NY @ Washington
On paper, its pretty simple. Giants have the better offense (7th over 9th) defense (8th over 17th) and vastly better special teams. Therefore, its not hard to understand that the Gmen are favorities here on the road against a team that theyve already beaten.
Its always a good idea in these divisional games to go back and take a look at the previous game to help handicap the upcoming one. RGIII's introduction to divisional play was a 27-23 loss at New York (7-4) on Oct. 21. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 258 yards and two scores and also ran nine times for 89 yards.
"It's a game we felt we should have won," Griffin said. "And we didn't win it, they got the win in their column and we got the loss."
Manning took advantage of the Redskins' secondary in the first meeting between these teams in New Jersey, passing for 337 yards in a 27-23 victory where he hit Victor Cruz with the game winning touchdown in the final moments.
So, lots of Washington running with Morris and RGIII, and lots of NY passing, with Cruz having the key GW catch late in the 4th.
Giants' quarterback Eli Manning had been in a three-game funk before the demolition of the Packers, but the bye must have done him some good as he had his best game in about a month in prime time Sunday, passing for 249 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He was still not as sharp as he was earlier in the year however as he completed only 16 of his 30 passes, but at least he is now trending in the right direction.
Don't expect the game plan to change much for the Giants, especially since the Redskins have one of the weakest secondaries in the game and have only generated 20 sacks on the season so far (26th). The Giants will also be working rookie running back David Wilson into the mix this week following the season-ending injury to Andre Brown. So a heavy workload for Ahmad Bradshaw and Wilson against a stiff Redskins run defense (89 ypg - 3rd) just wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Especailly considering the injury issues already with Bradshaw and the fumbling issues with Wilson.
Finally recovering from his injuries, Hakeem Nicks is coming off his most productive game since Week 2. He?s still not the Nicks we?ve come to know, but he?ll be at least a mild handful for Josh Wilson and Cedric Griffin outside. He is clearly the #1 WR on the field when he can stay on it (injury prone). Nicks has simply lit it up the past few weeks. He racked up 27 targets in the last two weeks and that includes 13 against the Pack when Eli only put up 30 attempts due to the fact that they were winning by double digits the entire 2h.
Cruz had less than half the targets , 6, than Nicks, and everyone else had half the targets of Cruz. IF that doesnt scream #1 WR, then nothing can.
Im expecting Eli and the Giants to come out throwing, and he will have time against this pass rush. The Skins have no pass rush right now with their two best pass rushers Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker both on Injured Reserve, and they put no pressure on Manning in the first meeting while recording only one sack. There is no reason to believe that Manning will have any less time to find wide open receivers in this game, especially after the New York offensive line looked so great last week while allowing only one sack vs. a Green Bay pass rush.
Manning now had a good chance to return to his vintage form as he will be throwing against a Washington pass defense that is ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams at a dreadful 301.4 yards per game, ahead of only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Guess what Eli and Nicks did against TB?
How about 10 catches for 199 yards? Ouch.
If Nicks had 5 for 77 against the Pack in lst weeks blowout, what do you think hes gonna do tonight?
The Redskins have a very inept pass rush. It?s highly unlikely that they?ll be able to penetrate against one of the most cohesive pass-blocking offensive lines in the league. Even if they do, Eli Manning, when he?s on his game, is too good at making throws in the face of pressure for it to matter. I like the over in catches and yardage across the board here.
Total pass receiving yards Hakeem Nicks OVER 79 1/2 yards
NY/WAS-PASS RECEPTIONS MADE BY HAKEEM NICKS
OVER 5 PASS RECEPTIONS
Against a Washington defense allowing 301 passing yards per game, a night not marred by weather should be loaded with opportunities for Eli Manning and the Giants? offense.
On paper, its pretty simple. Giants have the better offense (7th over 9th) defense (8th over 17th) and vastly better special teams. Therefore, its not hard to understand that the Gmen are favorities here on the road against a team that theyve already beaten.
Its always a good idea in these divisional games to go back and take a look at the previous game to help handicap the upcoming one. RGIII's introduction to divisional play was a 27-23 loss at New York (7-4) on Oct. 21. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 258 yards and two scores and also ran nine times for 89 yards.
"It's a game we felt we should have won," Griffin said. "And we didn't win it, they got the win in their column and we got the loss."
Manning took advantage of the Redskins' secondary in the first meeting between these teams in New Jersey, passing for 337 yards in a 27-23 victory where he hit Victor Cruz with the game winning touchdown in the final moments.
So, lots of Washington running with Morris and RGIII, and lots of NY passing, with Cruz having the key GW catch late in the 4th.
Giants' quarterback Eli Manning had been in a three-game funk before the demolition of the Packers, but the bye must have done him some good as he had his best game in about a month in prime time Sunday, passing for 249 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He was still not as sharp as he was earlier in the year however as he completed only 16 of his 30 passes, but at least he is now trending in the right direction.
Don't expect the game plan to change much for the Giants, especially since the Redskins have one of the weakest secondaries in the game and have only generated 20 sacks on the season so far (26th). The Giants will also be working rookie running back David Wilson into the mix this week following the season-ending injury to Andre Brown. So a heavy workload for Ahmad Bradshaw and Wilson against a stiff Redskins run defense (89 ypg - 3rd) just wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Especailly considering the injury issues already with Bradshaw and the fumbling issues with Wilson.
Finally recovering from his injuries, Hakeem Nicks is coming off his most productive game since Week 2. He?s still not the Nicks we?ve come to know, but he?ll be at least a mild handful for Josh Wilson and Cedric Griffin outside. He is clearly the #1 WR on the field when he can stay on it (injury prone). Nicks has simply lit it up the past few weeks. He racked up 27 targets in the last two weeks and that includes 13 against the Pack when Eli only put up 30 attempts due to the fact that they were winning by double digits the entire 2h.
Cruz had less than half the targets , 6, than Nicks, and everyone else had half the targets of Cruz. IF that doesnt scream #1 WR, then nothing can.
Im expecting Eli and the Giants to come out throwing, and he will have time against this pass rush. The Skins have no pass rush right now with their two best pass rushers Brian Orakpo and Adam Carriker both on Injured Reserve, and they put no pressure on Manning in the first meeting while recording only one sack. There is no reason to believe that Manning will have any less time to find wide open receivers in this game, especially after the New York offensive line looked so great last week while allowing only one sack vs. a Green Bay pass rush.
Manning now had a good chance to return to his vintage form as he will be throwing against a Washington pass defense that is ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams at a dreadful 301.4 yards per game, ahead of only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Guess what Eli and Nicks did against TB?
How about 10 catches for 199 yards? Ouch.
If Nicks had 5 for 77 against the Pack in lst weeks blowout, what do you think hes gonna do tonight?
The Redskins have a very inept pass rush. It?s highly unlikely that they?ll be able to penetrate against one of the most cohesive pass-blocking offensive lines in the league. Even if they do, Eli Manning, when he?s on his game, is too good at making throws in the face of pressure for it to matter. I like the over in catches and yardage across the board here.
Total pass receiving yards Hakeem Nicks OVER 79 1/2 yards
NY/WAS-PASS RECEPTIONS MADE BY HAKEEM NICKS
OVER 5 PASS RECEPTIONS
Against a Washington defense allowing 301 passing yards per game, a night not marred by weather should be loaded with opportunities for Eli Manning and the Giants? offense.
