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New York Giants Midseason Grades By Position

By Kenneth Teape

Nov 6, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; A flyover following the national anthem before a game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; A flyover following the national anthem before a game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Giants Midseason Grades By Position
Oct 23, 2016; London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) is tackled by New York Giants defensive end OlivierVernon (54) and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (90) during game 16 of the NFL International Series at Twickenham Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive Line: A-

The Giants spent a lot of money on this unit in the offseason. Olivier Vernon received the richest contract in the history of the NFL for a defensive lineman. Damon Harrison received big money as well and Jason Pierre-Paul was retained on a one-year deal. All three have paid dividends alongside Johnathan Hankins.

While Vernon doesn’t have big sack numbers he has generated a ton of heat on opposing quarterbacks. He has also set the edge in the run game about as well as any defensive lineman, ranking as the 19th overall defensive lineman coming into this week’s games according to Pro Football Focus. He has only two sacks on the season but four tackles for loss and impacts the game beyond just counting stats, such as in the run game.

Vernon and Harrison have helped the Giants turn around their performance against the run. Teams are averaging only 3.6 yards per carry against the Giants and the defensive line has a lot to do with that.

Outside of the starters, the Giants have not gotten very little production. That plays a part in the grade as the Giants reserves need to get something going when the Giants start rotating in sub packages.

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