DC Let Go After Tumultuous Inaugural Season

The Giants have announced that defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan has been fired.

Sheridan, who many feel is to blame for the Giants’ poor defensive performance this season, took over the defense when Steve Spagnuolo left last year to become the head coach of the St. Louis Rams.

The Giants surrendered 427 points this season, a franchise-high for a 16-game schedule.  They also allowed opponents 40 or more points in a game five times, another infamous franchise record.

I hope everyone emerged from New Year’s in one piece….

That is more than can be said for the Giants, who placed Brandon Jacobs and Aaron Ross on IR yesterday.

Rookies Rhett Bomar and Sha’reff Rashad have been activated from the practice squad to fill the roster vacancies.

Sheridan Speaks

Defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan does not have the look of a gallows-bound man.  In his presser with the media yesterday, he acted as if he expected to be back next season…

Q. You know how it works in this business. Every year everybody is evaluated, everybody is up for it. If Tom Coughlin said to you, ‘Tell me why I should bring you back again next year as the coordinator,’ what would you tell him?

A. I don’t know. Only because I haven’t even thought about that. You are catching me off guard with that kind of a question. The same reason why he gave me the job, because he thinks I am competent and do a conscientious, diligent job. That’s what I told him when I interviewed for it before. I said, ‘To me, the most important thing is competence, that you put your players, give them a plan on a weekly basis that would put them in the best position to defend and beat your opponent.’ That’s the same reason why. That’s why he gave me the job, and if he’s evaluated that, it’s still competent in that area. That’s what I would tell him.

Q. Do you think you have done that?

A. Absolutely.

Q. Are you concerned about job security?

A. I am not concerned about it, I know you guys are very concerned about it, but I am not concerned about it. You guys do a great job of being concerned about it, but I am not.

Q. This organization is not known for knee-jerk reactions and Tom certainly has showed loyalty. Do you expect that you will have a second and more years here to show what you can really do with the defense?

A. Absolutely.

My 2009 MVPs – Two Trojans

I’m not going to wait until after the season to do this……here are my personal team MVPs for 2009…

Offense

Who else – Steve Smith.  He had a record-breaking season and almost got elected to the Pro Bowl, something no Giant wide receiver has done since the merger. He needs three receptions to break the century mark for the season, another Giant milestone.

Defense

Terrell Thomas.  When he was drafted in the second round out of USC last year, there was a buzz that he was a player to watch. Watch we did, as he unseated the oft-injured Aaron Ross on his way to leading the team in interceptions, tackles and passes defensed.

In an article from  Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, he writes about 1st year D-coordinator Bill Sheridan and the recent effectiveness of his play-calling on the defensive side of the ball.

This somewhat (perhaps even too late) encouraging success on the defensive side of the ball has been sparked by a few different changes, starting with personnel and ending with philosophy.

Three weeks ago, head coach Tom Coughlin had asked Sheridan to shake things up. In doing so, Sheridan flipped starters Osi Umenyiora, Chase Blackburn, and Fred Robbins out of the starting lineup and inserted Mathias Kiwanuka, Jonathan Goff, and Chris Canty.

Since these three have taken over, the Giants new mindset has been primarily about stopping the run. and in the last three games, the Cowboys Eagles and Redskins have ran for 45, 77, and 89 yards respectively.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Winning starts with control the rushing attack on both sides of the ball. Granted the Eagles did still manage to put 45 points up two weeks ago, but that had a lot more to do with the passing attack.

It seems that Sheridan is starting to get more comfortable with the fact that he’s calling the shots and with the personnel he has. It’s tough to step in for a guy who just got a head coaching job somewhere else and immediately have a defense just as effective as it was when he left it.

I think what I’m trying to say is, maybe we should ease off Sheridan a little bit and give him the benefit of the doubt…or maybe not. All I know is this; the defense really has been showing up more and more as the season draws to a close, and I just hope it will continue to show up tomorrow against the Panthers.

After watching these two plays on Thurdsay night I completely lost my mind and all faith in Bill “the terminator” Sheridan. He is officially the terminator because he is programmed not to show any emotion. EVER!

