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I noticed something in preseason that troubled me and it showed itself against the Jets. I am sure they saw it on film and Revis took full advantage of it. Revis could because he is better than any other DB in the NFL, that’s just my opinion. It made Revis’s job easier, he knew exactly how to play the Giant receivers who other than Cruz do not fight for position. They have a tendency to get lazy and wait for the ball to come to them. Nicks is banged up, maybe that’s why he is having some drops and has been a bit lazy as compared to last season with his technique. Although Manningham has also shown some signs of regression, he also has had injury problems. The issue here is that I do see some troubling lack of technique and focus from our receivers.

In the NFL wide receiver is one of the harder positions to play, it’s very technical. Your natural ability will take you just so far and many just rely on that, those players never reach their full potential. Yet other players with less talent become hall of fame receivers. You will get shut down by the better defensive backs if you don’t get better in a technical sense as well as learning the tendencies of your opponents and the intricacies of the playbook. The defensive backs with above average skill have it down to a science. They know exactly what they can get away with, they are schooled on it. They know just how far they can push the envelope with the officials before it’s called pass interference.

Rout running is a science within itself but there is more to it if a player wants to be a superior receiver. Once you run your rout you must know were the DB is too. A receiver must use his body to shield himself and not allow the DB to get position on the ball. This is the issue I am specifically targeting with Nicks and Manningham. If the DB does get position it leads to either the DB knocking the ball away (this is what Revis did all game) or intercepting the ball. By knocking the ball away it could also lead to another defensive player making the interception. Many times a quarterback throws the ball behind the receiver because of the tight coverage, the receiver must come back to the ball and position his body so only he can get the ball, easier said than done. Many times in the past Manningham did just that and it ended up with a big gain because of his elusiveness once he does have the ball.

In my opinion one reason some of the Giants receivers do not concentrate is because they are more interested in YAC. For that reason so many WRs drop the ball instead of looking it into their hands, they want to run before they have the ball. I have seen Nicks not look the ball into his hands, he is trying to run without the ball secured and doesn’t make the catch. In fact I just saw a clip of that on YouTube as I did research for this blog. It’s all about attention to details and not worrying about making the big reception for a huge gain all the time. Ego comes into it, simple technique is more important than making that 100 yard touchdown reception. Making first downs and using the clock is smart football. So many times a player who is trying to make the big play ends up making a mistake that causes a turnover, penalty or some other way to sabotage their own team.

As a receiver you have to protect your ability to catch the ball first, look the ball into your hands, bring it into your body and become more like a running back if you want to get YAC. Some times if you get too fancy with too many moves you get a lot of hits, you end up taking more punishment that way and it adds up, that’s why I say it’s better to turn into more of a running back’s running style in certain situations. Steve Smith the ex-Giants player made a living on falling down, but he would get the first down and racked up a lot of yards and first downs on short passes. He knew how to position himself and get the ball, he obviously never worried about gaining more yards after the catch(YAC). You must always expect a big hit or two and concentrate on those simple techniques above anything else, but you must also try to gain some yards after the catch. Right now I think our receivers are concentrating on YAC too much.

The Giants have one of the best group of receivers in the NFL. They are still young and hopefully will improve, they must improve. Their limitations are not physical they are mental, lack of technique and concentration are holding them back which means the teams is negatively affected. They must also improve their blocking, that will help the run game and can open up the use of some new and exciting plays.  We have 4 receivers with 1000 yard potential, two of them have achieved that, has there ever been three receivers to gain 1000 yards in a season on one team?

As a group the receivers must also learn to stay healthy with better off season preparation, again that is my opinion. When Nicks, Manningham and Cruz get it all together Eli will have a trio of super star quality receivers. What is holding back Ramses Barden? I saw him in college and called him Plax Lite, when the Giants drafted him I was happy, I thought he would be a big part of the offense by now, especially in the red zone. He has shown flashes, and then disappears, why? Some people just don’t have the toughness needed to play in the NFL, is that his problem? Hopefully he will have a coming out party next season and we will have 4 outstanding receivers. I can only hope whomever the offensive coordinator is he will know how best to utilize them whether it is Gilbride or someone else.