Studs
LB Brian Orakpo. There were nine times where he was either doubled or had the back chip him. It’s a good thing the Giants did this with him because left tackle David Diehl, who is better as a guard, would have struggled otherwise – more than he did. The Redskins did a good job moving Orakpo around; he rushed from the middle on three occasions and from the left side three times (actually, on one of the times at left outside linebacker he dropped). And he stayed fresh. In the fourth quarter he was doubled or chipped on five rushes yet he managed two pressures, a batted pass and a sack. His presence helped set up others, too. Early in the game end Stephen Bowen applied pressure thanks to Orakpo, who initially was not ready at the snap from a stand-up position. But he then started to his right, drawing the attention of the tight end who was trying to block Bowen. That created enough of an opening for Bowen to squeeze through and hit Eli Manning after he threw (the deep drop by Hakeem Nicks). In one 10-play sequence spread over two drives in the fourth quarter, Orakpo batted a pass, had three good rushes, drew a holding penalty and sacked Manning.
LB London Fletcher. Sometimes with Fletcher, maybe many times, there isn’t one single play that defines his game. Actually, that probably sums up his career. Rather, it’s the body of work and it’s his constant presence around the ball that makes him a near-weekly addition to this list. Even in this game I thought: there was no signature play. Again, that’s the beauty. He finished with 12 tackles, four more than anyone else. He delivered a crunching hit to 283-pound tight end Bear Pascoe, knocking him backwards while Fletcher remained standing. Pascoe was running forward and had momentum. Didn’t matter. Fletcher had a tackle for a loss on a swing pass to the left, with a good read. He forced an interception with good coverage down the middle. Want to know why he played it well? First he heard the crowd start to roar, the first tip that it was probably coming his way. Then he read running back D.J. Ware’s eyes and raised his arms at the last second, tipping the ball free. He also forced a fumble that the Giants recovered. The Redskins also used him a little differently at times (see below).
CB Josh Wilson. Have to say, the more I see him play the more I like. I know what Carlos Rogers has done this season, but I also know that Wilson has been more than solid. In the second half of the season he’s been their most consistent defensive back. He’s decisive and drives well on the ball, partly because he stays balanced in his backpedal and doesn’t waste many steps. That’s what he did on the Giants first play from scrimmage vs. Victor Cruz. He also stripped Hakeem Nicks near the sidelines on what would have been a 20-yard grab late in the first half. Wilson, in zone coverage, used his eyes well as he also had a receiver underneath. When Eli Manning threw it Wilson made a good turn on the ball and when Hakeem Nicks went to catch the ball, Wilson raised his arm and as soon as Nicks got his hands on it that arm came down for the strip. On the interception in the fourth quarter, I know Mario Manningham fooled Eli Manning. But one reason he broke off the route is because Wilson had it played well. Wilson also had the key hit at the goal line on D.J. Ware, forcing a bobble and preventing a touchdown.
FS Oshiomogho Atogwe. I’m not convinced that he should be the starting safety next season, certainly not based on one game. Still concerned over his speed and I never like when DBs start getting leg injuries once they turn 30. Goes fast. But the coaches have managed him well lately and he looks fresher and it showed on his interception when he first aligned as a single high safety only to sprint to the deep outside. Then when the ball was thrown he changed directions better than he has most of the season and made the diving pick off a tipped pass. Just a good play and his 26-yard return gave the Redskins the ball at the Giants’ 41-yard line en route to a touchdown and 17-0 lead. So it was a big play that led to a crucial score. Atogwe was fine the rest of the game, including on a tackle of Victor Cruz over the middle. The five-yard gain resulted in a first down but at this point in the game it was mostly about no big plays.
CB DeAngelo Hall. Went back and forth on this one, but if you can land on the Duds list for a bad play, then you can land on this side for one excellent play. And Hall’s interception was a big play and his subsequent 26-yard return set up Washington at the Giants’ 34-yard line. Hall played it well and did not get turned around as has happened in other games. Instead, his technique was sound and when Nicks took him inside, then cut back outside Hall was able to stick with him. It helped, too, that Adam Carriker had pushed his man back and prevented Eli Manning from stepping into the throw.
DE Stephen Bowen. This game was about the defense making plays and that’s why Bowen is on here too. I’m curious to see how he’ll fare next season the more familiar everyone is with one another, especially as a rusher. Bowen had three pressures and an overpowering sack in which he got into left guard Mitch Petrus, never letting Petrus get his hands on him. Once Petrus turned his shoulders inside it was over and Bowen ran him over en route to Manning. Bowen got to Manning in 2.74 seconds. Bowen made a tackle racing in from the backside. Another time he and nose tackle Barry Cofield occupied three blockers enabling Fletcher to make a stop.