PLAY 1

On third and long in the first half Sheridan had DT Chris Canty in coverage on Tony Scheffler. Scheffler wound up with a 22 yard gain and an easy first down.

Sheridan promised the fans and media that his defense would be different then Spags’s in one way; he would drop less lineman into coverage. What he actually meant was this “My defense will differ from Spags’s in this way; we will not only drop ends into coverage but tackles who moonlight as ends as well, oh and of course we do not plan on using our safeties, or getting to the QB, or stopping the run or doing anything that made Spags’s D successful, are you Sarah Conna?”

As the media questioned whether or not his swiss cheese secondary is confused he replied he “sees no confusion.” Really? On Brandon Stokley’s second half Touchdown not one Giant was within 10 yards of him. Where did the Broncos hide him you ask? In the slot. THE SLOT,  can’t really blame Sheridan for that one, I mean the slot is almost an invisible spot  on the field. The fact is this is almost the same defense, personnel wise, that it was last year, but the results are two totally different defenses.

Play 2 - Here is where I actually lost my mind.

In the 4th quarter, as the defense tried to get off the field, the Broncos faced a third and long. Corey Webster was matched up on Jabar Gaffney, he crept to the line as if he was coming on a blitz. As the ball was snapped, Webster did not blitz, but he did not get back in coverage either, he played what appeared to be a “no man’s land” defense, while the Safety over the top stayed 15/20 yards off the ball. Orton simply turned and through a pitch and catch 8 yard gain to Gaffney for the first down. Here is how I imagine Sheridan installing this defense:

Sheridan: Ok Corey we don’t want to give away the coverage so you show blitz.

Webster – Ok I’ll show it, then back up into position before the snap.

Sheridan – Nah, that won’t sell it. Just show blitz, don’t blitz, but stay near the line of scrimmage, sort of a no man’s land thing.

Webster – Ok, so we will roll the safety down into a one on one?

Sheridan – Nah, if he comes down the line  they’ll know your coming.

Webster – But I’m not coming.

Sheridan – Right (raises his eyebrows, nods his head as if he just explained the theory of relativity) pretty great huh?

And then Thursday, no mans land defense was unveiled, shockingly it failed to work and I lost all faith in Bill Sheridan, and I punched my 80 year old grandmother in the face for “eyeballin” me. Last part didn’t happen, but I did stand up at the bar and yelled out “Serenity Now”…and just like Lloyd Braun I only found insanity later.

I still believe in Coach Coughlin and there is almost no chance he is let go after the year, but I can’t say the same for both his coordinators. To me Sheridan is far more of a problem then Gilbride, but it’s also clear that 2 out of 3 of the  FA’s brought into help this Defense have been a failure. Boley, when healthy, has been great, but Bernard and Canty have had little impact on the defensive front. The linebackers are due for an overhaul and the Giants desperately need a safety. At 6-5 all is not over, but right now there are very few signs that the Giants will turn things around, but like Andy Dufrain and Red….I HOPE.

The Giants stand at 5-4 after nine games.  Four of their five victories came against some of the NFL’s worst clubs.

In their losses in New Orleans and Philadelphia, they were blown right off the field. In the home losses to Arizona and San Diego, the Giants squandered golden opportunities that may end up costing them a fifth consecutive trip to the post season.

Here are some changes that should be made in order to prevent being sent home in early January:

Offense

Getting Back to Basics

The key to the Giants’ offense in recent years has been their “Earth, Wind and Fire” rushing attack.  The departure of “Wind” (Derrick Ward) and the injuries to his replacement (Danny Ware) has left the running game a gear short.

Ahmad Bradshaw (“Fire”) has tried to step up into Ward’s spot, but the contrast between him and Brandon Jacobs (“Earth”) has not been as stark as it was in the three-pronged attack.  The short yardage game has been awful and defenses have had less to prepare for.  The solution is to reinsert Ware into the Ward role and move Bradshaw back to third gear.

In an interview this week, OC Kevin Gilbride has vowed to make Ware a more vital cog in the offense, especially on first and second down.

