Giants at Texans: Can the Giants figure out the zone read? from liuyt's blog

 Everyone thought that the New York Giants would be able to defend the run. With players like Damon Harrison Cheap Eli Manning Jersey , Landon Collins, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill, B.J. Goodson, Kareem Martin, and Kerry Wynn playing near the line the scrimmage, they should be able to defend the run.And the Giants’ defense has largely been stout against the run, when it is the running back carrying the ball. But when it is the quarterback carrying the ball? That’s when the problems come. “Dual Threat” quarterbacks, such as Blake Bortles and Dak Prescott pose problems for defenses around the league with their ability to take away a defense’s numbers advantage and gash man coverage. Distressingly, the Giants have found themselves gashed by both of these quarterbacks, looking particularly bad on zone-read plays. The zone read took the NFL by storm nearly a decade ago, with players like Micheal Vick, Cam Newton, and Colin Kaepernick using more sophisticated versions of college offensive concepts to freeze defenses and win games. But eventually the option was figured out by defensive coordinators and largely died out as a core offensive principle. So it is distressing that the Giants have had so much trouble dealing with quarterbacks running the ball. While the zone read is undoubtedly effective, it is also well understood by now, and should have been included in the Giants’ defensive game plans. More than anyone http://www.giantscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-riley-dixon-jersey , the Giants know that they must fix the problems with Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans looming.“Until we fix the zone read stuff, we will continue to see it, especially from mobile quarterbacks,” coach Pat Shurmur said this week. “Again, it’s another challenge for us. Those are really where the big runs came last week. I thought our guys battled the run pretty well considering the type of runner that we were playing against and type of offensive line. Sometimes those zone reads pop out on you. That’s always the challenge when you have a quarterback that has legs like they do.”Fixing the Giants’ defense of the zone read will largely fall on the shoulders of defensive coordinator James Bettcher.“I think anything you have issues with, it all starts in the meeting room,” Bettcher said. “We go in and we continue to grind out the tape. Continue to correct in the meeting room. I know that’s not a flashy answer, but that’s the truth. There’s a process to getting things right, and you follow the process. That’s go in the meeting room, continue to correct it, continue to talk about it, go on the practice field, walk it thru, go out and execute it in practice. Come in and watch that tape of it, and you do that day-in and day-out. That’s how you get better. That’s how you get better as a player. That’s how you improve as a coach. That’s how your scheme improves, and ultimately Cheap Sterling Shepard Jersey , that’s how you play better on Sundays.”As Bettcher suggests, correcting this particular issue isn’t flashy. Defending the zone read is about recognizing what the offense wants to do, being disciplined, and forcing the quarterback to make the read you want him to make.Defensive captain Landon Collins said, “We just had to change the way we were playing it. We just weren’t reading it the correct way.”And once they’re seeing what the offense needs to do, discipline comes back into play. “Rush lane integrity is very important,” Bettcher said. “You want to be aggressive, whether you’re pressuring or whether you’re rushing four, but you have to be sound with who’s closing the middle pocket lanes where he likes to escape and rush.”Hopefully the third time will be the charm for the Giants. The Texans don’t have a good pass protecting offensive line, but they can run block. Part of that is because Watson has reclaimed much of his ability on the ground after tearing his ACL last season, so the Giants have to be ready for yet another quarterback who can burn them on the ground.The Giants better be ready to defend the zone read, because as Shurmur said, they’ll be seeing it until they prove they can reliably defend it. Seattle punter Michael Dickson took the snap and drifted across the back of the end zone, content to take a safety in the final minutes with his team up by 14.When nobody came all that close to him, he ran 9 yards for a first down.That was the final indignity for the Detroit Lions in a 28-14 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday. Detroit had won three of four and looked like a team that was making progress, but the Lions gave their home crowd little to cheer about against Seattle Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , falling behind in the second quarter and then making too many mistakes to rally."Had a little bit of success early in the game, but doesn't matter," Detroit coach Matt Patricia said. "We've got to stay focused for the entire game and play 60 minutes. As the head coach, that's my job."Detroit turned over the ball three times and was outrushed 176-34. The latter stat was significant because the Lions added defensive tackle Damon Harrison during the week in a trade with the New York Giants.Detroit's first turnover came immediately after Seattle tied the game at 7 in the second quarter. Ameer Abdullah fumbled on the ensuing kickoff return, and the Seahawks quickly took the lead.Down 28-14 in the fourth, the Lions crossed midfield with plenty of time remaining, but quarterback Matthew Stafford had to scramble a bit and lost the ball. Seattle (4-3) recovered that fumble, too.Detroit got the ball back and drove to the red zone, only for Stafford to throw a pass that was intercepted at the 1-yard line."Fumble, I'll have to look at. Obviously I got loose with it and had one hand on it. Should have two. If I have two, probably don't fumble it," Stafford said. "And then the interception, just a bad decision."It was probably the ugliest defeat for the Lions since their 48-17 loss to the New York Jets in the season opener. Detroit has only forced six turnovers all season. The Lions hadn't committed many since that game against the Jets, but the three Sunday were too tough to overcome."We can't have turnovers in any phase. It doesn't really matter," Patricia said. "We're certainly not getting any on defense either, so we're not helping ourselves. So Cheap Odell Beckham Jr Jersey , in general overall, the turnover situation (was) not good enough here today. We have to get more, we have to generate more on defense, and we can't give them up here, special teams or offensively."Both the Lions and Seahawks came into this game at .500, but it didn't look like a very even matchup. Detroit (3-4) is now in last place in the NFC North, with a tough matchup at Minnesota next weekend."I just hope that everybody comes in on Monday locked in. From this day forward, Monday, everybody comes locked in every Monday and getting ready to play," defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois said. "You play this game five to six times before you play it on the actual day. Mentally, physically, you're going to play this game multiple times. I don't know, their focus is killing me, that's the only thing I can think off of my head, that we weren't focused."