Perry Fewell sits in NY's hotseat

Around this time last year, we were talking about Plaxico Burress and how his absence would ultimately lead to the Giants not making a playoff run in 2009.

Five weeks into the season, that talk all minimized after the Giants went 5-0, including division wins over Washington and Dallas to kick off the ’09 season.

But a defensive meltdown is what lead the G-Men to sitting at home come January, allowing five different teams score 40+ points on their defense (and Philly did it twice). The 8-8 record does nothing but leave a bitter taste of defeat in the mouths of all Giants fans as they were all on high horses in week six, only to be humbled and silent by week nine.

No longer is Eli Manning in the hot seat, having his best season as a pro, throwing 27 touchdowns and ending the season with a 93.1 quarterback rating. But now the attention in NY has shifted to the defense who ranked 30^th in points allowed.

That’s right, the same defense that was once credited for dismantling Tom Brady and Randy Moss in the Super Bowl is now only better than two other teams in the NFL. That’s like someone knocking out Brock Lesnar in the UFC Octagon, only to loose the following week to Screech from Saved by the Bell.

A little exaggerated, I know, what more do you expect from me?

Enter, Perry Fewell. He is the new defensive coordinator in New York (or New Jersey, whatever…) and has been assigned the daunting task of reviving this defense. A defense that benched Osi Umenyiora last season and played musical chairs with their secondary. Fewell comes from Buffalo where he was their defensive coordinator since 2006. Although he may’ve coached in the state of New York, we all know that the North New York media is nowhere near as critical as the city.

In a division with high octane offenses like Dallas and Philly (sorry Washington, you don’t quite cut the mustard just because you have McNabb), Fewell has his work cut out for him. He has to revitalize a defense that looked like they gave up last season. He also has to help Coughlin in the quest to keep the Giants as THE team in New York as the Jets are suddenly making a name for themselves.

So there it is Fewell, turn the defense around or be quickly shipped out of another New York franchise…no pressure though.