Redskins vs. Giants – An Old Foe That Isn’t So Old

Ashburn, Va. – Even though they are usually more important than many of the other games NFL teams play each week during the regular season, there is a certain comfort in going up against division opponents. After all, these teams have played each other twice a year since time began and the frequent past experience frequently lends a feeling to both that they can win the contest.

This Thursday, the Washington Redskins have their first game against the New York Giants, another NFC East division team. While the Skins know the G-Men pretty well, because the Giants have new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo now on the staff, there is an air of unfamiliarity with the team. But this game is important. So important that, because of the short work week, the Redskins started game-planning for it back in training camp.

As with any new scheme, it has taken Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning and company some time to grow into McAdoo’s system. The ball club had a pretty bad preseason, during which the first team produced just two touchdowns, none that were against a first-unit defense. They moved the ball inconsistently and, during one two-game stretch, Manning completed just one of nine passes for six yards.

Of course, there was the typical rhetoric given during the stretch about preseason being for evaluations and developing chemistry between players and such. But at one point, New York Pro Bowl receiver Victor Cruz joked that the preseason was so bad, it never even happened, asking a reporter, “What preseason?”

The chemistry has apparently been found however. This past Sunday the Giants beat the Houston Texans 30-17 and Manning walked away with a whopping 123.2 quarterback rating after completing 75 percent of his passes (21 of 28) and throwing for two touchdowns.

Texans’ All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt — who gave Redskins’ quarterback Kirk Cousins and the offensive line fits in the team’s first game of 2014 — sacked Manning once in the first quarter. That was pretty much the worst he could manage during the entire game. New York’s offensive line rose to the task and kept their quarterback relatively safe. It also made space for Giants’ running back (former Oakland Raider and Jacksonville Jaguar) Rashad Jennings to amass 176 yards on 34 carries with a 5.2 yards-per-carry average.

Cruz and the other wide outs made 21 receptions for 234 receiving yards with Cruz himself accounting for 107 of those on five catches. But Manning spread the ball around to seven of his weapons… he’s seeing the field.

The team has steadily improved through the season, increasing in total yards gained (197, 341 and 419 respectively through Weeks One, Two and Three), total yards rushed (53, 81 and 193 respectively) and in total number of first downs (16, 24 and 26 respectively).

All of this is an indication of a team buying in to a new offensive scheme and the individual game stats support this.

Cruz, probably the most prolific weapon Manning has at his disposal, is buying in and that’s a major coup for McAdoo.

“I feel good about it,” the wide out said on a conference call yesterday about the unit’s transition from former offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride’s system to McAdoo’s. “As anything, when you’re learning something new, it’s a work in progress. It’s about getting your bearings, getting comfortable as you go through the offense and things like that. I think we’re hitting the point where we’re right on point, right on target with what we want to accomplish. We’ve just got to continue to put one foot in front of the other and get these victories under our belt to continue in the right direction. But, I think we’re comfortable and obviously that win against Houston, hopefully it propels us in the right direction.”

All of this spells a huge challenge for Washington’s defense… especially because it is missing a key element in the absence of cornerback and defensive captain DeAngelo Hall due to a ruptured left Achilles. Hall has been placed on IR and the team has brought up Chase Minnifield from the practice squad but it will likely fall to fellow cornerbacks David Amerson and rookie Bashaud Breeland to fill the void left by Hall. Both guys will face a huge challenge in covering Cruz and hopefully, Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett will dial up some help for the young men in the form of well-timed blitzes and different coverages. “Haz” is confident in his secondary, however.

“I’m looking forward to Bashaud stepping up,” the defensive coordinator told reporters yesterday after practice. “[Cornerback] Tracy [Porter] will have an opportunity. We feel good about that situation. We went into camp with five corners that, at one point was a weakness in this team but it’s turned into a strength. So, we feel good. I’m excited. I think [Breeland] brings something to the table. He’s tough. He’s got a little mean streak to him, got cover-ability to him, he’s long. These are the kind of guys you like to have on your team so… him and David… there’ll be two good-looking ones out there, that’s for sure.”

Haslett actually knows Ben McAdoo from their days with the New Orleans Saints and, while that doesn’t necessarily give him a huge advantage, it helps a little.

“He’s been with [Green Bay Packers’ head coach] Mike McCarthy now the whole time,” Haslett said about McAdoo. “That’s the offense he knows. Obviously it’s identical to what Green Bay and Mike’s done and what we knew in New Orleans so it’s not like we don’t know what’s coming.”

The Giants’ passing attack will likely be the biggest challenge for the Redskins’ defense. The unit did well stopping the Eagles’ top rusher LeSean McCoy last week and they have handled the run extremely well all season. Hopefully they can, at least, contain Jennings. But Cruz, Reuben Randall and the 6’6” tight end in New York, Larry Donnell, will be an even bigger challenge with the Giants playing in a new offensive scheme.

As previously stated, whenever the Redskins play a division opponent, there is the thought that they could win the game, regardless of past games or the current record. While this week is no different in that regard, there are circumstances that make the outcome harder to gauge. It’s a short week, the Giants have a new offensive system on which they appear to finally be clicking and an important element in the defense is missing.

Washington’s young secondary must step up to stop Manning and his receivers; and the defensive line must get pressure on the quarterback. They need to continue the productive run-stuffing against Jennings. And Washington’s offense must, of course, score points.

This game is particularly important to the Redskins because of the defeat versus the Eagles — also in the NFC East — this past weekend as well as the fact that the Giants are also 1-2. This is New York’s first division game while it is the Redskins’ second. But it is the New York Giants and, while the Redskins are currently favored by around three-and-a-half points as of this writing, that is a close margin. The intangibles will become important Thursday night and special teams could make a huge difference.

Hail.