Tag Archives: Washington Redskins

With the Cowboys winning last night, the onus will be on the Giants to beat the Washington Redskins today to keep pace.

There is absolutely no room for a letdown with the NFC East race on the line, so the Giants should treat this game (and every other game) as the Super Bowl. From the sounds of it, the Giants are not taking the Redskins lightly. They know that the Redskins will not roll over, as these two teams are fierce rivals.

With the high of coming off Sunday’s exciting win in Dallas, it is up to the Giants to keep the train moving. It’s paramount that the Giants keep it full throttle.

So Without further ado, let’s look at five things to watch.

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Tagged New York Giants, Washington Redskins |

Justin Tuck says the Giants love to be underdogs. Eli Manning plays his best games on the road. The Giants just don’t relish doing what is expected of them. Most wagerers steer clear of them for these reasons. Especially at home.

This week, the Giants are a touchdown favorite over the 4-9 Redskins and, in a perfect world, should be able to cover that number. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

The Giants’ December record under Tom Coughlin is abysmal. They have difficulty winning games straight-up, forget about covering spreads as favorites. They are 4-10-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 15 games as a home favorite of 3 1/2 points or greater.

Washington plays fairly well in December. They compete. It’s the first three months they seem to have issues with. Check out these numbers…

The Redskins are: 5-1 ATS in their last 6 vs. the NFC East, 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games in December and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games in Week 15.

Not bad. Don’t forget, they also beat the Giants in Week 1 this season, snapping a three-year losing streak against the Blue. QB Rex Grossman plays his best against the Giants, too.

He has averaged 295 yards passing against the Giants while completing 58.3 pct of his passes (90 of 154) for 1,183 yards. He has 8 TDs vs only 2 INTs and a 94.7 rating. With the Giants’ secondary struggling, he may be in for another big day.

The Over/Under for Sunday is 46 1/2. The Giants have been “Over” achievers all season, scoring at will and giving it right back. They have eclipsed the Over in 21 of their last 29 games vs NFC teams.

Washington, however, is an Under team. Under is 35-17-2 in the Redskins last 54 games as a road underdog of 3 1/2 points or more. But they have been lax as of late. Over is 4-0 in the last month in Redskin games.

Prediction: Giants and Over. Go with the hot hand….

thanks to Covers.com for the stats

Tagged New York Giants, NFL Betting, NFL Odds, NFL Week 15, Washington Redskins |

Some quotes from around the sphere yesterday…

“He is really talented and you can see that when he first came into the league. He is a lot more comfortable with the defense and his responsibilities and you can tell that just by watching his strengths grow because he is much more comfortable with himself. He just reacts so much quicker than he did as a young player. You can see the talent is coming on.” – Redskins Head coach Mike Shanahan on Giants’ DE Jason Pierre-Paul

“I’ll do it as long as they ask me to do it. It’s a great feeling getting in that end zone. I want six points, but I’ll take two all day. Those guys have a lot of trust in me to run it in that situation. It’s such a confidence-builder for me. I love it.” – Giants RB DJ Ware on getting the ball on 2-point conversion tries

“I don’t care about playing the role of spoilers; I play this game to win. You put so much energy and effort into each week that winning the game and feeling good after the game each Sunday and being proud of what you accomplished, that is plenty of motivation. You are playing for pride and going out there and trying to win and that’s really all the motivation you need as far as I am concerned. If we are spoilers in the process, it doesn’t give you any gratification. It is good to go win.” – QB Rex Grossman on the mindset of the 4-9 Redskins

“No. We win as a team. We’re going out there. We have great confidence in our defense. They got us a stop when we needed it at the end to get us the ball back. Offensively, we have to do our job and worry about going out there and trying to execute to the best of our ability.” – Eli Manning on if the defense is putting more pressure on the offense

“He’s been a very, very easy guy to talk to. He makes it easy for you. He’ll come upstairs and visit with me. He’ll come and sit down and talk. He wants to do it the right way, believe me. He wants to do things right and be good. It’s very important….He’s a fiery, want to do well, as positive as he can be, as honest in terms of his ability to reflect on himself and others, from that standpoint he’s been very good.” – Tom Coughlin on Antrel Rolle

“The great ones can do that and he has stepped up his game. He has eliminated mistakes and that’s what separates the great ones.” – Shanahan on Eli’s performance in the fourth quarter this season

Tagged New York Giants, Washington Redskins |

This is rivalry week in the NFC East with the first-place Giants looking to bury the reeling Eagles and the Cowboys trying to get fat off the fading Redskins.

