The Giants’ secondary struggled in Monday’s 35-14 rout by Calvin Johnson and the Lions, and it’s not going to get any easier Sunday when Big Blue must gear up for a battle against the Cardinals’ receiving corps, which is more than just Larry Fitzgerald.
Arizona poses a different, varied threat, as shown in its opening 18-17 win over San Diego.
Third-year man Michael Floyd (five catches for a game-high 119 yards) and rookie John Brown (game-winning 13-yard touchdown with 2:25 left) give the eight-time Pro Bowler Fitzgerald a complement he never has had.
“You can’t just put a hat or put a safety over [Fitzgerald],” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “You have to play both guys modest, and that’s why every team in this league, you need at least two great corners. Each team has two great wide receivers and you can’t just be strong on one side: You have to be strong on both sides.”
Safety Antrel Rolle, a former Cardinal, also said the Giants must be prepared to face a diversified passing attack.
“We have to play more together as a team, have everybody on the same rope,” Rolle said. “That’s what we were lacking…We all know what Fitzgerald can do, and the kid Brown from my hometown has been playing great. We need to stick to the scheme and stay disciplined.”
While much hand-wringing has gone on over the Giants’ struggling offense, the high-priced secondary has to look at itself in the mirror as well. Or more accurately, look at itself in the film room, after coughing up 346 passing yards in the ugly Week 1 loss. The unit claims it gave away yards to Detroit, with Arizona presenting not a challenge on a short week, but an opportunity for redemption.
“You don’t want to go out there and get whooped like that, especially on Monday Night Football. But it’s the first week, and you can either go out there and be a repeat offender, or you can learn from it,” Rolle said. “It’s tough watching the film. Nobody wants to see that. But you can’t hide from it. You can’t hide on film. It shows you exactly where you need to get better.”
The film showed the Giants surrendering five catches for 129 yards and two scores to Johnson, all in the first 19:59.
It also showed abysmal disarray, with players not playing their roles and getting out of position trying to do too much. It’s a mistake they can’t afford to repeat against the Cardinals receivers.
“Anytime you give a receiver over 100 yards in the first quarter, or the first half, it’s definitely a punch in the face. We definitely want to rise to the challenge this week,” Amukamara said. “We learned from it and we didn’t shy away from the film. It’s hard to look at but we definitely looked at it and learned from it.”
Amukamara was one of the few to do his job well Monday, earning a team-high plus-2.4 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.
He allowed just one catch for 9 yards in 38 snaps, but free-agent acquisition Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie allowed six for 126 yards in a team-high nine targets, and linebacker Jacquian Williams received a team-worst minus-2.3 coverage grade, with all five targets into his coverage completed for 57 yards.
“Not taking anything away from the Lions — they made a lot of plays — but a couple plays we hurt ourselves, shot ourselves in the foot,” Amukamara said. “We have to be smarter. [It was] guys not staying in their gaps, because either the other guy wasn’t coming down fast enough or hasn’t been making that play. When that happens, guys are just playing everywhere. Guys just have to be disciplined and do your job.”