The New York Giants' defense was lit up by the Saints on Monday night, a truth that had defensive coordinator Perry Fewell fired up during his weekly session with the media on Thursday.
Fewell lambasted both his unit's performance and effort level in the 49-24 loss. Fewell acknowledged that Giants defenders appeared to give up or shy away from making plays to slow down New Orleans' relentless attack.
"As a football coach, as me being the coach and the leader of the defense, that was disheartening," Fewell said, according to The Star-Ledger. "We don't coach pulling up short and we're not going to accept pulling up short. So we won't pull up short again."
The Giants (6-5) are losers of three straight and now must deal with the challenge of handing the Green Bay Packers their first loss on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Fewell said winning or losing comes down to improved play from New York's front line.
"More so than discipline, we just have to get after his ass, OK?" Fewell said, referring to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. "And if we do that and he scrambles then that's the price he's going to have to pay because we're going to hit him. We're going to hit him."
From a self-preservation standpoint, it makes sense why Fewell would call Monday's embarrassment an effort -- and not a scheme -- issue. The last time the Giants faced an undefeated team this late in the season, they took down the 18-0 New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, using a ferocious pass rush to neutralize New England's vertical attack.
Fewell's only hope Sunday likely rides on a similar performance from his big men up front.
