Fewell has turned Giants defense around

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Perry Fewell navigated through the hallways of the Giants' practice facility, past tributes of the organization's finest moments, to the media room on the far side of the building. Fewell was angry. It was the first Thursday in December, 3 days after the Giants' defense allowed 49 points and 577 total yards in a loss to the Saints on national television.

The Giants' defensive coordinator had not yet publicly discussed the outing. In his first encounter with cameras, Fewell shared his outrage. He used words not fit for print, although the tongue-lashing was not reserved for just the public. His appraisal of a lack of effort also was conveyed to his players, who provided no objections.

"We knew we could get it together and we would get it together. It was just a matter of when," Fewell said yesterday. "Obviously, there was frustration. This is the era of instant gratification, so we want it to happen right now. We kept talking to each other, kept communicating with each other, kept believing in each other. I never saw any doubt."

Fewell spoke yesterday as the defensive coordinator for the NFC East champions, who are one win away from the Super Bowl, which would be reached by winning at San Francisco on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game. After the New Orleans loss, Fewell's approval rating slipped to its nadir of his two-season stint in New York.

Only a year earlier, Fewell was a hot head-coaching candidate who interviewed for four vacancies. But in the middle of this late-season collapse, fans ruminated at the possibility of Giants Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo returning, a possibility that became moot yesterday with his decision to join the Saints staff.

So, to recap - an underachieving defense, a defensive coordinator under scrutiny, and a fan base eager for Spagnuolo. Sound familiar, Philadelphia?

Yet while the Eagles have not made a decision about Juan Castillo's future, Fewell and the Giants have won four consecutive games, including playoff victories over Atlanta and Green Bay. The defense has become as disruptive as the Meadowlands winds, turning Fewell again from the hot seat to head-coaching candidate.

"With the shortened season, we didn't get OTAs; it took us time to get to know the defense to where Perry wants to run it," said Derrick Martin, who played for such celebrated defensive coordinators as Rex Ryan and Dom Capers during previous stints with Baltimore and Green Bay. "By the time we got to the point, it was Week 13, Week 14. And now it's looking so good. It's just one of those defenses you just got to know."

Perhaps there's a lesson there for Eagles fans clamoring for the dismissal of Castillo, whose unit allowed more than one touchdown in only one of the final four games. Then again, the Eagles' hot streak came against quarterbacks Matt Moore, Stephen McGee, Mark Sanchez and Rex Grossman - not Tony Romo, Matt Ryan or Aaron Rodgers.

But the overriding sentiment among Giants players, particularly veterans who have played for other coordinators, is the confidence they've maintained in Fewell. When the defense struggled in 2009 under defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, you had to search hard for Sheridan loyalists. After a loss such as the one the Giants suffered against New Orleans this season, there was no fracturing in the defensive meeting room. Instead, the players describe almost a widespread acknowledgement that Fewell was correct in his assessment of the group's futility.

"We knew it wasn't [our] scheme," said veteran defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, who has played for four defensive coordinators in his career. "It was just about players taking care of their business. We just had to take care of what we had to, and it took off for us."

The Giants finished the season No. 27 in total defense in the NFL, allowing an average of 376.4 yards per game. Playoff teams New England and Green Bay finished worse than the Giants. The Eagles finished No. 8. In the postseason, though, the Giants have allowed nearly 60 fewer yards and 14 fewer points than their regular-season averages.

Fewell said the primary issue during most of the season was the inability of the defensive front, linebacking corps and secondary to play together as a unit. Part of that could be attributed to new faces, especially after the team lost two key defensive starters (middle linebacker Jonathan Goff and cornerback Terrell Thomas) to season-ending injuries in the preseason. Another cause of the trouble was the NFL's work stoppage, which kept the Giants from developing young players during the offseason minicamps.

Ironically, the Giants were supposed to be well positioned after the lockout, because they returned Fewell as coordinator and many key players. Fewell quickly realized that the infusion of newcomers overrode the stability of returning players, and that combining the two groups took more time than he anticipated.

"I'm seeing the benefit now," Fewell said. "I didn't think I was seeing the benefit early because of the lockout, and then the injuries and trying to put new players into the system and learning the system."

Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, a former Penn State standout, is in his ninth NFL season and knew Fewell when the latter coached defensive backs with the Rams in 2003 and 2004. Kennedy signed with the Giants, in part, because of Fewell. Kennedy has barely played for the Giants in recent weeks, so he might have reasonable objections with the coaching staff. Instead, Kennedy praises Fewell and thinks some of the available head-coaching jobs - particularly Tampa Bay and Indianapolis, because of personnel that fits the "Tampa-2" scheme - would be an ideal fit for Fewell.

"Think about good coordinators: They get the team that they have, they put their defense together, they know their talent, and then they execute. He does a decent job of that," Kennedy said. "It would be nice to see him get one of he jobs that's open right now . . . He definitely fits the Tampa job, as well as the Indy job. I'd love to see him get one of those jobs."

If the Giants win Sunday, Fewell's profile will continue to grow. If he's offered a head-coaching job, the Giants' defensive coordinator spot would suddenly open again.

Of course, that's all speculation. But considering where the Giants' defense stood less than 2 months ago, Fewell can simply be pleased no one desires his dismissal anymore.

"I'm just trying to keep the job that I have," Fewell said. "I'm happy not to see my name in print sometimes."