The struggles of Eli Manning and the Giants offense were the bigger national story, but it was even more shocking how bad the defense was last season. New York ranked outside the top 20 in both sacks and takeaways, one year after being above-average in both categories and having a top-10 fantasy defense.
The Giants have hired James Bettcher to coordinate their defense. He served as the Cardinals coordinator the past three seasons, but with Arizona hiring a defensive-minded head coach in Steve Wilks, Bettcher wasn't retained. A year ago the Cardinals slipped to just 18th in fantasy performance (in a scoring system awarding 1 point for sacks, 2 for turnovers and 6 for touchdowns). But personnel losses (like Calais Campbell and a good chunk of the secondary) were major factors.
In Bettcher's first two seasons coordinating Arizona's defense (after Todd Bowles left for the Jets), the Cardinals had a top-3 fantasy defense. They led the league in sacks in 2016, and were top-5 in takeaways in both seasons. And the Giants have some playmakers on their defense, most notably Janoris Jenkins and Landon Collins in the secondary. Prior to last year New York ranked in the top 12 in interceptions in six straight seasons.
The Giants have a lot of issues to work out this offseason, but their defense, particularly in fantasy terms, looks like a nice candidate for a rebound.
Even after a down 2017, only three teams have more takeaways over the last three seasons than Arizona. The Giants have also been top-10 in that regard over that time span. Bettcher looks like a quality hire.
TAKEAWAYS, 2015-2017 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | '15 | '16 | '17 | Total |
Kansas City | 29 | 33 | 26 | 88 |
Carolina | 39 | 27 | 21 | 87 |
Philadelphia | 26 | 26 | 31 | 83 |
Arizona | 33 | 28 | 21 | 82 |
Tampa Bay | 23 | 29 | 26 | 78 |
Baltimore | 14 | 28 | 34 | 76 |
Pittsburgh | 30 | 23 | 22 | 75 |
LA Chargers | 20 | 28 | 27 | 75 |
LA Rams | 26 | 18 | 28 | 72 |
NY Giants | 27 | 25 | 19 | 71 |
Denver | 27 | 27 | 17 | 71 |
Oakland | 25 | 30 | 14 | 69 |
Green Bay | 22 | 25 | 22 | 69 |
Washington | 26 | 20 | 23 | 69 |
Minnesota | 22 | 27 | 19 | 68 |
New Orleans | 22 | 21 | 25 | 68 |
Buffalo | 25 | 18 | 25 | 68 |
Seattle | 22 | 19 | 25 | 66 |
Detroit | 18 | 14 | 32 | 64 |
Jacksonville | 18 | 13 | 33 | 64 |
Cincinnati | 28 | 20 | 14 | 62 |
New England | 21 | 23 | 18 | 62 |
Indianapolis | 25 | 17 | 20 | 62 |
NY Jets | 30 | 12 | 20 | 62 |
Atlanta | 23 | 22 | 16 | 61 |
Houston | 25 | 17 | 16 | 58 |
Tennessee | 19 | 18 | 21 | 58 |
Miami | 16 | 25 | 15 | 56 |
San Francisco | 12 | 20 | 20 | 52 |
Dallas | 11 | 20 | 21 | 52 |
Chicago | 17 | 11 | 22 | 50 |
Cleveland | 21 | 13 | 13 | 47 |
--Andy Richardson