Why Giants fans shouldn't worry

If the 2012 New York Giants club had to be summed up in only one word after the first two weeks of the season, the word that would come to most minds would be "inconsistent." This is a long-standing trait for Tom Coughlin's New York squads, and it ends up making this team lean too often on generating miracle finishes.

While there is certainly more than a bit of truth to that perspective, there is ample evidence suggesting that a more accurate single-word description would be "adaptable."

The Giants used that adaptability last season to find ways to work around multiple personnel losses early, and it eventually vaulted Big Blue to four postseason wins and another Lombardi Trophy.

It's still too early to say that the Giants can repeat that late-season success, but there are more than a few reasons to believe they have the personnel and play-calling adaptability needed to turn around some of the problems currently facing them.

Right now, that adaptability would be most useful on the defensive side of the ball, since New York is struggling in many defensive metrics. The Giants rank 30th in the league in yards per attempt allowed (9.6), 30th in yards per completion (14.9) and tied for 26th in passing touchdowns allowed (five).

When a team is dealing with coverage issues of this caliber, there are three ways to go about fixing it: force turnovers, generate more pass rush and improve the coverage.

To read more about why the New York Giants aren't in trouble, plus to get access to all of Insider's NFL coverage, sign up today.

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KC Joyner

NFL Insider

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• NFL and CFB analyst for ESPN Insider
• Known as "The Football Scientist"
• Uses proprietary metrics from game tape study