LANDOVER, Md. – For a veteran player, the inclination, of course, is to acknowledge all the inexperience around you and get in your head that you must do something spectacular. The potential pitfall, of course, is when a veteran tries to do just that.
“You can’t be afraid of trying to step up,” strong safety Shaun Williams said, “but you have to play within the integrity of the defense.”
Williams is one of only five regular starters assured of receiving playing time this afternoon for the Giants defense. The rest of the unit will be a makeshift blend of reserves who will be asked to become cohesive in a hurry, in time to face the Redskins at FedEx Field.
Two of the three regular linebackers are out and both starting cornerbacks will be sidelined. Linebackers Nick Greisen and Kevin Lewis and cornerback Ralph Brown will all make their first NFL starts.
“It’s a hard situation, it’s hard for those guys because they’re being thrown into a situation maybe they weren’t expecting to be in, to play a big major part in us winning a game,” Williams said. “That’s what the young guys have to do. We need to find a way to get it done, one way or another.”
There could be quite a strain put on Williams. Allen has a shoulder injury that will keep him out and the concussion Peterson suffered two weeks ago still hasn’t fully cleared. That means Brown and Jason Sehorn will be the starting corners and seldom-used Reggie Stephens moves up into the nickel back spot.
This is not encouraging news for a defense that was brought to its knees in last week’s 32-29 overtime loss to the Titans.
“My philosophy has always been the next guy in line steps in and plays,” defensive coordinator Johnnie Lynn said.
Although the Redskins are far from an offensive dynamo, this will be a severe test for Lynn, a first-year coordinator who now operates a patchwork unit. Last week, Lynn’s calls were a constant source of frustration, as nearly everything he tried did not work.