New York Giants Seeing "Green" in Cardinals Defenses

Last season, the New York Giants were swept in three games (including one postseason showing) by the Philadelphia Eagles, whose defense completely smothered the Giants' offensive attempts.

That Eagles defense was engineered by coordinator Jonathan Gannon, now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, who has brought that aggressive style of defense to the desert, a defense that awaits the Giants on Sunday.

The names and faces might differ, but there are enough similarities between what the Giants saw last year from Gannon and what they expect to see on Sunday.

“Yeah, there's some similarities," said head coach Brian Daboll. "Different players, but I think they got after it pretty good. They had a defensive touchdown, another interception, another fumble recovery. They turned the ball over, and they’re fast."

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka agreed.

"Coach Gannon’s a really good coach. He’s smart; he’ll get those guys rolling. You can see some familiarity there from Philadelphia, some of the scheme stuff," he said.

"They’ve only had one and some preseason games, so you’re trying to work through all the tape on that, but they play fast. They’re a tough team, so we’re looking forward to the challenge."

Among the traits Arizona has shown include playing quarters and mixing up their defensive fronts to stop the run.

The Cardinals are coming off a 20-16 loss to the Commanders last week. Their defense forced three turnovers and six sacks against a weak Washington offensive line. However, their pass-rush ability wasn’t the main reason for those sacks, as Sam Howell held onto the ball longer than he should’ve.

When looking at the Cardinals defense compared to the Eagles, nothing jumps out on the page. Safety Budda Baker is the star of that unit and still requires special attention whenever he’s on the field. The Giants realize Baker’s ability to disrupt games in the secondary and are prepared to take on the challenge.

"You’ve got to know where he’s at," Daboll said of Baker. "He's a really good player. I thought they played a really good game, that first game against Washington. There are some similarities. I'm sure they will add their own touches as he runs his team, but fast defense.”

But whereas the Eagles defense was loaded with all-stars, the Cardinals are in a rebuild mode.

Safety Budda Baker is the star of that unit and still requires special attention whenever he’s on the field. The Giants realize Baker’s ability to disrupt games in the secondary and are prepared to take on the challenge.

“Budda Baker is just about everywhere on the field, said Mike Kafka. “He’s an impressive player. You can tell he’s one of those guys who gets everyone lined up and flies to the football. He plays hard, he plays fast, so he’s a guy that you’ve got to know where he’s at on every snap.”

Gannon’s system relies on adequate safety play to help out the rest of the secondary. Safety K’Von Wallace is one name that followed Gannon to Arizona from Philadelphia, and he’s the primary guy alongside Baker. Their cornerbacks are relatively small, with rookie Kei’Trel Clark at 5-foot-10 and Marco Wilson at 5-foot-11.

How can the Giants attack this secondary? By deploying their bigger weapons. The passing game couldn’t go last week because Dallas’ front dominated the Giants.

This week, employing Darren Waller, Isaiah Hodgins, Daniel Bellinger, and Darius Slayton will be a huge advantage. This looks like a week where Waller can have a big game because it will be tough for Arizona’s defense to cover him on any route.

When the Cardinals watch the Giants’ tape from last week, the number one thing that will jump out is the poor offensive line play. Luckily for the Giants, the Cardinals don’t have nearly as good of a defensive front as the Cowboys. Still, Arizona will look to attack the offensive line early and often, especially on the right side where Mark Glowinski (if he plays) and Evan Neal reside.

There’s no Micah Parsons-type player on the Cardinals defense, but there are still a few key guys to look out for. Zaven Collins is slowly starting to become a force, along with Kyzir White holding down the middle of the defense.

The one good thing the Giants showed early last week was the ability to run the ball. Before it became a disaster, they could create running lanes for Saquon Barkley on that first drive. While the offensive line was disappointing overall, they should win the battle of the trenches this week and employ Barkley heavily.

Daniel Jones couldn’t get into a rhythm last week, as he was constantly under duress and was shaken early by the Cowboys' defense. With a new week ahead, Jones is eager to get out there against Arizona and have a fast start to forget the woes of Week 1.

“I’m sure they'll come out ready to go and aggressive," Jones said of the Cardinals' defense. "They're a fast defense, they play hard and fly to the ball. So, I would expect them to do that, and we intend to come out the same way.”

The Giants offense knows that one game doesn’t define who they are. They’re playing against a similar system they saw multiple times last year and are prepared to take on the challenge once again.

Just this time, it’ll be against a different team.

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