Philadelphia (3-6) at New York (6-3) (Sunday, NBC, 8:20 PM ET)

NFC East rivals meet on Sunday night when the Eagles visit the Giants. Philadelphia trails first-place New York by three games and looks to get back into the division race.

In Week 3, the Giants defeated the Eagles 29-16, outscoring Philadelphia 15-0 in the fourth quarter to complete the come-from-behind victory. New York quarterback Eli Manning passed for four touchdowns on the day and was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. In that contest, Manning became the first Eagles opponent to throw at least four touchdown passes in a victory at Philadelphia since 1989, when Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana passed for five TDs to lead San Francisco.

“We’ve got to get out there and have a good week of practice,” says New York wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who had a touchdown catch in Week 10. “We’ve got a division rival this week.”

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy leads the NFL with 12 touchdowns (10 rushing, two receiving) and has scored in each of the team’s first nine games. McCoy is the fourth running back since 1960 to score a touchdown in each of the first nine games of a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Lenny Moore (1964) and O.J. Simpson (1975) and George Rogers (1986).

“We need to work on a few things. But we’re close, obviously,” says Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid. Five of the Eagles’ six losses this season have been by seven points or fewer. “Our challenge as coaches and players is to make sure we get that win.”

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Tagged Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, NFC East, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins |

The Philadelphia Eagles, who began the season dubbed as the “Dream Team”, need to beat the Redskins in Washington this Sunday to avoid 2011 from becoming a nightmare.

Philly has won three of the previous four meetings between the teams, including a 59-28 blowout last November on national television. The Redskins are sure to have this in mind as the reeling Eagles (1-4) enter their building.

The Eagles are a sloppy bunch, sporting a -10 turnover ratio and have a myriad of internal ills eating at their core. Head coach Andy Reid is under fire for just about everything from preparation and play calling to staffing decisions.

Washington is still coming out from under the irrational owner-driven model of overpaid players and undermined coaches. Mike Shanahan may finally have a group that can compete for the post season.

The Eagles cannot afford to go to 1-5, as that would effectively end their chances for the postseason. But in this season, where the NFC East is up for grabs and there’s still plenty of football to be played, who can safely predict?

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Tagged NFC East, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins |

Last week I tweeted that Buffalo-New England would be the game of the day. I was laughed at. By 4pm Sunday, people were hounding me about who I liked in the late game…

In April, we had some suggestions for the Giants in the draft. One of them was DE/LB Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue. Again, the critics came out of the woodwork. I was an idiot.

Today, Ryan Kerrigan was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September. The likelihood of him becoming a Giant from Day One was slim, but still – what a great pick he would have been….if only…..

He was taken three spots before the Giants could grab him by the Washington Redskins.  As we know, the Giants ended up with DB Prince Amukamara, which may end up being a great pick for them, but that does not change this….

Kerrigan has already made his mark in the Giants-Redskins rivalry. In Week One, he tipped up an Eli Manning pass to himself and trotted into the endzone with the game’s deciding score. It was his first NFL game.

Read Here for our original thoughts on Kerrigan

Tagged Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Redskins |

The NFC East started out the season with the perception that it would be a one-team race. Philadelphia was viewed as head and shoulders over New York and Dallas, after they had signed a half-dozen name free agents.

Washington, who is undefeated thus far in 2011 was penciled in as an also-ran.

That view has changed dramatically over the past eight days after the Eagles collapsed in Atlanta and then fell flat on their faces at home against the injury-laden Giants.

Tonight, the Redskins will try to extend their winning streak to three as they invade Dallas for the second NFC East battle of the weekend.

The Cowboys have gotten of to a 1-1 start (and could be 2-0 had they not folded vs the Jets) but their immediate future is in jeopardy. QB Tony Romo, WR Dez Bryant and RB Felix Jones are all questionable for tonight’s game.

