How to Fix The Giants & Jets...

by Ssj3alucard

No one likes being 0-2, but this is what makes the NFL great.

If the either the Jets or Giants win next week, they are just one game away from respectability and being right back in the race for the playoffs. So, everyone needs to calm down and take a breath.

A more important question would be how do these two teams that still have playoff aspirations get themselves back on track?

They have to get back to what worked last year.

For the Giants that means putting pressure on the quarterback. After a dismal 1-2 start last year, the G-men took their bye week to create a new identity for themselves defensively. They decided that having a weak secondary was not going to keep them from being aggressive. Instead, they made no qualms about Sam Madison and Corey Webster’s shortcomings and launched an assault on opposing passers. The result? A 6-2 record in the first half before injuries decimated an already thin defense.

This Year is no different. Osi Umeniyora and Michael Strahan hold the keys to this unit. If they can pressure the quarterback, it will relieve a lot of the scrutiny that the back seven is under. It will create turnovers and give Eli Manning and his potentially high-octane offense a chance to work with a short field. It will lead to another winning record when week eight rolls around.

The other problem on Big Blue’s D is that they currently have two players who are playing as poorly as anyone in the NFL right now: R.W. McQuarters and Mathias Kiwanuka. McQuarters is actually stealing the Giants’ money right now, as he is not bringing anything to the table for this team. In the loss against the Packers, he was benched as the “Nickel” cornerback and replaced with first round pick Aaron Ross. Ross would perform well throughout the first half before missing the second half with an injury. McQuarters would replace him and spent the rest of his afternoon as Brett Favre whipping boy. There is no reason the McQuarters should see this field this week, as Ross is not present on Monday’s injury report.

Kiwanuka is a talented defensive end who the Giants decided to move to linebacker in an attempt to get their best 11 players on the field. While it’s a good idea on paper, it’s been a train wreck in reality. Kiwanuka needs to be allowed to move to the ball and rush the passer instead of dropping into coverage where he looks lost. Instead of him coming off the field on passing downs, why not line him up as a defensive tackle and let him rush the passer, similar to what they are doing with Justin Tuck, which would create more pressure?

For the Jets, they need to remember who the MVP of their team was last year.

Eric Mangini.

Mangini and his staff would create elaborate game plans and find a way to get the ball into the hands of their best playmakers on a regular basis last year. It didn’t matter if it meant lining up Brad Smith at quarterback or Leon Washington at wide receiver, they would do it.

And it worked.

However, this year, Mangini & co. seems dedicated to playing more conventional football. The problem is that the Jets just don’t have the talent level to do so against the better teams in the AFC. They’ve got a great back in Thomas Jones, but the running game is worse off then last year because of the loss of guard Pete Kendell. They have a potential star at cornerback in Darelle Revis, but the front seven still struggles too much to play “shell” coverage and not blitz on most plays. The Jets getting back into this race is as easy as Eric Mangini rediscovering his coaching chops.

Nothing is decided in two weeks in the NFL. So, don’t start scouting top-10 draft picks quite yet New York fans. There is still hope as long as our teams can turn back the clock.