When talk turns to the New York Giants, the conversation usually centers on quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Odell Beckham.However, if the Giants are going to end their postseason drought and get back in the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl XLVII, substantial improvement by a defense that finished 2015 dead last in the NFL is a must.General manager Jerry Reese went on a massive spending spree in the offseason in an effort to spur just such a turnaround. If early returns are any indication, it may have been money well spent.Granted, it's important not to read too much into less than 10 snaps played in a game that doesn't count. But the Giants' preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins featured some impressive play from the Giants' new-look defense.The Dolphins first team failed to secure a first down. In fact, the Miami starters failed to do much of anything. Whether it was clogging running lanes or pressuring quarterback Ryan Tannehill, a revamped defensive line featuring new faces in end Olivier Vernon and tackle Damon Harrison dominated the line of scrimmage.As Tara Sullivan of the North Jersey Record reported, second-year safety Landon Collins quipped he was getting a little lonely at the back end of the defense.It got kind of boring back there [in the secondary], Collins said. When you have a line like that, your jobs easy. All you really do is look for the pass. Let them try to make plays.The former Alabama standout went on to say that he and his teammates came into the game wanting to send a message: The Giants are pushovers no more."We came to prove a point. We have a chip on our shoulders, so by doing so, we came to shut down whoever we played against. Thats our move, thats our aggression, and thats what were going to put on the field," he said.It's certainly a contrast with last year, when to say that the Giants had a tissue-paper defense would be insultingto tissue paper.The 2015 Giants allowed over 420 yards per game. That was nearly 140 more yards per game than the league-leading Broncos gave up. In addition to ranking dead last in total defense the Giants ranked 32nd against the pass. Only two teams allowed more points per game or accrued fewer sacks.Simply put, you aren't sniffing the playoffs if your defense can't stop anyone. It's awfully difficult to hold a lead if your secondary and pass rush are among the worst in the league.Reese went hard at that side of the ball from the moment free agency opened, possibly because he knows as well as we do that if the Giants don't get better quick he'll be following Tom Coughlin out the door.The Giants dropped over $100 million in guaranteed money in the contracts for Vernon, Harrison and cornerback Janoris Jenkins alone. They also brought back defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul on a one-year, $10 million pact. Say what you will about huge free-agent spending sprees, but you can't accuse Reese of sitting on his hands.That re-tooled front four had success collapsing the pocket against the Dolphins. According to Justin Terranova of the New York Post, former Giants player and current analyst David Diehl believes that's the key to a defensive turnaround in 2016:The most important thing to have a great defense is to pressure the quarterback with just four players and not having to blitz. Getting Snacks (Harrison) who is probably the best run-stopping defensive tackle in the NFL, will free everyone else to get after the quarterback and force offenses into uncomfortable decisions.Sure enough, Harrison's grade at Pro Football Focus in 2015 against the run trailed only Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams among defensive tackles. No 4-3 end in the National Football League graded higher than Vernon a season ago.The pieces are in place (on paper at least) for one of the better lines in the league. Vernon and Pierre-Paul at the ends. Harrison and Johnathan Hankins inside at the tackle spots. Youngster Owamagbe Odighizuwa (who had two sacks against the Dolphins) will be rotating in.In Diehl's opinion, the biggest unanswered question is which one of those veterans is going to step up and be a leader for the Giants' pass rush:Its one of those things the Giants have been lacking since losing Antonio Pierce, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, no one has filled that void. Olivier Vernon isnt the most vocal guy, but he prepares extremely hard. How are guys going to find their niche, come together as a team and form a cohesive unit. Thats one of the challenges of adding so many new pieces.The overhaul continued in the secondary. In addition to holdovers in Collins and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Giants handed big money to Jenkins and signed veteran Leon Hall. Then Reese spent two of his first three draft picks on defensive backs, selecting Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple at 10th overall and drafting Boise State's Darian Thompson in the third round.Thompson, in particular, has shined as a rookie, moving into the starting lineup opposite Collins. He told Sullivan it's just a matter of buying into the philosophy of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo:"Coach Spags has a picture of a buffalo with a bunch of lions attacking it. He says thats how he wants us to play. If you want to be great on defense, all 11 have to get to the ball. Thats something hes been emphasizing."Collins, who paced the team with 112 tackles as a rookie, told the New York Daily News he's benefiting from the veteran presences of Cromartie, Jenkins and Hall in front of him:It means a lot because you have somebody next to you who has played a lot, who can see things and you have two veteran corners that know the game very well, so with that around you its hard to make a mistake. They know the defense, we know the defense and constantly working and asking each other questions and how we see things it makes everything smooth and that type of communication we have makes everything great.Given how badly the Giants played the pass in 2015 there really isn't anywhere to go but up. But once again, on paper at least, the Giants secondary appears light-years better than last year's incarnation.Of course, as there often is, there's a catch. For approximately the 35th straight season, Reese failed to take any real steps to address the linebacker position, leaving it as a potential weak spot for the Giants defensively.Yes, the Giants did bring in a new face in Keenan Robinson to compete with Jasper Brinkley in the middle. But in 550 snaps last season, Robinson was the sixth-worst qualifying inside linebacker in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. Brinkley has actually managed a top-15 grade each of the past two seasons, but he's a thumping run-stuffer who struggles mightily in coverage.The team's presumptive starter on the weak side is Jonathan Casillas, who had an interception against the Dolphins. It was a rare bright spot for the eighth-year veteran. Last season only Nigel Bradham of the Bills received a lower grade from PFF among 4-3 outside linebackers than Casillas.The thing is, it's OK if the Giants are a little flawed defensively. They don't have to be great on that side of the ball. Or even especially good. Average will be fine. Average could be even more than fine.In 2015, of the four teams in the NFC East, exactly one team fielded an offense that ranked inside the top 10the Giants at No. 8. No other team in the division ranked in the top half of the league.Yes, the Dallas Cowboys, if healthy, will be a much better offensive team in 2016. But their defense has been slammed by suspensions up front. The Washington Redskins are the defending champs and brought over a Pro Bowl cornerback in Josh Norman, but running the ball and stopping the run are question marks. And the Philadelphia Eagleswell the Eagles are a 53-man question mark.The Giants have something no other team in the division has. A division where nine wins was good enough for a playoff spot last season. They have a two-time Super Bowl winner at the most important position in football.Eli Manning can't do it all by himself, though. He needs help...and not just from Odell Beckham.Manning and the Giants need a defense. And while it's still too early to say for sure, it looks like this year they just might have one.Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.
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