Giants defense hopes it finally has answers to the tight end problems

Defending tight ends hasn't come easy for the Giants. And this week they see their old nemesis After a year of retirement, old foe Jason Witten is back with the Cowboys this year. Can the Giants finally find a solution to thwart their biggest position nemesis?

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Never mind trying to figure out the meaning of life; the most challenging question facing the New York Giants defense of late has been figuring out how to stop opposing tight ends from inflicting damage.

Last season, for example, the Giants allowed opposing tight ends to catch 70.5% of their pass targets for 935 yards. That reception percentage easily tops the 61% catch rate the Giants allowed opposing wide receivers to record.

If that isn’t bad enough, opposing tight ends recorded 11 big-play passes of 20+ yards and five red-zone touchdowns against the Giants in 2018, making the position an absolute nightmare to defend.

“Yeah, it’s been a focus, obviously, on defense to make sure we take away the tight end when he’s a primary target,” head coach Pat Shurmur said Wednesday. “We have some things schematically that we can do a little bit differently.”

The Giants will get their first chance to test their new schematics this week against an opposing tight end who historically has been a significant thorn in their side.

That would be Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who is back in uniform after a one-year hiatus to try out a broadcasting career.

Witten has appeared against the Giants 30 times, the Cowboys enjoying a 16-14 record over that period.

On offense, he’s caught 154 out of 214 pass targets for 1,568 yards (72% catch rate) and 15 touchdowns and has scored a total of 92 points against the Giants.

If the Giants were hoping that Witten might be rusty after the year away from the game, it sure looks and sounds like the Giants are going to be disappointed.

“I saw him throughout the year last year doing games,” Shurmur said when asked if he thought Witten was the same player before taking the one-year leave from the game.

“He looked pretty fit to me. I’m sure there were a lot of teams that he broadcasted their games that offered him a job, I would imagine.”

Safety Jabrill Peppers, who will likely draw the responsibility to keep Witten in check, was unaware of what a nemesis Witten has become to the Giants throughout his career.

Peppers has been knee-deep in watching film and taking meticulous notes to get any advantage he can to make his job a little easier on Sunday.

“Seeing what routes he likes against certain coverages out of certain personnel, where he’s at on the field, and what he does from there,” Peppers said when asked what he’s been keying in on with Witten.

“Taking the challenge head-on and going out there and competing at a very high level.”

Peppers noted that one of the things that makes Witten so tough to defend is his 6-foot-6, 263-pound frame.

“He uses his body very well against smaller safeties,” said Peppers, who stands 5-foot-11, 215 pounds.

“I think he’s faster than a lot of people give him credit. He’s established at the game. He knows what he’s doing, he knows how to get open (and) he’s been there forever.

“They have a guy who can get him the ball, and they have guys around him who can stretch the defense out and let him sit in those soft coverages. We are going to take the challenge.”

And hopefully, come out on top this time.

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