These are the questions I asked before the game; here are the answers from afterward.
1. Is this a must win game? Yep, it was. Based on the players’ faces afterward, I’d say they knew what this loss meant. Same with Mike Shanahan. Time to start thinking about next season. They’re not mathematically eliminated, but it would take a four-game winning streak by a struggling team and a major collapse by a couple teams playing well.
2. Will Ryan Torain play? Didn’t think he would and he certainly did not. Torain now has missed four straight games with his hamstring injury. What a chance he’s missed this season; all he’s done is whet the appetite of people who have waited to see him perform. But he’s also done nothing to dispel the durability concerns. But he wouldn’t have made a difference today.
3. Can the running game get going without him? Didn’t think it would, but it actually worked better than I expected. That’s not saying much considering the Redskins only managed 74 yards on 16 carries. James Davis actually ran fairly well with 40 yards on nine carries. Couple times he made some nice cuts; on at least one occasion he appeared to cut back too soon, not pressing the hole and getting the linebackers to overpursue. But maybe Davis is someone to watch as the season unfolds.
4. Can they win without the run? The answer was no before the game and I believe you saw what happened.
5. Can they slow the pass rush? Not with Stephon Heyer at left tackle they couldn’t. He played more than anticipated (by the media at least). He allowed two sacks, one leading to a fumble and had an embarrassing no block in space on a linebacker. Had he made the block, it’s a big play for Chris Cooley. Instead, zippy. Jammal Brown allowed a sack. The Giants recorded four sacks in 44 pass attempts.
6. How can the Redskins counter the pressure? Took a while to get to the screen game, but they finally got there. Washington actually moved the ball OK with 338 total yards – not great by any means, but not as bad as the score would indicate. It’s not like they went crazy on screens, but what they did try to do is take advantage of the linebackers in coverage.
7. How banged up is New York’s offense? They missed three starters along the line and the top two receivers. Yet they scored 31 points.
8. Is their offense still dangerous? Uh, I’d say yeah, how about you? It helps when the opposition can’t tackle. The Redskins played their base defense almost exclusively in the first half; they’re supposed to be better vs. the run in this D. Not close. Turns out they just can’t stop the run. They just don’t have enough linebackers to play this scheme yet. Nor do they have the nose tackle. Anyway, Ntheew York could still run the ball and passed the ball with ease. Eli Manning had too many dropbacks where he had four or five seconds to throw. So they couldn’t stop the run or pressure the passer out of the 3-4. Nice. The Giants picked on Phillip Buchanon. He wasn’t getting beat deep, but I was told by a Giants insider before the game that once Manning finds a soft spot, he will repeatedly attack it; that’s what he did with Buchanon.
9. What’s the plan? See above. They tried to defend with their base defense and it failed. They used eight in the box and it failed. The Giants had a makeshift line and the Redskins could do nothing vs. them.
10. What else can make a difference? Thought punt returns might; Brandon Banks averaged 11.2 yards per punt return, but really wasn’t a factor. Liked his 19-yard return; he’s so shifty and is excellent at being patient and darting around the corner. Giants punter Matt Dodge did a nice job; he’s inconsistent but had a good day. On kickoffs, they attempted short kicks and that worked as well.
11. Who will win? Liked the Giants from the start and never really thought Washington had a chance to win. But, for crying out loud, I thought they’d put up more of a fight and that they’d get a cheap turnover leading to points. Wrong. Turns out one team can be banged up and look good and the other can be banged up and look horrible. I liked the Giaints to win 23-17. Was only off by a lot, mainly because once again I was a fool.
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