Coughlin spends bye week searching for ‘D’ solution

WHILE the players scattered for some rest and relaxation, Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff spent much of last week in selfstudy, analyzing the first 10 games.

Coughlin said the research was prioritized “worst to best,’’ meaning what the Giants struggle with the most was given the greatest attention to detail.

With that as a guide, figure they spent hour after hour poring over some truly revolting defensive benchmarks. This coaching staff must find a way to get the defense off the field — that unit is last in the NFL in thirddown defense, allowing a conversion rate of 47.8 percent. The defense is last in the league in first downs allowed (23.7 per game), last in passing yards allowed (316.4 per game), last in sacks (12), 31st in yards per game (420.9), 30th in net yards per game differential (64). If the Giants can find a way to creep up near the middle of the pack in some of these areas, it will be enough to balance out this lopsided team.

On offense, they need to improve on the rushing yards per game — 26th in the league at 95 — and possibly become even more efficient on third down, where the Giants are 11th in the NFL. They don’t need to score more points — they are fourth in the league, averaging 27.3 points a game — but it’s a bit misleading, as the Giants have scored four touchdowns on defense and one on special teams. And so, Eli Manning and Co. can pick up the pace a bit.