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No defense for Big Blue
Strahan absence felt vs. Panthers
BY RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Sunday, August 12th 2007, 4:00 AM
The Giants' former defensive coordinator, Tim Lewis, was on the Panthers' sideline last night, which is exactly where his old players wanted him. They're much happier playing for new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
They're just not much better, at least not yet.
Spagnuolo's new aggressive, attacking defense had an inauspicious debut as the Giants lost to the Carolina Panthers, 24-21, in their preseason opener at Giants Stadium. The Giants' starting defense - notably without Michael Strahan, of course - provided little resistance for the Panthers, surrendering a touchdown on the opening drive. It also was shredded by the Panthers on the ground.
"Things didn't go the way we wanted them to," said linebacker Antonio Pierce. "Opening up the preseason by letting the other team score a touchdown on their first drive is not good."
The touchdown - a 5-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith - wasn't the worst part of the Panthers' 81-yard, 13-play march. The worst part was the 55 rushing yards the Giants surrendered, including a 21-yard cutback by Nick Goings on which newly converted linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka got trapped too far inside.
By the time the starters left at the end of the first quarter, the Giants had given up 89 yards rushing - 52 of which came on two runs to the right, where Strahan normally would be.
"It's a process," Tom Coughlin said. "We had shoddy tackling, obviously."
"They got a couple of big runs on us, a couple of cutbacks on us, and that's not good," added defensive end Osi Umenyiora. "We have to get a lot better."
Meanwhile, the first-team offense wasn't much better. It did score a touchdown - a 7-yard strike from Eli Manning to Jeremy Shockey - but it was a gift off Derrick Ward's 67-yard kickoff return. In all, the first-string offense moved just 43 yards in 11 plays. Manning was 3-for-5 for 27 yards and Brandon Jacobs, in his first game as the starting running back, carried four times for 15 yards.
The defense, though, was the bigger concern. Even the backups struggled against the Panthers' second- and third-teamers. They let the Panthers march 73 yards for a touchdown in the final 54 seconds of the first half (thanks in large part to a personal foul by rookie safety Craig Dahl), then gave up an 85-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter from Brett Basanez to Taye Biddle (with Kevin Dockery and Dahl in coverage).
"We've got a lot of work to do," Pierce said. "We are still learning this new defense, but that's no excuse. We just need to go back and work hard so we can be better next week."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f.../12/2007-08-12_no_defense_for_big_blue-1.html
Strahan absence felt vs. Panthers
BY RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Sunday, August 12th 2007, 4:00 AM
The Giants' former defensive coordinator, Tim Lewis, was on the Panthers' sideline last night, which is exactly where his old players wanted him. They're much happier playing for new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
They're just not much better, at least not yet.
Spagnuolo's new aggressive, attacking defense had an inauspicious debut as the Giants lost to the Carolina Panthers, 24-21, in their preseason opener at Giants Stadium. The Giants' starting defense - notably without Michael Strahan, of course - provided little resistance for the Panthers, surrendering a touchdown on the opening drive. It also was shredded by the Panthers on the ground.
"Things didn't go the way we wanted them to," said linebacker Antonio Pierce. "Opening up the preseason by letting the other team score a touchdown on their first drive is not good."
The touchdown - a 5-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith - wasn't the worst part of the Panthers' 81-yard, 13-play march. The worst part was the 55 rushing yards the Giants surrendered, including a 21-yard cutback by Nick Goings on which newly converted linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka got trapped too far inside.
By the time the starters left at the end of the first quarter, the Giants had given up 89 yards rushing - 52 of which came on two runs to the right, where Strahan normally would be.
"It's a process," Tom Coughlin said. "We had shoddy tackling, obviously."
"They got a couple of big runs on us, a couple of cutbacks on us, and that's not good," added defensive end Osi Umenyiora. "We have to get a lot better."
Meanwhile, the first-team offense wasn't much better. It did score a touchdown - a 7-yard strike from Eli Manning to Jeremy Shockey - but it was a gift off Derrick Ward's 67-yard kickoff return. In all, the first-string offense moved just 43 yards in 11 plays. Manning was 3-for-5 for 27 yards and Brandon Jacobs, in his first game as the starting running back, carried four times for 15 yards.
The defense, though, was the bigger concern. Even the backups struggled against the Panthers' second- and third-teamers. They let the Panthers march 73 yards for a touchdown in the final 54 seconds of the first half (thanks in large part to a personal foul by rookie safety Craig Dahl), then gave up an 85-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter from Brett Basanez to Taye Biddle (with Kevin Dockery and Dahl in coverage).
"We've got a lot of work to do," Pierce said. "We are still learning this new defense, but that's no excuse. We just need to go back and work hard so we can be better next week."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f.../12/2007-08-12_no_defense_for_big_blue-1.html