Giants Redskins…What to look for
By Joe Tufaro
While the rest of the football world looks towards the Tebow Brady match-up, The Giants take on the Washington Redskins (4-9) in New Jersey tomorrow at 1:00 Eastern. The Redskins have struggled this year after a good start due mainly to injuries. No Giants fan wants to hear about how injuries have affected another team, but the losses by the offensive side of the ball have prevented the Redskins from finding much success this year.
Offense: The Losses of WR Santana Moss for a large portion of the season, RB Tim Hightower, and TE Chris Cooley, among others has taken away all the balance of this offense. When your choices at QB are John Beck and Rex Grossman, losing weapons like the above mentioned names is a killer. The ‘Skins average only 17.5 points per game and are last in rushing yards at 94. Rookie Roy Helu has stepped in and done an admirable job replacing HIghtower, and the Giants must concentrate on stopping him both in running situations and out of the backfield. The Redskins showed last week a myriad of trick plays and mis-directions that will test the discipline of the Giants. Half back passes, wide receiver passes, throw back screens, and double reverses will all be utilized tomorrow to somehow score enough points to be competitive.
Defense: The strength of this Redskin team is up front on defense. They have drafted and signed well in this area. They play a three four with both outside linebackers being very active in the pass rush recording 34 sacks as a team. The Giants will need to continue their strong work up front and give Eli time to find his receivers downfield. The ‘Skins placed Safety LaRon Landry on IR this week. LaRon, who regularly gets flattened by Brandon Jacobs, is their best run stopper from the secondary. The secondary has 9 interceptions on the year and the team has an abysmal -14 turnover ratio.
The Giants will need to play well on offense as has been the norm the past few weeks. Getting off to a fast start and converting early will go along way in this game. The defense will need to stay disciplined, stop the run, and let Rex Grossman deal with the pressure from the front four. These last three games are all extremely important to the Giants, but the two division games against these Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys are MUST wins. I see Eli continuing his good play and the Giants getting a win here.