Wellington
BAAAALLLINNN'
Redskins had a top-ranked defense in like 2008 but it didn't mean shit because although they didn't give up a lot of points or yards, they never forced sacks or many turnovers, and the yardage they did give up often was big plays. The Giants D, on the other hand, despite being ranked low overall, were still forcing sacks and for the most part, turnovers, all season long. Your secondary, which has never really been much above average, was the cause of your headaches throughout the season. That and your offense turning the ball over which necessitated 4th quarter comebacks. It's like saying Tebow was ultimate clutch in the 4th quarter; the Broncos wouldn't have needed to come back in those games in Tebow had played better the other 3 quarters. Eli is not an elite quarterback, and he will not win another SB (even if the Giants D-line hulks out for the remainder of the playoffs). Period.
1) Secondary has been an issue all season long primarily because of injuries. We lost Terrell Thomas who was definitely our best defensive player last year at #2 CB, and our guy that we drafted, Prince, missed so much time he is damn near ineffective right now. We've had a safety playing as our nickel CB all year - how can you dismiss that? Further, we lost two LBs before the year, and Boley was hurt. The zone coverages we try to run don't work if we have guys that aren't around running them from day 1 playing in those positions.
2) LOL @ your turnover comment. Not quite friend. Eli threw 16 ints on the season, 8 of those were in three games (3 against SEA, 3 against WAS, and 2 against SF). As a whole the Giants combined for 5 fumbles on the year. Let's get real here dude.