Rex Grossman was efficient, leading the Redskins’ offense down the field and throwing 2 touchdowns. The defense was solid, holding the New York Giants to 75 yards rushing. Rookie Ryan Kerrigan tipped an Eli Manning pass, intercepted it, and returned it for a touchdown leading to a memorable debut for the former Boilermaker and a great 28-14 win for the Washington Redskins to start their season.
But that was week one, and since then, the Redskins have made two quarterback changes (from Grossman to Beck, and then back), lost their number one running back, Tim Hightower, for the year, lost their top TE Fred Davis and starting offensive lineman Trent Williams due to suspensions, and used seven different offensive line combinations on the way to losing nine of their next twelve games.
Now, the Redskins have to prepare for the Giants yet again, so let’s break down the matchup:
Offense
[caption id="attachment_623" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Rex Grossman needs to have big game against the Giants on Sunday"]
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This is a battle of the leagues two worst rushing teams. The Giants rank dead last in that department while the Redskins sit only one spot above them. So, naturally, this game is going to come down to the passing game. The smart decision would be to start the guy with the best passer rating on the team. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will see Brandon Banks under center come Sunday.
That means the key to the offensive success of the Redskins lies in the hands of Rex Grossman, a scary thought since the quarterback has not had a game without a turnover this season!
Redskins’ coach Mike Shanahan says that Grossman has been playing with more confidence since his benching. Is that supposed to mean better? I guess 7 interceptions in five games as opposed to 9 could be a result of more confidence, but I’m not seeing a huge improvement.
His passage yards per game have gone up since his benching (226.4 before, 258.8 after), but the amount of touchdowns is the same before and after his benching. Most importantly, he has less wins in his second stint.
Grossman needs to have the game he had in the Redskins’ week one win over the Giants if they are going to win this game. The Giants have the 4th worst passing defense in the league so this is a good chance for Grossman to prove that he actually is playing with more confidence! I’ll be satisfied with a game without a turnover, but that may be asking too much.
Defense
You would think the fact that the Giants have the league worst rush offense is a blessing for the Redskins defense. That would be the case if the Giants’ offense didn’t feature the league’s fourth leading passer and third leading receiver in Eli Manning and Victor Cruz. And what’s amazing about that fact is that Victor Cruz is the third leading receiver despite not playing week one and having games of 17 and 12 yards.
That means the Redskins’ secondary has a difficult task ahead of them of shutting down one of the league’s best receivers. And if shutting down Victor Cruz weren’t enough, covering Hakeem Nicks is no small task either.
Josh Wilson came through with a clutch interception in the endzone to keep the Redskins in the game against the Patriots, but DeAngelo Hall had yet another bad game and was embarrassed on ESPN’s most recent edition of the Not Top 10 for his blatant lack of effort while Patriots’ TE Rob Gronkowski dragged two of his teammates en route to a 49-yard gain
The Redskins’ pass defense has been pretty solid this year but they have a consistency of getting burned for big plays too often for my liking. Those lapses in concentration are going to be costly for the Redskins, so the secondary must stay focused and keep Cruz and Manning in check to be able to win this game.
Special Teams
Graham Gano. This guy has been the epitome of inconsistency. He has only had 6 games where he hasn’t missed a field goal this season. The Redskins rank last in percentage of field goals made (and last in percentage of extra points made too!) which makes it hard, as a fan, to feel comfortable when the Redskins need a field goal even on the opposing 15 yard line.
Field goals under 30 yards should be an automatic 3 points. Gano has been ok there. The 30-39 yard range should be almost automatic too for a professional kicker who was considered one of the best in his college days but Gano has made only 57% of field goals within that range
The blame, however, can’t fall completely on Gano. The Redskins lead the league in the amount of field goal attempts blocked with 4, and are only one of 5 teams to have a PAT attempt blocked too.
The Redskins need to stop leaving points on the field and make their field goals. When you average 17.6 points per game, you can’t afford to not be making field goals.
Prediction
Both of these teams have been pretty cold recently. They have both lost 4 out of their last 5 games (it gets worse for the Redskins if you go back further). The Redskins looked impressive against the New England Patriots last week while the Giants were barely able to edge the Dallas Cowboys.
I expect another big game from Roy Helu in what I believe will be a high scoring game but in a battle that will ultimately come down to the quarterbacks, it is hard not to side with Manning despite Grossman’s new-found confidence. That in addition to home-field advantage is why I am picking the Giants to win this game by a score of 34-30.
Enjoy the weekend and enjoy the game!
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