NYPD* BLUE
*New Yo k Pass Defense o t to ff Pa k
Armed with a new nickname given to them by the team’s fans, the Giants’ standout defensive backfield of (from left) Eli Apple, Landon Collins, Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie hope to lock up Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card Game on Sunday.
The Giants are about to face one of the premier quarterbacks in the league, playing at the top of his game.
To combat Aaron Rodgers, they are going to turn to the NYPD. That’s the “New York Pass Defense.” Giants safety Landon Collins credited the fans with creating the moniker, but admitted the secondary uses it themselves now.
“We were just trying to figure out what to call our group and they came up with it,” Collins said Wednesday as the Giants prepared to face the Packers in the wild-card game Sunday in Green Bay. “We stuck with it. [Cornerbacks] Coach [Tim] Walton is the one that cranks the name up all the time and we just stuck with it, call ourselves NYPD.”
A clever nickname, however, won’t be enough to become the first team since mid-November to knock off Rodgers and the Packers.
Nevertheless, the secondary is undaunted by the task of facing a Packers team that has won six straight and will be playing at frigid Lambeau Field.
Asked about the team’s confidence, Collins said, “I want to say [it’s] through the roof. We’re all in.”
They should probably follow the lead of Janoris Jenkins, who picked off Rodgers twice in the first meeting, which the Packers still won, 23-16.
“Basically just stay with your man,” Jenkins said of the key to preventing big plays by Green Bay’s offense. “Follow him everywhere you go. Even if he goes to the bathroom, follow him.” Easier said than done. “We understand that he’s a dynamic quarterback,” Jenkins said. “Just knowing he can throw the ball all over the field. We have to plaster very good.’’ They won’t be doing it alone. “You have to [cover] for longer, but at the end of the day … you still have to count on the front four — or front seven — to get there,” Jenkins said. “Just see how that plays out.”
Then leave it to Jenkins and the rest of the NYPD. Jenkins helped make sure “NYPD” wasn’t a fleeting term.
“Really, it started with Jackrabbit shutting the best receivers down,’’ Collins said. “From that point on, we try to keep the quarterbacks [to] under 300, 400 yards passing.”
Rodgers, though, presents different problems than recent opposing QBs such as Kirk Cousins, a banged-up Matthew Stafford and rookies Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott.
But Collins said he believes the unit is up to the task.
“Of course we’re trying to slow him down,” the second-year player said. “That’s the job: Get him uncomfortable and take advantage of it. That’s the biggest key, keeping him contained and inside the pocket so he doesn’t have a chance to escape [and] look downfield and make those big plays.”
Rodgers is doing it without a traditional running game, as injuries have left Green Bay so depleted at the position that wide re- ceiver Ty Montgomery has shifted to running back and performed well enough.
Collins has faith the Giants can contain Montgomery, as well.
“You hit him,” Collins said. “At the end of the day, he’s known to be a receiver. Receivers don’t like to be touched.”
Collins’ bravado notwithstanding, the safety has not been surprised by Rodgers’ comeback from his early season woes.
“That’s a future Hall of Fame quarterback,” Collins said. “Everybody has their down games. Everybody has their issues. He proved everybody wrong.”