Tony McGee Breaks Down the Giants Game

SmootSmack

Former NFL great Tony McGee sat down with TheWarpath.net front office Tuesday morning and answered some TheWarpath.net questions about the Redskins 36-0 loss to the New York Giants:

Let's start off with BigSkinBauer's question, WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GIANTS GAME? It was an organizational beatdown from top to bottom. The Redskins as an organization showed up completely unprepared. They had to have known that the Giants would be up for this game even more so than usual because of the death of their owner. Now Matty brings up an interesting point about Antonio Pierce and Tim Hasselbeck, and I tend to agree. Pierce and Hasselbeck know this team and its strengths and weaknesses. How much that helped I don't know, but it definitely was a factor. It's on the coaching staff to anticipate this is going to happen and make adjustments. You don't want to change your scheme entirely but you need to add new wrinkles. Next time I fully expect that Hasselbeck and Pierce will not be able to help the team as much as they did this time.

Looks like we have some questions about the run defense. It's been a common trait in our losses, giving up the big run. Here's what I'm seeing. I'm seeing teams playing the overpursuit of the Redskins defense. You'll notice that most of the big runs have been on cutbacks, and the cutback run is the perfect antidote for an overpursuing defense. So how do you stop this? It's up to the "backman" to play relatively conservatively and be aware of the cutback. The "backman" has to give a bit of a cushion and read what's going on and anticipate. Depending on the situation, the "backman" isn't always the same player but it's a defensive end or a linebacker usually. SUNRA, you're asking if Gregg Williams is too occupied with LaVar that he's ignored the rush defense and its demise the last four weeks. I wouldn't say that, but I will point out that I haven't seen LaVar on the field during any of those big runs.

So now we've lost three out of four games and we have a big, big game against another division opponent this week. And don't think the Eagles aren't going to be ready after the whipping they got from Denver this past weekend. The second half of this season starts with the Eagles game, and if they lose it could end with the Eagles game as well. So Skinsguy wants to know how this team looks past this horrible loss. Good question. First thing I'd say is don't watch any film. You just throw the film of the Giants game away. The Redskins need to put the game entirely out of their mind and focus on the Eagles. Now, having played for Joe Gibbs, here's what I expect will happen. He'll find the positives and use them as a motivational tool. He'll get the team believing in themselves, what they've accomplished and what they're capable of accomplishing.

When we talk more specifically about the gameplan for the Eagles game, first and foremost-turnovers. We need to prevent the giveaways and cause the takeaways. Like TheMalcolmConnection has pointed out, teams are starting to figure out this defense. Whether it's personnel changes or scheme adjustments Greg Williams needs to start making changes. Secondly, the offense needs to get David Patten more involved. He can add so much to the offense and it's a waste not to utilize him more.

This is a very winnable game, more importantly it's a must-win game.

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Be sure to watch Tony McGee's Pro Football Plus this Saturday at 11:30am as Tony answers this week's "TheWarpath.net Fan Question of the Week"

Tony McGee's NFL career started in 1971 where he was a starting defensive end for the Chicago Bears. In 1974, Tony began a 7 year stint with the New England Patriots and earned the nickname, "Mac the Sack." His unique ability to swarm opposing quarterbacks helped coin the phrase, "designated pass rusher." Tony's career as a Washington Redskin began in 1982, and included a Super Bowl championship. Tony ended his spectacular career in 1985 with 106 career sacks and played in over 200 games -- a feat achieved only by a select group of NFL defensive linemen.
For more information visit http://www.tonymcgeeplus.com

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TheMalcolmConnection

Tony's really a great guy. Thanks for answering the questions. That was really good insight.

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