No Need to Panic…Yet
Rex Grossman torched the Giants' Secondary
Obviously, this isn’t the way the Giants expected their season to start. Having gone 6-0 in the last three years against the Redskins, the Giants yesterday were looking to continue the streak. Since the Skins are predicted to finish last in the NFC East, this should’ve been a Giants victory. Of course the Giants were depleted on defense. Terrell Thomas and Jonathan Goff are out for the year, top draft Prince Amukamara is out for a month, Osi Umenyiora is out, and Justin Tuck was a late scratch with a neck injury. But even with these injuries, it’s unacceptable for Rex Grossman to throw for 305 yards. The Giants secondary made Rex look like Tom Brady on a good day. It seemed that every time the GMen needed a crucial stop, the secondary blew their coverage.
It was a terrible debut for the Offensive Line
Coming into this game, I expected the Giants to give up a good amount of points. Granted this defense was made up of a number of backups including Greg Jones, a rookie 5th pound pick who started at middle linebacker. I will give some credit to Grossman for executing some good passes against this depleted secondary, but honestly I was expected Rex to throw a couple of touchdowns. What I didn’t expect was the lack of production of offense. In the first quarter, Eli looked untouchable. He had plenty of time in the pocket and completed some beautiful passes to Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and tight end Jake Ballard. But in the second half, everything went downhill. First, the offensive line must get on the same page before Eli gets hurt. Not only did they allow four sacks, running back Ahmad Bradshaw was only able to rack up 44 rushing yards. I would usually criticize Ahmad for not finding the holes, but he had no chance to have a good day yesterday. Plus, the O-Line failed miserably on the Giants’ crucial 4th and 1 attempt in the third quarter. I understand there are some newcomers on the line, but this must be fixed before next Monday.
Now let’s look at the positives. First, the defensive line looked fantastic. Jason Pierre-Paul looks like he has the potential to become the next Demarcus Ware. As a unit, they had four sacks (two by JPP) and a forced fumble. Not too shabby without Osi and Tuck. Second, we have to realize it’s only the first week. I remember the first two weeks of the 2007 season – the Giants got their asses kicked against the Cowboys and the Packers allowing 80 points in two games. After the Packers game, I thought the season was over. Given what happened that season, I learned not to look that into the first couple of weeks. Just look at the Giants the last two years. They started 5-0 in 2009 and 6-2 in 2010. Both years they missed the playoffs. I would rather have the Giants struggle early then improve then vice versa. Having said that, the Giants’ November schedule looks gruesome so I believe it’s crucial for the Giants to get on track in next week’s Monday Night matchup against the injured St. Louis Rams. I wouldn’t say it’s a “must win,” but it’s a very important game.
5 BOROUGH SPORTS 
Leave a Reply