When Bill Sheridan was promoted from Giants' linebackers coach to become the team's defensive coordinator, he knew he was getting All-Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora back from a season spent rehabilitating his injured knee.
What Sheridan couldn't have known was that the Giants intended to buy him a couple of other welcoming gifts, namely tackles Chris Canty (6-7, 295), who played both end and tackle in the 3-4 Dallas scheme, and Rocky Bernard, who is solely a tackle.
It wouldn't have been enough to keep Steve Spagnuolo from accepting the head coaching job in St. Louis, but it does set up a defense that could very well do for Sheridan what the Giants' unit did for Spagnuolo -- make him a winner in his first season as coordinator.
"I have to feel we have a very sound defense, maybe one of the best in the league," Sheridan said the other day. "Getting Osi back was a great thing, and signing the guys we signed during the UFA period was more than I could have hoped for."
What Sheridan plans to do is still a privileged secret, but knowing that he worked closely under Spagnuolo and shared the same helter-skelter style of intimidating pass rush, it is probably no secret that he will, in the words of his predecessor, "put the best 11 guys on the field," which in turn translates into putting the best seven front line and linebacker people on the field, too.
"We are a press defense," he said, "so when it's clearly pass rush time, they (the offense) will have to figure out who's coming, who's faking and who's staying back. It's a challenge for any offense, and even for the best of them it forces adjustments."
The quick release is one mode of compensation. The short drop that usually accompanies it is another. Sometimes a pump fake will result in handing the ball to a power back going up the middle. But whatever the case, the Giants will have a crew of outstanding players on the field.
It might involve Canty at end or Justin Tuck moving from end to tackle, or tackle Jay Alford going to outside to end. Or there may be other combinations in Sheridan's bag of tricks. Suffice to say that end Mathis Kiwanuka will spend some time at strong-side linebacker, too, or might just help to form a front four (or five) of quick, strong pass rushers.
In the end, it would be wrong to assume the offenses that come up against will this Giants' defensive unit will enjoy the experience even a little bit.
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