Key to Giants' defense will be safety play

In hindsight, the unraveling of the Giants' defense last season began with the season-ending knee injury to safety Kenny Phillips in Week 2. By the end of the season, the Giants' inability to stop the deep passing game was evident to all, which is why general manager Floyd Reese moved to acquire accomplished veterans Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant to shore up the position.

The fortuitous return to health of Phillips after microfracture knee surgery almost came as an unexpected bonus. The wealth of talent at safety now represents the strength of the Giants' secondary, and there's a good chance that will figure prominently in the game plan new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell devises to combat the prolific passing of the Colts' Peyton Manning Sunday night.

Of course, the main story line revolves around the quarterback matchup between the Manning brothers. "It's got to be quite cool for two brothers to share the same battlefield," Rolle said. "Both are elite quarterbacks in this league. We're going to rally behind Eli and make sure he's the brother who comes out on top."

Judging by the Giants' opener, their safeties are the defensive playmakers, which is why Fewell often had all three on the field against the run-oriented Panthers. Phillips and Grant each had end-zone interceptions, and Rolle led the Giants with eight total tackles and added a quarterback hit.

Conventional wisdom says you combat a passing team like the Colts, who ran the ball only 10 times in Week 1, by putting extra cornerbacks on the field. But head coach Tom Coughlin said he's impressed with the versatility of his three safeties and their ability to move within the defensive scheme.

"There wasn't any doubt about being able to do that with Grant, playing him in different spots, and the two-deep people," Coughlin said, including Phillips. "Rolle has been a corner, so, you know that he can do some man coverage on people if you get stuck in situations."

Grant believes Fewell wants the best athletes on the field regardless of position, which means more opportunities for the safeties. "He definitely did last week," Grant said. "We've been doing some things to try and figure out how you're going to have all of us out there at the same time."

Of Manning's 40 completions in Week 1, only 10 went to wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garçon. Tight end Dallas Clark and slot receiver Austin Collie each caught 11, and the other eight went to running backs.

Short passes to Clark, who gained an average of 7.3 yards at Houston, are almost like running plays. "Clark's matchups on linebackers, he wins about 95 percent of those," Rolle said. "We definitely have to create matchup issues with them and put our best guys on their best guys. I think that's what we're going to do. I think we have an excellent game plan for them."

As for his own ability to play different roles in the defense, Rolle added, "I tell coach all the time, wherever he needs me is where I'll be, whether it's being the third corner, fourth corner or being a safety playing down in the box."

If Fewell uses three safeties, it should improve the physical component in coverage against the Colts. "I don't think that; I know that," Grant said. "That should be automatic. You definitely have to be physical and have guys looking for contact before the ball gets there."

The short passing game is Manning's bread and butter, and he uses it to set up the deep seam routes and deep outs. That's where Phillips excels. "I think coach Perry is doing a good job of getting the best group of people on the field and disguising everything," Phillips said. "Myself and Deon are interchangeable. The sky's the limit."