How Bill Belichick reused Super Bowl strategy to bait Giants

Remember the hubbub about the closing seconds of Super Bowl XLIX, when the Seahawks did not give Marshawn Lynch the ball near the goal line and instead attempted a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Malcolm Butler, securing another championship for the Patriots?

Well, some of that was revisited Sunday, with the Giants on the move, 5 yards from the end zone and looking for a go-ahead touchdown.

Back on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz., the Seahawks insisted they could not run the ball with Lynch because the Patriots had their goal-line defense on the field, making it a bad, bad matchup. On first down for the Giants on the New England 5-yard line, Bill Belichick made sure his goal-line defense – the bigger-bodied defensive linemen and linebackers, a unit that specializes in run stopping – was on the field. Ben McAdoo sent in a running play, but Eli Manning changed the call at the line of scrimmage, seeing the Patriots’ defensive personnel.

We all know what followed: Perfect play-call adjustment, Odell Beckham Jr. one-on-one with Butler, perfectly thrown ball, two-handed catch, Butler strips the ball away, touchdown called on the field, replay, ruling overturned.

The Patriots kept their goal-line personnel on the field, and Manning threw an incomplete second-down pass in the end zone intended for Dwayne Harris. On third down, a designed rollout to Manning’s right, he could not find anyone open, slid down to take a sack – he learned from his opening-game blunder in Dallas – and the Giants settled for a field goal.

This is part of the genius of Belichick. He makes you adjust to him. He knew the Giants would not run the ball in that situation, facing that defensive package – just as he forced the Seahawks in the Super Bowl to go away from their preference. Passing the ball is more difficult crammed in to a small, confined space, with bodies everywhere and the threat of a tipped ball turning into an interception. The Giants played it cautiously; Manning was not going to risk a turnover. Their running game is not much good anywhere on the field, and in tight quarters against the best Patriots run-stoppers, to think they were going to pound it in from the 5-yard line is foolhardy. Also, do not forget the Giants were playing without two of their best offensive linemen. Left guard Justin Pugh was not active because of an illness and center Weston Richburg went out in the third quarter with a sprained ankle. You want to lean on the ground game running behind John Jerry and Dallas Reynolds?

Sure, running the ball, instead of two passes, would have taken more time off the clock. But scoring a touchdown to go ahead by five points – or seven, if they made the two-point conversion – was the correct priority. Simply using more of the clock, running the ball and settling for a field goal and a two-point lead, against the greatest quarterback (Tom Brady) of this generation, and the greatest kicker (Stephen Gostkowski) in the league, would have been unwise.

Bottom line: Belichick got the Giants to do what he wanted them to do, and he won.

Of course, if Beckham simply holds onto the ball – which he should have – no one is using this particular moment in time to hail Belichick’s genius. As always, the players make the coach look smart, or dumb, far more often than the other way around.

Other musings from the Giants’ imperfect 27-26 loss to the Patriots:

• While we’re harping on how the Giants handled their last offensive series, the third-down call was not one to remember. A designed rollout gets Manning moving away from pressure, but it also takes away the entire left side of the field, because Manning is not going to throw against his body at that point in the game. Manning is not a run threat, so the Patriots did not have to honor the scramble, and they easily covered the targets packed into one side of the end zone. Not a big fan of that one.
• Does all this late-game losing seem a tad remarkable? Well, it is. For the first time in franchise history, the Giants have lost four times in games in which they led in the last two minutes in the fourth quarter. That is one off the NFL single-season record of five, set by the 2000 Chargers, since the statistic was first tabulated in 1983.

  

• Trumaine McBride played only 13 of the 73 defensive snaps, and in that limited time came up with a huge play, a diving goal-line interception of Tom Brady – only Brady’s third interception this season. McBride is only 5-foot-9, but he is feisty and prepared and should probably get more playing time.
• Ereck Flowers needs a break, so this bye week comes just in time for the big rookie left tackle. He did not allow Chandler Jones to wreck the game, but Jones did rush past Flowers for a strip-sack of Manning. Flowers received the lowest grade on offense from Pro Football Focus, allowing six quarterback hurries and the one sack. There are times when Flowers’ technique gets sloppy and he relies too much on his size and strength. It has been a long haul for him, and he could use a rest.
• Remember when players allowed the team they play for – the team that pays them – to announce they need season-ending surgery? Victor Cruz made that announcement on a video he made. Isn’t that news the jurisdiction of the Giants? Times have changed.

  

• Jason Pierre-Paul played 86 percent of the defensive snaps (63 of 73) and earned the highest defensive grade from PFF for one quarterback hit, six quarterback hurries and one batted pass. Officially, though, Pierre-Paul was not credited with any tackles. He said there is “still some things to take care of’” in adjusting to being back onto the field and operating with a club of a right hand. He will stay in the area during the bye week to “keep my mind focused and get ready for the next team.’’ Pierre-Paul has been at it for only two weeks, and he is still behind.
• It seemed a bit pointless to see Andre Williams on the Giants’ third offensive series, coming in mid-series to replace Shane Vereen, who came in after Rashad Jennings was in the backfield on the first two series. Williams enters, along with fullback Nikita Whitlock, and the Giants are going to go to their power running game, such as it is. Williams gains 3 yards on his first rushing attempt, loses a yard on his second and never touches the ball again — those were his only two snaps. What was the point? Was it so important to get Williams and this particular offensive package in the game in the second quarter, ahead of Orleans Darkwa, who came in on the next series? Why the incessant desire to get all four running backs involved in the first half?
• Of the 22 designed running plays, 18 were between the tackles, according to PFF. That is another flaw with this roster – there is virtually no outside speed in the backfield. Unless it is a busted play by the defense, the Giants’ running backs cannot break away. It is not a good thing when the longest run from scrimmage comes from Manning – a 10-yard scramble.