Beckum and Barden

It’s time to get these two on the field.  Starting TE Kevin Boss is still smarting from some recent helmet-to-helmet hits, so it might be wise to limit his snaps. But in order to do that, the Giants will need to establish their two big, young receivers.

Travis Beckum should be used a slot receiver and Ramses Barden has to be in the huddle in the red zone. Beckum will draw coverage from a safety at the least and Barden will have to addressed by the defense in the end zone. The Giants should get them receptions early in games, so defenses cannot discount them.  This way, they will help clear the box and open up other possibilities.

There is little downside to Beckum. Everyone knows he is a receiving TE, not a blocker.  No use in hiding it by lining him up as a TE or H-back. The downside to Barden is his inability to play on special teams. The Giants insist they need their WRs to all play special teams.  You mean, like Plaxico did? Make another exception for Barden.

Defense

The Giants have been in need of an impact player and playmaker on defense for some time now. They finally found one in safety Kenny Phillips, who has been out for the season since Week Two. Since then, the defense has been disjointed and vulnerable.

The Pass Rush Has Left The Building

The defensive line has not delivered the pressure anticipated at the outset of the season.  DEs Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck have been getting blocked and have made very few plays. Mathias Kiwanuka has not seen enough snaps to add much assistance.

DC Bill Sheridan must rethink his philosophy of a straight-on, four-man rush. He needs to make this group more difficult for defenses to prepare for and handle.

He can help them by shuffling them around and finding mismatches along the offensive line during the game (it’s called making adjustments). He will also serve the team best by getting all three on the field on passing downs and dialing up more blitzes.

More Speed, More Power

Those two usually generate at linebacker, where the Giants are a bit undermanned these days.  Outside of OLB Michael Boley, no one has distinguished themselves this season. But he’s missed five games.

MLB Antonio Pierce is either having an off year, or his skills are declining fast. Yes, he leads the team in tackles, but he has not made the impact the team needs.

OLB Danny Clark is nice depth player and a nice guy, but should he be a starter on a defense the caliber of the Giants?  Chase Blackburn is tough, but slow. Gerris Wilkinson is out for the year. Zak DeOssie is basically a special teamer.

That leaves Bryan Kehl, Jonathan Goff and Clint Sintim. All three were drafted by Jerry Reese for a reason. Would it kill the coaches to play these guys a little more?

Perhaps a rotation at LB would keep things fresh.  As a fan, the player that intrigues me the most is Sintim.

At least get him on the field more often.

Safety Tips

Phillips’ injury and CB Aaron Ross’ long absence has left this group in a shambles. Sheridan has had few options but to play the backups.

At safety, C.C. Brown and Aaron Rouse have been terrible on passing downs. They have rendered the usually reliable Michael Johnson helpless trying to cover up their mistakes. CBs Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas have played well considering the lack of safety help.

The solutions are as follows………Ross needs to come back.  Brown and Rouse should not be inbounds on passing downs.  The Giants must find a replacement for them at safety on third down, possibly the newly acquired D.J. Johnson. If that does not work. they will have to go with MJ and four corners.

Special Teams

Not much needs to be done here…….

P Jeff Feagles is beginning to show the signs of advanced age. He is having difficulty punting deep out of the Giants’ end.  He tries to make make up for length with savvy, but his kicks are getting shorter and shorter.  He can, however, still hit the corners on his short, placement kicks. Solution: no change until 2010.

K Lawrence Tynes is an enigma. The Giants should use that to their advantage.  Instead of Tynes booming kicks to ten and having them returned, they should let him kick line drives.

Every time he does this, the returners have difficulty handling his knuckleball offerings.  Heck, they may even get a turnover or two. Oh, and he can also kick the ball further this way. Go figure…..

I wrote a post yesterday questioning the game plan of Bill Sheridan. I don’t want to kill the coordinator who’s defense has dealt with turnovers and horrible field position for three weeks, but I’m about to anyway because his schemes are looking more and more like Tim Lewis’s (four die hards just punched a co-worker upon hearing this name) and less and less like Steve Spagnuolo’s every game.

