Big Blue hurried by Green Bay pass rush
It sounds like a law firm headquartered near the Financial District.
Instead “Smith & Smith” are pass-rushers who relocated to Green Bay in March and a reason the Packers are more realistic Super Bowl contenders than other years during the Aaron Rodgers era.
Consider it a lesson to be learned for the Giants, who will enter the offseason with $61 million in cap space and a glaring hole. For a general manager who lives in the past as much as Dave Gettleman, he seems to have forgotten about restocking a line of Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul.
Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith didn’t add to their combined season sack total of 20.5, but Za’Darius’ five quarterback hurries were felt in the Giants’ 31-13 loss to the Packers on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones threw three interceptions, including one where Za’Darius rushed a throw by beating guard Will Hernandez.
“We didn’t give him a comfortable pocket to throw in,” Preston said. “It forced him to make passes earlier than he anticipated.”
The Giants expressed interest in both Smiths during free agency, a source told The Post, but quickly were priced out of the market because of all the dead money — an NFL-high $34 million at the time — on the salary cap. Za’Darius ($66 million) left the Ravens and Preston ($52 million) left the Redskins, and both signed four-year contracts.
Smith and Smith agreed: Even with zero sacks of Jones, this was “most definitely” the most complete game the Packers defense played all season.
“Pressure amounts to big [plays] if you don’t get a sack,” Za’Darius said. “He threw a lot of incomplete passes [17]. I think he got hit a lot, too. On our side, it helped us a lot to get a lot of pressure.”
The Giants’ best pass-rusher, Markus Golden, had eight tackles but didn’t add Rodgers to his 7.5-sack count. Golden and Leonard Williams — who had his first tackle for loss in 11 games — both are 2020 free agents, so the Giants must decide whether to resign them or look for upgrades.