The Best Giants Defense Is a Good Offense

The idea that much will change at this point in the season is a foolish one

With the Redskins on the docket this Sunday, it is only natural to think back to the first meeting between the teams back in Week One.

The Redskins won that game 28-16 behind 305 passing yards from Rex Grossman, leading to many confused reactions from observers used to watching Giants teams that led with defense.

There was much discussion about the fixes that needed to be made and plenty of proclamations from the team about how quickly things would start looking better.

It is now Week 15 and you'd be forgiven for thinking that you were listening to the same September discussion. All week we've been hearing about miscommunication, breakdowns and how Perry Fewell's unit is going to turn things around. 

Right about now would be a good time to cue up The Who, because we won't get fooled again. The Giants defense is what it is at this point in the season.

After 13 games filled with evidence to the contrary, why would you believe that the defense is going to come out with an overwhelming performance that keeps the Redskins off the scoreboard?

Whatever their flaws, the Washington offense can put up points, as evidenced in their loss to the Patriots last weekend, and there's no reason to think the Giants have suddenly figured out the secret sauce that will stop them.

We pretty much know how this is going to go down. Jason Pierre-Paul will make some plays, but Roy Helu is going to find plenty of running room and the secondary will fail to cover receivers now and then to hand over big chunks of yards to the visitors.

It would be nice if that weren't the case, but that's what the Giants defense is this year. Thank goodness, then, that they have Eli Manning.

Manning's remarkable season has been the difference between the Giants and the scrap heap all season and there's absolutely no reason to think that will change this weekend. Manning's play is a source of great comfort, as is the fact that the Giants seem to have found a way to get Brandon Jacobs to do something other than say idiotic things.

Jacobs is running as well as he has in years, the Giants have enough offensive weapons to outgun the Redskins and that has to be enough at this moment in time because there isn't a miracle coming down the pike on the defensive side of the ball. Fewell doesn't have the answers or he would have provided them by now.

It doesn't quite fit with the mental image of the Giants we have known over the years, but this is a team built to win with offense and a hope that the clock runs out before their defense kills them. It's far from ideal, but, for the rest of this year, it is the way things are going to be.

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us