Originally Tom Coughlin wanted to hire Dom Capers, a coordinator he worked with in Jacksonville, but the Giants balked at his asking price and before they could come around Capers had signed elsewhere. The Giants then looked in house and chose Sheridan over defensive backs coach Peter Giunta. The thought was Sheridan was going to continue to run Spagnuolo’s aggressive defense which included an abundance of fire zones/ cover 3’s with some minor Sheridan tweaks. The minor tweaks have become more then minor and last week it appeared Sheridan was running a read and react defense, which certainly doesn’t play to the strength of the Giants front 4. I’m not the only one noticing the confusion in gameplan:

“I think the Giants still have the personnel up front to be a solid defense, but coordinator Bill Sheridan needs to come up with a better game plan. Allowing C.C. Brown to get torched on a weekly basis isn’t much of a plan.” Matt Mosely (ESPN)

“He (Sheridan) talked all offseason about attacking more than Steve Spagnuolo used to do, then he played some weird, read-and-react-type scheme against the Saints. He bragged about how he wouldn’t drop defensive linemen into coverage as much, then I see Osi Umenyiora chasing receivers down the field. He talked about making only subtle changes — “wrinkles” — but his players talk about this defense as if its some foreign language they’ve never heard before.” Ralph Vaccihano (Daily News)

Sheridan needs to simplify the gameplan and most importantly bring enough of a disguised pass rush which will force teams to choose where they pick there one on ones up front. If you can get Tuck, Osi or Kiwi one on one you’ve done your job, but right now the blitzers have declared themselves and opposing quarterbacks have had time to slide blocking schemes and double Osi and Tuck, something Spagnuolo was able to avoid. So what’s the plan Bill?

Tom Rock of Newsday has confirmed that Osi left the Giants facility due to a dispute he had with first year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. According to sources Sheridan was critical of a play he saw on tape in the Giants Jets game, and Osi did not agree with Sheridan’s assessment.

It doesn’t sound all that bad, but when you think about this it had to be more then just a minor disagreement for Osi to leave practice. I assume (we know what assuming does) that Osi was a little more then miffed if he felt the need to leave the facility. Not a great start for the first year coordinator, but then again it could be worse, look at Josh McDaniels who has not only run a franchise QB out of town but has now alienated a stud wide-out as well.

Hopefully this blows over, but it makes me a bit nervous. The best coordinators usually have a way of getting guys pumped to play for them. I remember numerous quotes from Michael Strahan who claimed he always knew the D would show up for the guys they loved, both Spags and John Fox. Sheridan has been described as calm, cool and slightly more detached from his players. I always lean to the more ra-ra coaches like Fox, Spags, Cowher and Parcells, but for every one of them there is a Jim Johnson (may he rest in peace) and Joe Torre who are equally successful.  

At the very least Osi is looking at a 16,000 fine, but leaving a practice, abandoning your team, is exactlty the kind of behavior that goes against Coughlins “team first” approach. The only good thing here is Osi has already apologized and wants to move forward. If anything this is just something to file away for later, but for now it seems like a dead issue.

With former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan taking over the D-coordinator job, the Giants brought in former New York Jets linebackers coach Jim Herrmann to take his place.

Herrmann coached the Jets from 2006-2008 and before that was the defensive coordinator for the University of Michigan for nine seasons.

In 1997, Herrmann won the Broyles award for assistant coach of the year. The Wolverines were AP national champs that year as well.

Certainly don’t mean to sound too pessimistic, but where was Vernon Gholston last year for the Jets?

All the onus certainly does not fall on Mr. Herrmann for that, and it’s not like the Giants really have any young linebackers that need developing, but I wonder where Herrmann fell into the equation of trying to develop the 6th overall pick.

No less, he’s our guy this year, and he does have a pretty nice resume…especially at the college level. I’m sure we wont see any drop off in linebacker play this year as a result of a coaching change. Sheridan is still there to put him in place..just in case.

When former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo decided to take his presence elsewhere and take his coaching to St. Louis, the Giants did not panic. Instead, they hired from within, promoting linebackers coach Bill Sheridan to defensive coordinator.

