however. "I'm still rehabbing and all to get back, understanding you're never going to be all the way back the first year [after surgery],'' Demps said. "I understood that. I thought they [the coaches] understood that a little bit, too.
"But I'm a professional. I'm going to take it on the chin and move forward knowing that I'm not going to make every tackle perfect, but make the tackles I need to make. When he [Coughlin] says I have to play better, I understand that. I know I can play better, but so can everybody else. We're losing."
Demps says his first year with the Giants has been "kind of a roller coaster" coming off ACL surgery and trying to physically and mentally adjust to a new defense. "I know I can play better," he said. "I'm trying to get my physical body back into it, and in the last couple of weeks I may have missed one or two [tackles]. But how many guys on the team have missed some?
"I have had a lot of other good production, but they are always going to pinpoint the plays that affect the game. And I understand that."
E-mail: ditrani@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...lRUV5eTcwMzM0MzMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2
Demps is under fire
Friday, December 8, 2006
By VINNY DiTRANI
STAFF WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD -- Seems like every time something disastrous befalls the Giants' defense, Will Demps is in the area.
On the third-and-22 Thomas Jones draw play that went for 26 yards and turned around the Bears game – and perhaps the season – Demps missed the tackle in the hole.
On the Vince Young escape from Mathias Kiwanuka, Demps could have stopped the Tennessee quarterback after a modest gain, but didn't.
And on Sunday's 42-yard Tony Romo-to-Jason Witten pass that set up Dallas' winning field goal, Demps was in coverage, but didn't prevent the completion.
So No. 47 has become the symbol of what has gone wrong during this four-game losing streak. Even coach Tom Coughlin, who rarely says anything even remotely negative about one of his players, addressed his free safety's play.
"I'm not going to put any added blame on any one player, because we're all at fault in everything that we say and do," Coughlin prefaced before commenting on Demps directly. "His play can be better. He can be in position to play the ball better, for example, and I would hope that he will improve."
The improvement had better come quickly, however, since the Giants face Carolina on Sunday, with receivers Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson. It appears quarterback Jake Delhomme will miss the game with a thumb injury, but his replacement, Chris Weinke, actually throws a better deep ball. With Smith more than capable of getting behind the secondary, Demps can't afford to be late in his coverage as he was against Witten on the key play Sunday.
"It bothered me a lot knowing I did get too wide," Demps said Thursday in confirming Coughlin's criticism of him on that play. Covering half the field, the safety paid too much attention to wide receiver Terry Glenn, running an out to the sideline, than to Witten steaming up the seam. Romo breaking contain toward that sideline influenced Demps to keep an eye on the outside receiver.
"I saw what I saw," he said. "Things happen so fast. Maybe if I got closer to Witten, [Romo] throws it to Terry Glenn going up the sidelines for a touchdown. You never know. Things happen in a split second. That one was on me, but there are a lot of plays that can win or lose a game. It's part of the game, being accountable."
The former Baltimore Raven, who signed a five-year, $12 million free agent deal in the off-season, was expected to play a prominent role in the Giants' revamped secondary. He was coming off knee surgery that cost him the final five games of the 2005 season and also forced him to miss some of training camp.
He has never used the knee injury as an excuse, however. "I'm still rehabbing and all to get back, understanding you're never going to be all the way back the first year [after surgery],'' Demps said. "I understood that. I thought they [the coaches] understood that a little bit, too.
"But I'm a professional. I'm going to take it on the chin and move forward knowing that I'm not going to make every tackle perfect, but make the tackles I need to make. When he [Coughlin] says I have to play better, I understand that. I know I can play better, but so can everybody else. We're losing."
Demps says his first year with the Giants has been "kind of a roller coaster" coming off ACL surgery and trying to physically and mentally adjust to a new defense. "I know I can play better," he said. "I'm trying to get my physical body back into it, and in the last couple of weeks I may have missed one or two [tackles]. But how many guys on the team have missed some?
"I have had a lot of other good production, but they are always going to pinpoint the plays that affect the game. And I understand that."
E-mail: ditrani@northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...lRUV5eTcwMzM0MzMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2