From the NFL:

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Tagged Dallas Cowboys, NFC East, Washington Redskins |

The NFC East is a three team affair according to most pundits, with the Washington Redskins the odd-team-out in the equation. After two weeks, Mike Shanahan’s crew has yet to lose while the other three division clubs have all suffered disappointing losses in this young season.

The Redskins opened the season by outhustling the Giants in their home opener. The Cowboys gave away a victory to the Jets last week and the Eagles new secondary could not contain the Falcons’ receivers in last night’s game.

The Cowboys seem to have cohesion issues. Their defense is not as staunch as expected. The Eagles and Giants can be had also. Both teams are relying on young players to develop ahead of schedule.

The Giants have been besieged by injuries. They are hanging by a thread depth-wise. They cannot afford to lose another key piece on defense.

Dallas is counting on shaky offensive line to keep Tony Romo upright. Yesterday, he left the game with a fractured rib, but returned to lead the team to an OT win in San Francisco, but the cracks In the team were visible. The Cowboys are competitive, but not Super Bowl timber.

Philadelphia’s major fear was realized last night when Michael Vick left the game with a concussion. The Eagles went on to lose, 35-31, their vaunted secondary torched in the fourth quarter by Atlanta QB Matt Ryan.

The Giants will try to even their record against the Rams tonight, and will have a chance to put the Eagles in a 1-2 hole next week with a win vs the Vick-less preseason favorites.

Washington nipped Arizona at home yesterday, 22-21, but a win in this league is a win. It does not matter how you win or by how much. The standings are static stats. They are what they are.

Right now, the NFC East standings are upside down.

Tagged Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, NFC East, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins |

Well, I had a full day to digest the Giants debacle in Washington, in which the Giants embarrassing lost 28-14. I don’t feel much better two days later. It was hardly good, and mostly bad and ugly. Without further ado, here are the good, the bad and the ugly about the Giants’ game in Washington.

The Good

Production from receivers
This was mainly due to Hakeem Nicks’ seven-catch 122 yard day. However, Mario Manningham was solid, if not unspectacular with four catches for 49 yards. What was nice was the production tight end Jake Ballard gave the team with two catches for 59 yards, including hauling in a 41-yard pass.

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Tagged New York Giants, Washington Redskins |

The Redskins beat the Giants by a final score of 28 to 14. Many thought this game would be a battle between an NFC contender and pretender. It sure looked that way, but not the way we had expected.

- The offense showed no urgency late in the fourth quarter.  Manning and the Giants wasted too much time getting subs onto the field and getting the plays off.  To have a delay of game in what should be a two-minute drill situation is absolutely inexcusable.

- People criticized Eli Manning’s lack of preparation in the offseason, and it showed with his pre-season performance.  But today, he had one of his worst game in years.  The second-tier quarterback is being paid like a leader and an elite quarterback, and that hamstrung this team during the offseason. He better shape up soon, because David Carr is more than capable of this kind of performance, and he’s making a fraction of what Manning makes.

- Antrel Rolle decided to hit a defenseless receiver helmet-to-helmet on a third down play where the Giants had already stopped the Redskins’ offense.  The penalty extended the drive and moved the Redskins into field goal range.  The Redskins would score a touchdown on the drive that effectively put the Giants to bed.  Rolle has talent, but he has failed to live up to his contract thus far, and boneheaded plays like this are part of the reason why.

- The secondary got thrashed by a mediocre passing offense.  We knew the injuries to Terrell Thomas and Prince Amukamara were going to hurt, but the guys who were going to be counted on before the injuries (Rolle, Webster, Ross, Phillips) just haven’t looked anything more than average starters.  It’s obvious that the pass rush has covered up their deficiencies in the past, and they have been exposed with the absence of Tuck and Osi.

- Jason Pierre-Paul made his presence felt.  JPP got to Grossman on third down and stripped the ball.  Michael Boley recovered and ran it back deep into Redskins territory.  The Giants offense did nothing with the ball, however, and then Lawrence Tynes’ field goal attempt was blocked. Another wasted opportunity, on what, for most Giants fans, was a wasted Sunday afternoon.

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