Sheridan has been in the Giants system since 2005, but the extent of his football experience spans much longer than that. Since 1981, Sheridan has coached on the defensive side of the ball, extensively in college for teams such as Michigan State, Michigan, Army, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.

Its been a bit of a rocky road for Sheridan since 2005 in regards to the linebackers for the giants…but in a good way. Every year he has dealt with different adversities that caused him to adjust. He did so accordingly and has kept this group of linebackers as one of the better ones during his tenure.

2006: Saw a slew of injuries to players Brandon Short, LaVar Arrington, and Carlos Emmons. Resulted in Antonio Pierce stepping up to be the pro-bowl middle linebacker he is today.

2007: Was instrumental in converting Mathias Kiwanuka from DE to outside OLB where he played very well, recording 47 tackles and 4.5 sacks before getting injured.

2008: Even more tumult arised when Osi Umenyiora went down for the season and took Mathias Kiwanuka away from the linebacking core. Instead, Danny Clark played the OLB position as the Giants ended the season 5th in the league in total defense. Sheridan was also a key component of helping ILB Chase Blackburn convert to the outside and be successful.

Sheridan seems to be the right guy for the job. He knows the players, he knows the system, and he’s been successful with both. This season, he has already been handed the task of dealing with some injuries as Michael Boley, Fred Robbins, and Barry Cofield among others are dealing with injuries that could be nagging come the season opener.

I don’t see any reason why this Giant defense should take a hit in terms of production from this year to last. Spagnuolo was a great coordinator, but Sheridan seems to be up to the task.

Coughlin Firmly In Charge

Head Coach – Tom Coughlin
Offensive Coordinator- Kevin Gilbride
Defensive Coordinator – Bill Sheridan

Offensive Assistants: Jerald Ingram (running backs), Chris Palmer (quarterbacks), Pat Flaherty (offensive line), Jack Bicknell, Jr. (asst. offensive line), Mike Pope (tight ends), Mike Sullivan (wide receivers), Sean Ryan (quality control)

Defensive Assistants: Mike Waufle (defensive line), Jim Herrmann (linebackers), Pete Giunta (cornerbacks), David Merritt (safeties), Al Holcomb (quality control)

Special Teams: Tom Quinn, Thomas McGaughey

Strength and Conditioning: Jerry Palmieri, Markus Paul

********************************************************
Tom Coughin- Head Coach (6th Year)

Down-to-Earth and genuine, Coughlin almost lost his job after the 2006 season. He had always been known as a disciplinarian and his rigid tactics and unbending rules caused a rift in the locker room. His style was a 180-degree turn from his predecessor, the flexible and lenient Jim Fassel. Players felt he was taking the regimentation a tad too far.

With his contract due to expire at the end of the coming season, ownership extended Coughlin for a year in January of 2007 so he would not be a ‘lame-duck’ coach. With that extension came requests that he loosen up on the players. He did. The rest is history.

As a coach Coughlin was treading water after three seasons. He was 25-23 with two playoff losses and the team was stuck in neutral. Then Jerry Reese took over as GM and began bringing the young talent that would help turn his team into a serious contender. This season, Coach Coughlin has another crop of young studs to deal with. They will get the full treatment and he turn them into professionals.

Analysis: Coughlin tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, but since the Giants won a championship, that’s now seen as a positive. He’s outlasted the stubborn veterans who staged a mini-mutiny a few years back and has currently has more security and control than ever. Coughlin has built a solid staff of veteran coaches that adds to the success of the team. He rarely hires coaches with little or no experience. The Giants are pleased they stuck with Coughlin because he has become an excellent game coach: his strategy is usually right on and his ability to adjust in-game is up there with the best.

Offense

Coach Coughlin’s stamp is all over this group. He likes to surround himself with familiar faces. OC Kevin Gilbride held the same job under Coughlin in Jacksonville. So did RB coach Jerald Ingram. WR coach Mike Sullivan and QB coach Chris Palmer were also on Coughlin’s staff with the Jaguars. Jack Bicknell, Jr was a player at BC when Coughlin was the QB coach there under Bicknell’s father. TE coach Mike Pope coached with Coughlin in both New England and under Bill Parcells with the Giants.

