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Giants (1-2) vs Redskins (1-2)
Things
got out of hand last Sunday when the Redskins battled the Eagles. Players were
ejected from the game and there was a total of 8 touchdowns and 5 field goals
scored. The Eagles trailed by 10 points, but they took over the lead and gave
their home crowd a 37-34 win.
The Giants won their first game of the season
30-17. It wasn't always pretty, especially in the first quarter, but they showed
what they are capable of as they continue to improve.
Giants - Texans Wrap-Up
Washington Redskins
Mike
Shanahan ran the show for four years and although he brought the team to a division
title in 2012, in RG3's initial year, the rest were all down ones, never toping
six wins. Last year was the absolute worst
and Shanahan was gone after they logged a 3-13 record to finish the season, Washington's
worst in 19 years. Jay Gruden, coming off his offensive coordinator job with the
Cincinnati Bengals, is now the new head coach
and it's the first time for him in this position in the NFL, although he was a
head coach and actually a star player in the AFB (Arena Football League).
Gruden
promoted Sean McCoy from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator, and he still
has Jim Haslett in charge of the defense. Haslett and defensive line coach Jacob
Barony have guided the unit over the past four years. Former Giant player Ike
Hilliard was their receivers coach in 2012 and he's been brought back to fill
that same position after spending last season with the Buffalo Bills. Washington
Redskins Offense
The
Giants won't be facing Robert Griffin III in this game. Griffin dislocated his
left ankle early on in the second game of the season and is going to be out for
a while. Kirk Cousins is filling in and he led the team to their first win of
the season with two touchdowns in that same game and last week threw for over
400 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. The knock on Cousins is that he
starts real hot and then tends to cool down, especially in the second half. It's
too early to tell with so few games under his belt and maybe there's something
in the play calling that tips off opposing defenses so they can guess more about
what's coming their way.
Despite that, they are ranked second in the league
in offense. Last week free agent pickup DeSean
Jackson helped Cousins with five catches for a season-high 117 yards, including
an 81-yard touchdown that tied the score at 27 late in the third quarter. Pierre
Garcon was no slouch either with his team-high 11 catches. Running back Alfred
Morris continues to bring his 'A' game. Morris continues to average over 4 yards
a carry and has two touchdowns on the year. He's fourth in the league with 253
rushing yards. Washington
Redskins Defense
Burned
last week defending against a strong passing game, they were and are amazingly
strong against the run. Last Sunday LeSean McCoy, who led the NFL in rushing yards
in 2013, was held to just 22 yards on 19 carries. The unit took a big hit to the
secondary on Sunday, losing starting cornerback DeAngelo Hall to a ruptured Achilles
tendon. Rookie cornerback Bashaud Breeland came in and made some good plays. Breeland
looks to have talent, but he's still new and anyone would have trouble replacing
the team's top cornerback.
Free agent pickup Jason Hatcher (11 sacks with
the Cowboys in 2013) also went down with a hamstring injury. He's listed as questionable
for this game as well as a number of other defensive players. Outside linebacker
Brian Orakpo (10 sacks in 2013) should play, but will be wearing a hard cast on
his left hand for a dislocated middle finger. Giants
offense
Eli Manning and his offense showed
how effective the new system can be when things are clicking. It wasn't working
in the first game, but has gotten steadily better. Manning has completed exactly
65 percent of his passes, and in the last two games his completion rate is 70.1
percent. It sure helps when the running game is complimenting what Manning can
do.
Last week Rashad Jennings rushed for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown.
It's going to be a bit tougher this week facing a group that's held the likes
of Arian Foster, Toby Gerhart, LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles to less than 200
rushing yards combined. Giants
defense
It took a little while, but last
week a defense that couldn't seem to get off the field turned in a nice performance.
It's surprising though when you review that game against the Texans, you see that
they actually gave up a total of 411 yards. They allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick to pass
for 289 yards and 1 touchdown, but still in doing so they nailed him for 3 interceptions.
Last December Cousins had a terrible outing (no touchdowns, 2 interceptions,
20-6 loss) when he faced the Giants. Quite a lot has changed on this Redskins
team since they closed out that final game of the 2013 season under Mike Shanahan
and Cousins has been looking good. Overall
Washington
lost all their division games in 2013. They ruled in 2012 with a 5-1 record. Obviously
these division games are important ones and now they have already dropped one
to the Philadelphia Eagles. To add to that, the injuries were a killer for the
Redskins in their game against them. The Giants are the healthier team going into
this matchup and really, they'd better get ready to handle division teams on the
road.
The Giants start here with Washington, then after they host the Falcons,
it's on to two road trips with Philadelphia and Dallas. I think the Giants offense
will hold it's own against a weakened Redskins defensive unit and it's up to Kirk
Cousins to show if he's the real deal or not against the Giants defense if Washington
wants to take this one. NFC
East
The Giants and Redskins play on Thursday
night. The Eagles (3-0) play in San Francisco at 4:25pm against the 49ers (1-2).
Later on at 8:30pm the Cowboys (2-1) will be hosting the New Orleans Saints (1-2).
The Redskins, are the only NFC East team favored to win in these games.
 Check
out.
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TeamGiants on Twitter.
Notes.
Giants
have a 3-3 record within the division in each of the last four seasons.
Giants
are 34-26 in division games under Tom Coughlin's coaching. Redskins
are tied for the NFL lead with 10 sacks. Redskins
have lost four straight games with Kirk Cousins starting at quarterback.
Next Games
Oct 5- Atlanta at Giants.
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