Rock: Changing defense will take getting used to

They came sprinting out of the tunnel one after the other Sunday afternoon, introduced as the Giants' starting defense. Nine, 10, 11, 12 . . .

Wait a minute. Just how many starters do the Giants have?

Answer: As many as they need.

"There are 15 guys that start," Tom Coughlin said Monday.

Unless someone has changed the basic framework of football, that's about four too many. But Coughlin and the Giants do not use the word "starter" like the rest of us. We tend to think of the guy who is on the field for the first snap of the game as the starter. They don't.

At least they're trying to convince the players that starting isn't starting in a traditional sense. "You guys are so hung up on that word," he said to the press last week. He probably had to say the same thing to the team at some point.

"We've spent a lot of time talking about this," Coughlin said. "We've been on this subject since last winter, to be honest with you, that we would use our guys to the best of their ability and we would do the best we can to determine, against what we're playing, the structure that we need to give us the edge."

This week, for instance, linebacker Michael Boley was one of the starters who wasn't starting. The Giants were in a run-stopping look and that meant having defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka at linebacker. Boley played a strong portion of the game - more than 40 of the Giants' 69 defensive snaps - but had to be on the sideline early.

"It's cool," he said slowly and deliberately, as if trying to convince himself of the fact. "First and foremost, it's whatever benefits the team. All that other stuff is secondary. Of course we all want to be on the field at the same time, but you can't put everybody on the field at the same time."

But it was, he said, an adjustment. Especially for a player who, after being a starter for the Falcons, was demoted to a situational role. Is he convinced that he's not being marginalized, that his starter status was taken away for one game because of a matchup and not because of his play?

"I don't know," he said. "It's early. It's only Week 1. We'll see."

Most teams have their 11 players who are designated as starters and, barring injury or the fluke sub package to start a game, they are on the field when the contest begins. The Giants are breaking that mold, shattering the depth chart. And maybe bruising some egos along the way.

How will it work this week? Who will be starting? More to the point, who will be upset if they are not starting?

Probably no one . . . if the Giants win. That's the key to everyone's satisfaction. That's why Boley couldn't grumble after the game. "It worked," Boley said with a shrug.

Besides egos, the new Giants philosophy must also manage timing. Players need to be on the ready in case their group is suddenly needed on the field.

"You can never really practice those situations like that until you get them in the game," cornerback Corey Webster said of the flow of personnel. "I think everybody responded well. We didn't have a lot of miscommunications, everybody was on point, was ready and knew what Coach was asking of us."

Coughlin said that was one of his concerns, especially since the Giants did not unveil their changing defense during the preseason. He was pleased by the smooth exchanges.

But it is also taking some getting used to.

"I can't really worry about what they're going to do with us as players," Boley said. "Being here, it's a coin toss as far as what's going to happen week in and week out. Basically, for me, it's just sitting back and waiting to see what they ask me to do.

"We like to switch things up and keep things interesting."