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New York Giants: Justin Tuck Reminds Us Defense Wins Championships

By Joshua Simons

Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck (91) celebrates after a sack against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Raiders defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck (91) celebrates after a sack against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Raiders defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Giants should be reminded with Justin Tuck’s retirement that defense wins championships.

With his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons, former New York Giants‘ Defensive End Justin Tuck joins a long list of memorable defensive players who lead the Giants to success by reeking havoc on Quarterbacks. It is a list that won’t be growing anytime soon unless the Giants make some serious changes to their defense this offseason.

The New York Giants defensive woes this season are all too familiar to fans who witnessed a defense that gave up 4,783 passing yards, the most ever by an NFL team in league history. The defense will need some major upgrades this offseason for the New York Giants to break their playoff drought. How should they do this?

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The most successful Giants defenses of recent memory have been predicated on the pass rush. To build that, the Giants have focused on the front four. Defensive End Jason Pierre Paul, a former first round pick, has been selected to two Pro Bowls. Defensive Tackle Jonathan Hankins, a former second round pick, is a budding star that gets better every season, but ended 2015 on IR.

Defensive End Robert Ayers Jr. was a free agent signing who had a career year this past season registering nine sacks, 41 tackles, and forcing two fumbles despite battling numerous injuries.

The Giants without question need to upgrade their front four this offseason. But the need for upgrades on the defensive line pale in comparison to the upgrades the team needs at the Linebacker position.

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For some inexplicable reason, the Giants never draft linebackers before the fourth round of the draft. The last time they selected a linebacker before the third round of the NFL draft was in 2009, and it was a huge bust in Clint Sintim. The most impactful linebacker pick for the New York Giants over the past decade has been Zak DeOssie, a fourth round pick from the 2007 NFL Draft, who has had success as a long snapper for the Giants special teams unit.

The Giants can’t get by with the likes of mediocre free agent players like Jonathan Casillas, who is better suited for special teams, and J.T. Thomas. Jon Beason can’t be relied upon due to injuries, as he misses more games than he plays in.

There is a dearth of talent at the position. No Giants’ linebacker is keeping Offensive Coordinators of opposing teams up late at night worrying how to game plan around them. For the Giants to get back to the playoffs, they need major upgrades on the defensive side of the football. That includes the Linebacker position.

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Then, and only then, will more players join Justin Tuck on the list of former greats who played on New York Giant defense.

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