Sam Spiegelman

Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell held his weekly press conference yesterday, fielding questions about the Redskins and the sudden revitalization of the defensive line.

Fewell said his defense was more focused against the 49ers than any other game this season. They’ll need a similar sort of approach when talented rookie Robert Griffin III comes to town.

“You have to be aware of the quarterback. You’re always aware of him, but with guys that are mobile quarterbacks, you become more aware. Your senses arise a lot more. They can take off at any time and so it takes a lot of discipline in your rush lanes. It takes a lot of discipline in your run lanes and so that’s the main thing is that you’re more aware that this guy can take off and go on you at any point in time.”

Mathias Kiwanuka was one of the main contributors last week. The linebacker found himself at his natural position, defensive end, where he recorded two tackles and one of the team’s six sacks.

Fewell expressed content with Kiwanuka’s performance, but would not confirm where he expected him to line up going forward.

“That was a specific game plan situation. We felt like we were going out on the west coast and we had to have a good rotation because we did a couple of things different with JPP and so it was a specific game plan situation for us.”

In the days leading up to this NFC East showdown, Antrel Rolle was among a number of Giants to respond to whether RGIII’s skill-set was similar to that of Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick.

This season, the Giants have already faced and lost to Vick’s Eagles, but did have success against another mobile quarterback. Big Blue trampled Carolina, who is led by, of course, Cam Newton.

“I believe that Robert Griffin is a lot different than the guys that we have played at this point. He is an extremely, not that those guys are not good athletes, but he is an extremely gifted athlete and he can go from 0-60 right now. When you put the ball in his hands and obviously they do, they expect him to win. So you have to win your matchups against him.”

The secret to the Giants’ success is always how effective their pass rush can be. Case and point, the Giants annihilated San Francisco behind a season-high 6-sack effort.

Asked whether pressure could be a decisive factor this week against RGIII, Fewell said yes, but not simply sacks.

“I want to say yes, but they’ve had really good success in protecting him on third down. I don’t think he’s been sacked, if I’m not mistaken, on third down in the games we have scouted. So I’m going to say yes. I’m not going to say that we’re not going to try to get after the guy. You have to be competitive and challenge your defense.”

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