Our Thoughts on Last Night's Game

Armin: Was that a tribute to Joe Gibbs? It was as if they completely abandoned the West Coast Offense in the first half, and ran the Gibbs offense. Not quite the same effect as the Missing Man Formation tribute to Sean Taylor. The Redskins didn't officially start their "Jim Zorn Era" (and foray into the WCO) until the 2nd half of the game. Watching Coach Janky Spanky (a.k.a. Clinton Portis) giving a lesson in coaching to head coach Jim Zorn on the sidelines was embarrassing. The Redskins defense dropped several easy interceptions, which Redskins fans have become accustomed to outside of Sean Taylor over the last five seasons. Jason Campbell's alternate reality has him thinking he has 10+ seconds in the pocket to make his reads. However, as bad as the Redskins played, it was only a nine-point game. Should the Giants be concerned?

Sum: That was the Redskins' 6th preseason game, and it's why I thought they should've risked injury and played their starters the entire game against Jacksonville. We've known that the Skins running game would be kept the same, but that the passing game would go Zorn-style, and what we saw last night was them still working the kinks out of that merger. To disagree with Armin, I think that Zorn listens to his team leaders, like Portis, is amazing. Here, the coach allows his star athlete, who has experienced what's going on out on the field, to report back and to give his suggestions on the adjustments they can make. It's the perfect use of consultation in the middle of a game. The Giants looked great on that first drive, but that they only put up 16 points is quite pathetic. The score in this one should've been 24-7, at least. As for my assessment that the new starters on the D-Line would struggle, well, I stunk that one up real good.

Clement: Let's drop any excuses, could-haves, should-haves, or obsolete vernacular. Instead, let's remember that this is Week 1 in the NFL. The Giants are paper thin on the defense; nevertheless, Justin Tuck will be a Pro Bowler and the rookie safety Phillips showed flashes of brilliance all over the field. Eli should've had 3-4 picks; however, several of those Skins DBs were as ill-prepared for the ball to hit their hands as the Giants wideouts were. The Giants were EXTREMELY wise to pay Plax and wiser to not underutilize Jacobs (even with Ward & Bradshaw being talented). The Giants O-Line may be the most underrated unit in the NFL. The Skins looked sloppy and that had to be expected. Jason Campbell has his 7th offensive system in 8 years and DOESN'T have the moxy/poise (yet) to be an above-average NFL QB. Santana Moss/Randle-El are obsolete options and not effectively using Cooley is a MAJOR mistake (the rookie wideouts SUCK too). The Skins are not a 6-10 team; however, they may struggle mightily if they don't start getting 3-4 game-breaking runs a week from CP. The rest of their offense is nowhere talented enough (anywhere) to put up consistent scoring numbers and get this team through a downright brutal division.

Paymon: After jumping out to a quick 16-0 lead, the Giants' offense went on autopilot. Seemingly a comfortable win the Giants, Tom Coughlin has more than enough game film to rip into his team prior to their trip to the Gateway City in Week 2. Pressure was average, tackling was average, catching was average. Special teams coverage and red zone execution after the first drive ... let's not go from there. That said, DBs and O-Linemen (and the decision to run at Jason Taylor) were solid. For the Skins, they had better get their offense in order, because the Saints and Cards can put up serious points. Jason Campbell was stoic in the pocket and nearly got his receivers' head taken off. While I feel for the discontinuity he's experienced, he is a veteran and gets paid to produce.