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Weakest unit faces NFL's top receiver

The Giants shaky secondary cannot afford any mistakes against the record-setting Randy Moss.

By John Romano
Published February 1, 2008

The Giants' James Butler watches Randy Moss head for the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown that gave the Patriots the lead for good in the fourth quarter of the teams' Week 17 matchup.
	[Getty Images]

PHOENIX

They are likable fellows, these New York defensive backs.

Friendly and funny. Playful and carefree. They are young, they have a spot in the Super Bowl, and they are quite possibly on the verge of becoming famous across the globe.

Ah, the poor fools.

Is there anyone more likely to become this Super Bowl's Jackie Smith? Or Scott Norwood? Is there anyone more likely to end up ridiculed on the back page of a New York tabloid?

All that's being asked of this maligned collection of rejects and rookies is to slow down the most potent offense the NFL has ever produced and to stop the most spectacular receiver of his generation.

Here comes Randy Moss, and there goes New York's slim hope.

"You look at this guy, he's 6-5, he's skinny, he's long. You think, 'Aw, I can cover this guy.' But once he gets on the football field, he's a different person," New York cornerback Sam Madison said. "He jumps in the air, and it's like, 'Where did he come from?'

"You look at kids up and down the street, 5, 6, 7 years old. When they're playing video games, they want to pick the best team they can. Now who do you think they pick at receiver for their video game? The guy is taller than us. He's faster than us. He jumps higher than a lot of us. People said a lot of things about him in Oakland, but he's shown he's still the same Randy Moss."

Now having said that, Madison insists the Giants are not intimidated. He said they will not concede a single passing yard to Moss. But they're not dummies, either. They've gotten used to the idea that their spotlight always comes in the colors of a target.

This is a secondary that has been ridiculed much of the season. It has had injuries and demotions.

One cornerback, R.W. McQuarters, lost his starting job after the first game. The other corner, Corey Webster, lost his job after the second game.

In all, New York used eight combinations of starters at corner and safety. And quarterbacks had an 83.4 passer rating against the Giants, which was 17th in the NFL and the worst, by far, of any playoff team.

There are no Pro Bowl candidates back there. Half of them arrived in New York after some other team gave up on them. On a team that has done a better job sacking quarterbacks than any in the league, it's pretty easy to pick out the weak link in the passing defense.

"They've talked about us all year long," said McQuarters. "They keep pointing out we gave up 80 points the first two games of the year. I understand that. We didn't like it either. We had to buckle down and get the monkey off our backs. It's still there, and it's going to stay there until we're world champs.

"That's when it doesn't matter what anybody else says."

That, of course, is the tricky part. New England brings Tom Brady, the NFL's most vluable player at quarterback. It brings Wes Welker and his 112 receptions. And it brings the good Mr. Moss.

The Giants caught a glimpse of the heartache Moss can provide in the regular-season finale. New York held him to four receptions for 30 yards through the first three quarters and had a 28-23 lead.

Then he got behind the secondary for a 65-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Giants never led again.

"Once you get past the awe of playing against him, you have to figure out what you need to do to control him and take him out of the game," cornerbacks coach Peter Giunta said. "To play corner in this league, you have to have great confidence, and you have to have a short-term memory."

So how, exactly, does a corner play Moss?

With a lot of help.

In most situations, Moss is going to face double coverage. That means a cornerback can try to jam Moss at the line and sit on underneath routes because the safety is providing deep help.

Madison said the most important thing is trusting that the safety will be back there because that gives the cornerback a little more leeway trying to slow Moss down at the start of his route.

"You have to keep him in front of you," Madison said. "Because once he's even, he's leaving."

For all the grief the secondary has endured this season, it has survived a pretty impressive parade of receivers in the postseason. Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway, Dallas' Terrell Owens and Green Bay's Donald Driver all had 1,000-yard seasons, but they averaged less than 70 yards a game against New York.

And each postseason victory could be traced back to a key interception.

McQuarters picked off Jeff Garcia right after the two-minute warning to seal the win against the Bucs. McQuarters also intercepted a Tony Romo pass in the end zone with nine seconds remaining against the Cowboys, and Webster's interception of Brett Favre set up the overtime field goal in Green Bay.

Of course, none of those receivers set the NFL record of 23 receiving touchdowns the way a certain New England receiver did.

"You see this guy running down the field, and you're thinking, 'I'm running as fast as I can, and I'm still not staying close to him.' He's an unbelievable athlete," Madison said. "But yeah, I like my chances against him. We had a great opportunity to beat him the first time, but we were in awe of everything going on."

The Giants cannot afford the same mistake Sunday.

Otherwise, their lives will pass before their eyes.

And he'll be wearing No. 81.

John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 1, 2008, 00:02:15]