GIANTS DEFENSE’S CONFIDENCE SKY-HIGH
Unit has tall task: Stopping Rodgers in wild-card game
RUTHERFORD, N. J. The EAST New York Giants are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Their reward? A game against red-hot Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
As the Giants prepare for Sunday’s wild-card showdown at Lambeau Field, Rodgers is the focus of the week. And based on comments from some of New York’s defenders, they’re ready for the challenge.
“Through the roof,” safety Landon Collins said Wednesday when asked about the team’s confidence. “(We’re) all-in and just paying attention to key details.”
Green Bay sputtered to a 4-6 start this season punctuated by a four-game losing streak. Talk circulated that coach Mike McCarthy’s job might be in jeopardy.
Then Rodgers inspired confidence within his locker room by telling reporters he thought the Packers could “run the table.”
He was right. Green Bay has won six in a row.
During that span, Rodgers has been on fire, completing 71% of his passes for 1,667 yards and 15 touchdowns with no interceptions.
“Aaron is playing MVP-type football,” Giants coach Ben McAdoo said Wednesday.
How the Giants defend Rodg- ers could be the determining factor in who moves on to the divisional round. Part of what makes him so effective is his ability to extend plays and allow receivers to break away from their routes and find open spaces in the secondary. That has confounded most defenses, but Giants players say they view the chance to contain the two-time league MVP as an opportunity.
“It’s difficult at times,” Collins said. “But if you’re doing your job and keeping everything in front of you, if he throws it up, he’s usually throwing it across the field and all over the field. So that means you can make a play on the ball and make sure they’re not catching the ball.
“But it’s definitely difficult. You don’t know if he’s going to take off, or what he sees. You’re not in his eyes. You’re just trying to play the field.”
Rodgers rarely reveals much strategy before games. But in a conference call Wednesday, he hinted at one of the team’s priori- ties against the Giants.
“Converting third downs,” he said. “That is going to be the key, staying in manageable third downs and then converting.”
The Giants ranked third in the NFL in third-down percentage, allowing opponents to convert 35.3% of the time. Green Bay ranked second in the league, converting 46.7% on offense.
New York spent more than $200 million this offseason to sign marquee free agents in defensive end Olivier Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Janoris Jenkins. And while the overhauled defense has been solid all season, the group has really jelled as of late. The argument could be made that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has the Giants playing better than every other team in the league.
“I think they are much better now than they were in Week 5,” McCarthy said, referring to Green Bay’s 23-16 win against New York this season.
“Steve has done a great job and always challenges you schematically. You just look at their statistics, and the statistics definitely line up with the video.”
New York, however, did have success against Rodgers in the first meeting, when Rodgers completed 23 of 45 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
“That’s the job,” Collins said. “We try to get him uncomfortable and try to take advantage of it.
“That’s the biggest key — keeping him contained and keeping him inside the pocket so he doesn’t have the chance to move the sticks and make the big plays down the field.”