ALBANY – Of all the many additions to the Giants, the arrival of Tim Lewis as defensive coordinator may have the greatest immediate impact. Head coach Tom Coughlin’s oft-stated goal is the restoration of Giant pride and the most appropriate and important place to start is on the defensive side of the ball.
The general consensus around the team is that the coaching of the defense took a step back the past two years when Johnnie Lynn replaced John Fox as coordinator. Lewis spent the past four seasons molding the Steelers’ defense in Pittsburgh before parting ways with coach Bill Cowher and emerging as Coughlin’s first hire.
The unit Lewis gets has been revamped, as six of the front seven are brand new, with Michael Strahan the only holdover. The overhaul came after the Giants slumped to 22nd in the league in defense a year ago and allowed 387 points, the franchise’s highest total since 1980. It’s a tall order to turn this defense around and Lewis will either get loads of credit or blame, depending on how this turns out.
“There will be a lot of scrutiny, that’s part of the deal, that’s part of the job,” Lewis said. “If you’re squeamish at all about that type of thing this is not a very good profession for you.
“I guess I don’t look at it much like it could be a coming out party for Tim Lewis. It’s more important we do well as a team. I’m really interested in knowing my role, accepting my role and excelling at it.”
As far as his scheme, expect Lewis to throw more wrinkles onto the field than both Fox and Lynn did. The base defense will be a familiar 4-3, but the Giants will often show a 3-4 front, mixing and matching as Lewis probes for weaknesses in the opponent. He says he’ll try to have an even mix of pressure, zone and man-to-man.
Affable and eager, Lewis at 42 has an extensive coaching background, starting at Texas A&M in 1987. Lewis played for Jackie Sherrill at the University of Pittsburgh, was a 1983 first-round draft pick of the Packers as a cornerback and holds the Green Bay record with a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown. In the third game of the 1986 season, though, Lewis on Monday Night Football sustained a serious neck injury and was forced into a premature retirement.
One of the most intriguing aspects to Lewis’ approach is the way he’s considering using Strahan, the Pro Bowl defensive end. Lewis wants to make Strahan even harder to block by moving him around, at times allowing him to stand up as a rush end, other times putting him down in a three-point stance and even allowing him to move inside, searching for a vulnerable spot in the offensive line.
“I’ll try to get him as many opportunities to rush the passer as he can get,” Lewis said. “I think he feels pretty good about what we’re doing so far.”
Strahan has 114 career sacks – he’s the NFL’s active leader – by staying in one spot and beating his man (or, in many cases, beating double- and even triple-teams). He does not sound enthralled with changing his method of attack.
“For me, my thing is just make our defense great, I don’t necessarily worry about moving around to keep somebody guessing,” Strahan said. “They pretty much knew where I was gonna be for the last nine years and I’ve been pretty successful with that. I’ve always wondered, if I moved around does it make somebody else uncomfortable having to go where I was? I would rather everybody just stay where they are, everybody get comfortable where they’re playing and I’ll just play where I’m at.”
—-
Man of steel
New Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis held the same position for the Steelers the past four years. Here’s how the two defenses fared during that time:
GIANTS
YEAR — RUN — PASS — O-ALL
2000 2 16 5
2001 8 21 14
2002 16 9 9
2003 18 17 22
STEELERS
YEAR — RUN — PASS — O-ALL
2000 12 9 7
2001 1 4 1
2002 1 20 7
2003 12 10 9
