Giants try to figure out problems on defense

With all hope of making the playoffs officially put to rest after the Detroit Lions' win Thursday, the investigation into the causes of the Giants' lost season began in earnest Friday as reporters cross-examined defensive coordinator Perry Fewell at practice.

Fewell's weekly debriefing painted a picture of a Giants defense that has been unable to get to opposing quarterbacks and has serious communication problems that hinder execution. For instance, Fewell revealed that defensive end Damontre Moore was supposed to be on the field during the Cowboys' winning 80-yard drive in Sunday night's 31-28 victory over the Giants.

"He should have been in on the coverage package that we had," Fewell said. "We just didn't do a good job of managing who was [on the field], because things were going fast, you know? So we just didn't do a good job of managing that. That's poor on my part."

According to Fewell, that wasn't the only mistake. On one play, middle linebacker Jameel McClain blitzed when he was not supposed to, and on the winning 13-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant with 1:01 remaining, the Dallas receiver was supposed to be double-covered.

All of that could have been covered up if the Giants' front four had been able to get to quarterback Tony Romo, Fewell said. But on two pass plays during the winning series, including the touchdown, Romo had more than enough time -- more than seven seconds -- to stand comfortably in the pocket.

Fewell said the mistakes and miscommunications drive him crazy ("That's why I don't have hair," the bald coordinator joked), and added that losing middle linebacker Jon Beason was a major blow to the defense. Still, he declared the Giants have enough talent to be successful.

With the playoffs no longer the goal, the Giants' immediate objective is to end their six-game losing streak. They will have a good chance to do that Sunday against 1-10 Jacksonville, which starts a rookie at quarterback in Blake Bortles.

But defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul cautioned that the 3-8 Giants are in no position to think they're better than any other team. And just because the Jaguars have allowed a league-high 43 sacks, he said, doesn't mean the Giants can assume they'll get to the quarterback.

"We can't look at that," said Pierre-Paul, who is tied for second on the team with 3 1/2 sacks. "Who knows? They might have great protection of the quarterback this week. You don't know."