» The Giants are a different team without injured Pro Bowl ends Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. The concern is that the Giants’ ends still played pretty well vs. both right tackle Jammal Brown and left tackle Trent Williams. The Redskins did a solid job of protecting vs. four-man rushes, forcing the Giants to blitz. They lack the personnel in the secondary to hold up if the front seven doesn’t pressure. With Tuck and Umenyiora, there’s no need to blitz. » The Redskins dominated field position in the second half Sunday, with New York starting six of its seven drives at its own 20-yard line or worse. In fact, of the Giants’ last 10 possessions, nine started inside the 20. Some of this stemmed from an improved offense; Washington had only two three-and-outs on its last nine possessions. On one series, the Redskins took over at their own 15-yard line. But they picked up two first downs and punted from their own 43 — and pinned the Giants inside the 9-yard line. And punter Sav Rocca placed four punts inside the 20-yard line.
» The Redskins will stay committed to the ground game, even when it’s not working. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that they struggled. In the preseason, Tim High?tower carried 25 times — 14 went for 2 yards or less. On Sunday, he carried 25 times, and 15 went for 2 yards or less. But the key stat was 25 carries (a career high). That allows them to run bootlegs and play-action fakes. Still, they do need to improve their blocking. Too much penetration was allowed, and that disrupted the cutbacks.
» Tight end Fred Davis, in a contract year, finally did what many expected. In previous training camps Davis always stood out. He’s talented and runs like a receiver. But aside from one season in which he was the primary tight end because of an injury to Chris Cooley, Davis was silent. On Sunday, Davis looked more confident running routes and even blocking. He appeared more into the game, but that’s a continuation of his maturation this offseason (losing more than 15 pounds).
– John Keim
