Will Shane Bowen’s Defense Survive Without Pressure?

[bamagiantfan]

First, this is a great topic. Thank you.

Bowen's defense is definitely old school. It was awkward to watch in Tennessee yet very effective. That is, he wants to force the offense to punt. It's plain and turnovers are obviously welcome but not a focus. Tackling, lane integrity and assignments, and disciplined defending of personnel within their area are the tenants of what he does. A player like Thibideaoux or Burns can force early throws into the areas the defense wants the ball to go just as guys like Justin Jefferson are game wreckers for everything that the Defense is trying to accomplish. The Defense as I saw it it Tennessee has a simple goal - 1, 2, 3, Punt. Running the ball is simply not allowed.

For a player like Adoree Jackson, the idea is not to intercept the pass, but instead to cover and force the ball to go somewhere else, or better yet, give the QB nowhere to go with the ball. If the ball comes out, it goes short and the defense rallies to tackle short of the first down. It is boring but the high risk, high reward Defenses of Wink and Fewell had their drawbacks too, even when they were successful at times.

If there is a Defensive version of the dink and dunk offense, this is it. It works well to try to win games in the 20s. If the other team scores 30+, they probably have 30+ in time of possession as well and wins require an explosive offense. It fits this Giants team. It can be successful. It isn't often pretty.

That's the way I saw it. (Alabama gets a lot of Titans broadcasts on network TV.)

[bamagiantfan]

The most concerning thing for me was, why is flott the starting slot lol. Phillips earned that job imo.

We need an elite starting boundary opposite banks almost as bad as we need a qb.

Great observation. I read another analysis where Flott barely played slot in preseason and then landed there for game 1 with Simmons at CB, also a head scratcher.