Redskins at Giants Week 1 Recap

Well, to say that this game was exciting would definitely be the wrong thing to talk about. This resembled a 5th preseason game in my mind. The Redskins actually looked like they need two more preseason games to get it together. The Giants won the game 16-7 in a boring affair, but at least gives the Giants a game up in the NFC East. Things I noticed:

Antwaan Randle El - Two offside penalties for a WR? Are you kidding me? I mean in the same game, 2 of them? You are looking down the line at the ball, no excuse. That's like a nose guard/tackle jumping offside when the ball is right under his nose. Decent stats, 7 catches for 73 yards, although the majority of them were on one play (26 yard pass reception).

LaRon Landry - Welcome to the league again. I have to give it to this guy, he likes to hit, even when the the person he was hitting was 75 lbs heavier and running down hill right at him. Brandon Jacobs hit this guy and I'm sure his spinal cord compacted for a second or two. But Landry got up and stayed on the field and played well. 6 tackles and half a sack and almost 2 interceptions.

Jason Campbell - You stare at Beyonce, Kim Kardashian (don't let Reggie catch you doing it), Stacy Dash, and Jessica Alba. You do not stare down your receivers or it's going to be a looooong season for the Redskins. I was somewhat surprised how badly Campbell played in the first half, but they still had a chance to win the game. Maybe it's just opening night jitters, but I expect more from him.

Justin Tuck - I said he'd be the difference maker for the Giants on defense, I just forgot to add Mathias Kiawanuka to that list too. The two of them handled the Redskins' offensive line for the majority of the game and dominated them. Spagnola was bringing the heat too. I was sitting there counting blitzes and I lost count after about 20. I guess you don't talk trash about the guy that you almost gave your head coaching job to when he's running the defense that you play Week 1 (Snider said that Spagnola wasn't even close to getting the job Zorn has, around the same time that Spagnola said he withdrew his name from consideration).

Redskins Defense - Hey I got rid of them in Fantasy Football because I thought they'd play like they did early in this game for the entire year. They were able to right their ship and stop the Giants, except Brandon Jacobs, for the 2nd half of the game. I might have to think about picking them back up later in the year. They were also without Shawn Springs and lost Fred Smoot for a few plays with a bad back.

Brandon Jacobs - 'That hurt!!!!' That's what had to be going on in the minds of everyone trying to tackle him last night. This guy was looking for people to hit, even after the whistle. 6'4" 275, with speed, that's something I don't want to see coming through the hole at me, unless I have a sledge hammer.

Eli Manning - He was average. Nice move to get in the end zone on the bootleg, but other than that he was average. He got lucky that the Redskins let go two of his passes, but he gets the win.

All in all, a decent, yet boring game. This had to hurt the Redskins more than anyone else because as badly as they played, they were still only 9 points out. They had opportunities but squandered them. That's at least the silver lining in the whole deal. Here's to next week.