Giants depleted secondary (1 Viewer)

[ALDO]

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Giants turn to Dockery, Ross with injuries

By Len Pasquarelli

ESPN.com

Updated: December 1, 2007, 11:29 AM ET

With two starters likely sidelined by injuries, the New York Giants are scrambling to fill out their depleted secondary for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, and likely will turn to two younger players with just three starts between them.

Nickel defender Kevin Dockery, a second-year veteran, will step in at left cornerback for starter Aaron Ross, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. If the knee injury that kept free safety Gibril Wilson out of practice all week also keeps him out of the lineup, his spot will be taken by rookie Michael Johnson.

"When you're called on," said Dockery, "you've got to step up. It's not as if we haven't been getting playing time."

In fact, in nickel situations, Dockery has been playing left cornerback. For the Giants' nickel package, Ross, the team's first-round pick in this year's draft and arguably one of the more consistent rookies in the league in 2007, moves to the slot cornerback spot. That means Dockery typically plays outside, which is where he will line up Sunday afternoon.

He is apt to be fairly conspicuous to Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman, too, because at just 5-feet-8, Dockery is one of the smallest cornerbacks in the league. The Bears' top three wide receivers are all 6-feet-1 or taller. Dockery, who surrendered a touchdown pass to Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson two weeks ago, when the 6-feet-5 Lions' rookie went up over him in the end zone, knows he will need textbook technique on Sunday afternoon.

"Position and leverage on the receiver," he said, "are critical."

Dockery, 23, made the New York roster as an undrafted free agent in 2006, and the former Mississippi State standout has been a productive performer in "sub" defensive situations and on special teams. In 25 games, he has 66 tackles, two interceptions and 11 passes defensed.

Johnson, a seventh-round pick from Arizona, has 13 tackles in 11 games this year, and if he replaces the ailing Gibril, it will be his second start of the season. Like Dockery, he needs a solid fundamental game because, while the Chicago passing attack is generally spotty, Grossman does like to throw deep.

Because of injuries, Giants' backup cornerbacks R.W. McQuarters and Corey Webster may have to take some snaps at safety.

At 7-4, the Giants have the best record of any of the NFC wild card contenders, but are coming off an ugly loss to Minnesota last week, and have dropped two of their last three outings. The Bears, who are 5-6, need a win to get back to .500 and into the playoff race.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

 

[kdun420]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

 

[RC94]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

Exactly. The Giants really need to address the secondary this offseason. If Ross got injured I would be more concerned, but otherwise nobody else stands out as a must-need player in that secondary. I am curious about Michael Johnson anyway, so I am looking forward to seeing what he can do with the opportunity.

 

[ALDO]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

Read the whole story. Nickel defender Kevin Dockery, a second-year veteran, will step in at left cornerback for starter Aaron Ross, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

The recent loss of LB Mathias Kiwanuka hurts in this department.

 

[RC94]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

Read the whole story. Nickel defender Kevin Dockery, a second-year veteran, will step in at left cornerback for starter Aaron Ross, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

The recent loss of LB Mathias Kiwanuka hurts in this department.

Doh! I skimmed it as well. He is still right about the primary aspect of the Giants pass defense is the pass rush, though. I would certainly rather have Kiwanuka healthy, but they should still be able to generate a good pass rush. That said, as I mentioned above, an injury to Ross is a concern.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

Read the whole story. Nickel defender Kevin Dockery, a second-year veteran, will step in at left cornerback for starter Aaron Ross, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

The recent loss of LB Mathias Kiwanuka hurts in this department.

And Gibril is their best safety and he didn't make the trip. Why would someone say that losing their starting CB and starting safety is no big story? BTW, Jacobs didn't make the trip nor did Steve Smith and with Plax having a bad knee on top of his ankle is realy hobbled. The Giants are really limping now.

 

[RC94]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

Read the whole story. Nickel defender Kevin Dockery, a second-year veteran, will step in at left cornerback for starter Aaron Ross, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

The recent loss of LB Mathias Kiwanuka hurts in this department.

And Gibril is their best safety and he didn't make the trip. Why would someone say that losing their starting CB and starting safety is no big story? BTW, Jacobs didn't make the trip nor did Steve Smith and with Plax having a bad knee on top of his ankle is realy hobbled. The Giants are really limping now.

Skimmed and misread that Ross was out. Wilson is just an average safety now. His rookie year was his best year. Losing him is not as important as Ross and Kiwanuka being out. Also, S. Smith hasn't played since week 2 so him being out doesn't mean much at all. I would obviously rather have Jacobs healthy, but the Giants have been able to run the ball pretty well when he is out, so again this doesn't mean they have a much greater chance of losing. Burress is a concern because they really need him to play well. He has been banged up the entire year and for the most part has been really good, so hopefully he will be healthy enough to play well.

 

[MCguidance]

I am almost tempted to start Moose... almost.

 

[Tanner9919]

Not a big story here. Ross is already their best CB, the Bears pass attack is underwhelming, and the Giant's success defending the pass starts and ends with their pass rush.

weathers bad in chicago, right? not sure we'll see much passing,then.