Only OL coach Pat Flaherty and Quality Control coach Sean Ryan did not have prior working experience either next to, or under Tom Coughlin. That hasn’t put them at a disadvantage, though. This group understands what it needs to do to win ballgames. The major challenge has been having to go from a veteran team to a young team without losing any productivity.

Analysis: This year, that challenge gets even greater. The Giants will be asking their rookie receivers to step up and attempt to help re-establish the passing game. That will not be easy to do. The running game and the offensive line are staples on this team and both are amongst the leagues’ best. QB Eli Manning still remains an enigma – one game on, one game off. He needs to become more consistent. If he does, the Giants will be at the top of the standings again.

Defense

The Giants like to choose defensive coaches that have a history of sticking to basics and regimentation. DC Bill Sheridan coached at Army, Michigan and Notre Dame before joining the Giants in 2005. LB coach Jim Herrmann actually had Sheridan on his staff at Michigan in the early part of the decade. Herrmann played and coached at Michigan for a quarter-century and began his career under the great Bo Schembechler.

CB coach Pete Giunta coached at Penn State and was the Rams’ DC when they won Super Bowl XXXIV. Safeties coach David Merritt is a former NFL linebacker who once coached defense at VMI. Al Holcomb is a former phys ed teacher that toiled in the NCAA Division II coaching ranks before being hired by Coughlin last year to become the defensive quality control coach for the Giants. Finally, DL coach Mike Waufle has a long resume. Waufle has been coaching defensive lines in both the collegiate and professional ranks for nearly 30 years.

Analysis: The defensive line rotation when it gets cooking under Waufle is practically unstoppable. Last year, the rotation took a hit when Michael Strahan retired and Osi Umenyiora missed the entire year with a knee injury. This year, they are stacked again with bodies. They will bring the pressure big time, which will alleviate the stress on the back seven. The linebackers are going to shock people. Herrmann loves the possibilities of having Michael Boley and Clint Sintim flanking captain Anotnio Pierce. Look out. The secondary has benefited from three top draft choices – Corey Webster, Aaron Ross and Kenny Phillips. Giunta and Merritt work well together and this group has the potential to become great, not just good.

Special Teams

Tom Quinn and Thomas McGaughey are back running the show. Last year, the Giants sent 3 special teamers to the Pro Bowl: punter Jeff Feagles, kicker John Carney and long snapper Zak DeOssie. This year, Carney is out and Lawrence Tynes is back in. The Giants will see how much Ahmad Bradshaw and Domenik Hixon are needed on the offense before deciding on whether to switch them out of their returner roles. The Giants are one club that actually makes out on the new wedge rule. They normally don’t run many kicks back for big yardage, and they usually fend the kickoff very well.

Analysis: The Tynes for Carney switch makes everyone uneasy, but Tynes has a long-term deal with four years left so live with it. The coaches would prefer that Hixon continue his returner role. That would happen only if the rookie wideouts unseat him in the starting lineup.

Strength and Conditioning

Jerry Palmieri is another guy who has been following Coughlin around. From BC to Jacksonville to the Giants, Palmieri has been keeping the Giants in top physical form. He was awarded the NFL’s S&C Coach of the Year in 2007. His assistant, Markus Paul, is a former DB for the Chicago Bears and has worked in an S&C capacity for the Jets, Patriots and Saints before joining the Giants in 2007.

Analysis: The Ginats just recently moved into a brand new training complex, just west of Giants Stadium. The 199,000 square-foot complex contains all of the modern amenities for proper training, including a 7500 square-foot weight room and four full practice fields: 3 grass and one FieldTurf.

Quick Question: What is the job of an NFL quality control coach? A quality control coach helps break down tape of the opponents, monitors his team’s tendencies so that measures can be taken to make his team less predictable and helps keep the players on script during practices. He is available to the head coach for whatever else needs to be done during practice or in preparation for the upcoming opponent. – Thanks to Steve Corkran of the Contra-Costa Times