Big Blue View
Wan’Dale Robinson had a career game in Sunday’s 34-27 loss by the New York Giants to the Detroit Lions. Let’s break it down.
Robinson had four catches for 106 yards in the first quarter; he was the first New York Giants’ receiver to eclipse the century mark in the first quarter since Hakeem Nicks in 2011. Robinson finished the game with nine catches on 14 targets for a career high 156 yards with a touchdown (17.3 yards per catch).
Robinson had a career high 4.24 yards per route run; his previous career high was set in Week 2 of this season against the Dallas Cowboys (4.06 Y/RR). Interim head coach Mike Kafka discussed Robinson’s ability to defeat man coverage as an asset against Kelvin Sheppard’s heavy man-approach. Amik Robertson was tasked with containing Robinson and, as predicted, the Giants’ shifty receiver won the matchup.
It wasn’t just man coverage wins, though; New York successfully split Cover-2 for a 15-yard gain off a deep SAIL concept. Also, Robinson’s 40-yard catch and run was against Cover-3, where the deep third and buzz defender both allowed Robinson to win inside on a deep over. The Lions got wise in the second half, as Robinson alluded to after the game when Paul Dottino interviewed him about the offense at the end of the game:
“I was just more so sick that I was getting double-teamed at that point during the game, and I couldn’t really go out there and make a play too much.”
Detroit adjusted to Robinson by aggressively dropping the safety down and relating to Robinson’s in-breaking routes:
(top of screen, Q3 8:54, first-and-10)
(top of screen, Q4 10:50, first-and-10)
(Top of screen slot, Q4 8:10, third-and-10)
(Top of screen slot, Q4 5:36, third-and-17)
(Top of screen, OT 9:38, first-and-10)
This was the first time we have consistently seen coverage dictated by a Giants’ receiving threat since the injury to Malik Nabers in Week 4 against the Chargers. This should not be overstated. Here are some plays where Robinson’s impact was felt.
It was a quality subtle block sell by Robinson, but this was more of a product of the Lions over-selling against the run, and a well-designed and disguised trick play by Kafka and the Giants’ offense. The safety, Thomas Harper (12), abandoned the pass threat and was caught staring; the rest was history.
( Q1 3:44, third-and-6)
Sheppard aligned in man coverage, and Robinson beat Amik Robertson (21) on the release to set up an excellent, prompt break, and Jameis Winston delivered an anticipatory pass for the first down. Call Robinson a smooth operator with exceptional short-area quickness to earn 12 yards. And then this happened on the very next play:
(Q1, 3:08, first-and-10)
The X-Post above has the two GIFs on this Giants’ third drive, along with Robinson’s third catch that went for 15 yards against a Cover-2 beater. In the GIF above, Robinson outran the buzz defender,...
