Osi Umenyiora
I wrote the other day about why the Giants lost to Arizona. Osi Umenyiora was not one of the reasons why the Giants lost. According to Neil Best at Newsday, Umenyiora and Lance Legree were the starting ends but the Giants spent much time in the dime because of the Cardinals three receiver sets. Umenyiora and Torbor often played end in the dime, while Hand, Bromell, and Wiley didn’t see much action.
So Umenyiora saw a lot of playing time. How did he do? In some respects it’s hard to say. Torbor is easier to run at (and Arizona did run at him), but that’s not saying much because Torbor’s a 250 pound pass rush specialist. Mike Garafolo gave the defense a B and creditied the play of both Umenyiora and Torbor. I think Best is right to point out that Arizona was able to run at Torbor and that Garafolo should ahve at least given it a mention if not in his gradebook then at least in his piece about Umenyiora and Torbor.
But I digress. Back to Umenyiora. Four tackles, one sack, one forced fumble. Here’s an interesting article from George O’Gorman about Osi’s value and his mistakes in covering gaps. You would expect mistakes to decrease as playing time increases. O’Gorman though Osi would start in Strahan’s old spot, but Paul Schwartz got it right (it’s easier after the game): “Osi Umenyiora started at right end in place of Washington. There was plenty of mixing and matching to find a combination that worked.”
Ernie Palladino also seems to give more credit to Torbor than to Osi, but I think Osi played better. I wouldn’t call Umenyiora a run stuffer, but he’s not the liability that Torbor is. He may be average against the run now, but that’s not bad for a second year guy from a small school. He’ll become a better run stopper. He’s a quick pass rusher and will improve with expereince.
From the scouts’ quotes on ESPN:
“The Giants lost, I know, but I can see now why Ernie (Accorsi, general manager) didn’t want to give up that Osi guy (defensive end Osi Umenyiora) in the Eli Manning-Philip Rivers trade. I watched him pretty closely and he’s going go be a good player. He’s active, real quick off the ball, a guy who will get you 10 or 12 sacks every year when he matures.”
