In this week’s edition of ‘New York Giants enemy exchange’, we traded questions with our friends over at the Riggo’s Rag to get some info on the Washington Redskins.
Anytime the New York Giants and Washington Redskins play a game there is always at-least some level of bad blood, but heading into this game that level has risen to new heights. With numerous former Giants making the move to D.C., along with a particular cornerback that does not like Dave Gettleman (to put it mildly), emotions figure to be running high.
We wanted to reach out to the Riggo’s Rag (fansided’s Redskins page) to get some inside info on how the transition has been for those former Giants, as well as getting a feel for what has gone on in general in Washington and a few things to look out for today. Here are five questions I asked of site expert Jacob Camenker.
The Exchange:
1. How maddening has it been for you to see Jay Gruden’s unwillingness to go to Dwayne Haskins, and what do you believe is behind it?
Jacob Camenker: The unwillingness to turn to Haskins isn’t too much of a surprise. The front office and coaching staff love his talent, but they also thought he needed time to develop at the next level. With Case Keenum and Colt McCoy in the fold, it made sense to wait a little bit before throwing him into action.
That said, Haskins did show some growth as the preseason went along, so that led many to hope that he would be inserted into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. With the team sitting at 0-3, it seems likely that he will start to get some reps at some point in the near future if the team can’t win. Week 6 vs. Miami seems like the logical spot for him to get his first career NFL start unless Keenum can play very well and earn some wins in the next couple of weeks.
2. Has Landon Collins lived up to the expectation that his 84-million dollar contract levies upon him?
JC: It’s still too early to tell if Collins will live up to the $84 million contract. But so far, so good.Collins has been an excellent tackler for Washington and has been a heat-seeking missile near the line of scrimmage. He has helped in run defense and surely is the team’s most talented player in the secondary.
It would be nice to see Collins do a bit more in the passing game. He hasn’t yet made any splash plays in pass coverage, so hopefully he’ll be able to do that moving forward. Still, he’s off to a good start and should hopefully continue to improve with more experience in the Redskins system.
3. How confident are you in Josh Norman’s ability to still be a lockdown corner?
JC: Not very. Norman hasn’t been a lockdown corner over the course of the past couple of years. In 2018, he could still cover well and while he was beat on occasion, he was still solid. That hasn’t been the case in 2019.
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Norman has been frequently torched by opposing receivers and he just had a lot of trouble covering Taylor Gabriel. Norman can still be a solid No. 2 corner, but his days as a No. 1 option in the secondary are over. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the ‘Skins move on from Norman this offseason.
4. Who is your X-factor on offense (other than McLaurin) for Sunday’s game?
JC: The offensive X-factor probably would have to be Chris Thompson. The team hasn’t been able to run the ball much with Adrian Peterson and frankly, they’ve looked better with Thompson on the field. Thompson can’t handle a massive carry load between the tackles, but if the team looks to get him on the field more to serve as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, that could pay dividends for their offense.
5. Last but not least, what’s your prediction for Sunday’s game?
JC: This is a big game for the Redskins. They’re looking to avoid falling to 0-4 and it seems that with a loss, Jay Gruden’s tenure as the Redskins head coach could be over. So, they have a lot on the line in this game.
But Gruden has historically had trouble motivating his team before big games. And it’s possible that the team may not be ready to take on a Giants team that looked much better with Daniel Jones at the helm. I’m taking the Giants 24-20 in this one. The Redskins will do enough to stay competitive but won’t do quite enough to earn the victory.