ST/LB Lorenzo Alexander. He’s getting a lot of notice this week in part because of what he has done on special teams all season. The tough part for Alexander is that Graham Gano has 31 touchbacks — 22 more than last season. That reduces opportunities. Yet Sunday he fought off three double teams to make three tackles, two of them solo. On the first, he fought off a double team, showing no sign of being affected by it, and made the tackle. On the second, he came down the right side and curled back in and tackled the returner from behind and on the third he avoided a blocker and helped make a tackle on the other side of the field. Alexander said the other day that he’s fresher because he’s not playing defense. It showed on this play. Also, Alexander helped on defense too. In the fourth quarter, he forced Brandon Jacobs to bounce outside by taking on the lead blocker, setting up a one-yard loss. Later, he fought off a block and helped Stephen Bowen stop Brandon Jacobs for a two-yard loss.
Duds
Vacant.
Notes
…No duds on defense, either. Why? Simple: they were the far better unit and the big plays allowed all came late when they were protecting a 17- or 20-point lead. Byron Westbrook could have been on here had Nicks held onto an open pass for a touchdown. But Westbrook nearly made a diving pick and defended a deep ball to Victor Cruz (that may or may not have been pass interference, but it wasn’t called so therefore it wasn’t). DeJon Gomes did not have a terrific game, but he wasn’t terrible either.
…Safety Reed Doughty wasn’t a stud, but he was solid and he made a terrific tackle of Brandon Jacobs early in the third quarter. It was a five-yard gain, but if Doughty doesn’t make the play it’s twice that amount (though Fletcher might have kept it shorter). Just a good job by Doughty tackling Jacobs low. I know he had a pass interference later, but that seemed to result from him getting tangled with Nicks’ feet more than anything.
…Defensive end Adam Carriker had a solid game. Had three pressures and fought off a block to make a tackle. Why no Stud? The other guys all made big plays, though Carriker gets an assist on the Hall interception. Carriker has had a solid season as well. He’d be a loss if he bolts free agency. Yes, they can replace him with Jarvis Jenkins but they’d be stronger with both of them.
…Considering the Giants gained 190 yards after the Redskins led 23-3, it’s hard to knock anyone on this defense. I know the Giants dropped a couple passes and if Nicks catches that first bomb down the middle maybe the game goes a little different. But you can pretty much play the what-if game every Sunday. So you just need to give credit to the D for a terrific game.
…An initial thought after the game was that the Redskins did a good job forcing Eli Manning to move around in the pocket, which was the reason he struggled. Not sure that’s accurate. Manning either had to move up in the pocket or was flushed to a side on 10 occasions (sometimes just a little slide here or there). On those plays, he completed six passes for 113 yards.
All three of his interceptions came when he was in the pocket.
On the first interception, safety Reed Doughty blitzed out of the nickel defense from the left side and was picked up by Ahmad Bradshaw. The coverage enabled Darrion Scott to pressure through left tackle David Diehl. Manning took two steps up and threw to Ware down the right seam. Had Ware cut to the middle, or had the ball been thrown over there it would have given him more room to get free. Instead the ball bounced off Fletcher and to Atogwe.
On the second one, Manning could not step into the throw to Hakeem Nicks on a deep out. Because of it the ball was behind Nicks; had he been able to lead him it’s a likely completion. But Adam Carriker had pushed his man back, preventing Manning from getting a good plant. Hall was there and made the one-handed grab.
Finally, on the third, there was no pressure but instead a rather large miscommunication between Manning and Mario Manningham. Wilson had it played perfectly from the snap, but Manningham initially appeared as if he were going to run to the corner. Instead, seeing how Wilson had him played, he cut off the route. For Manning it was too late.
…The Redskins three times used a defensive alignment in which Fletcher was at nose tackle. Obviously it was in a nickel package. The first time he rushed to his right, with Ryan Kerrigan behind him and Brian Orakpo up and to the right. Both shot through right guard. Because the center was occupied with Fletcher, it left the guard in trouble and there was pressure, though Manning was able to unload the pass in 2.03 seconds. Or he’d have been sacked. Kevin Barnes missed a tackle on Nicks, but Fletcher – who else – had peeled off his rush and raced to make the tackle downfield.
The second snap at nose tackle had Fletcher staying in the middle, seeing if Ahmad Bradshaw was going to come out of the backfield. Instead, Bradshaw stayed in to pick up the blitzing Barnes as Manning completed a six-yard pass.
On the third time Fletcher dropped into coverage after taking two steps towards Manning. Kerrigan and Orakpo were in the same alignment and rushed the same path as the first time. The center picked up Kerrigan and the right guard had Orakpo, who still deflected the ball with his left hand.
…Liked the alignment on the third play of the fourth quarter in which Kerrigan stood up over the center with Orakpo almost right behind him. Orakpo shot through left guard off the snap, angling outside and clearing a hole inside for Adam Carriker. He was aligned at right end and shot underneath Diehl, chasing Manning to his right. Manning made them pay with a 34-yard pass play to Manningham, but there was good pressure.
…Liked what Darrion Scott did in his limited time. He had three good pressures, including on the first interception. Also had one late in the game where he got inside the right guard and forced Manning up into the pocket where he reached out and tripped him up as he threw incomplete.
To subscribe to my Friday email report, click here. This week: talking about Bowen’s comfort as a pass rusher; Donte Stallworth on third-down route running and more.
