Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

So I had the chance to watch some of today's action with a few NYC Firefighters. I mean they were all loudly rooting for the Giants, but still that was pretty cool. Especially on a day like today

Anyhow, let's keep this brief because it was a huge win to start the year and there aren't too many things to complain about (and I'll leave Doughty out of it today, because I think we're beating that silly in other threads)

[B]Pass Protection[/B] I know we want to put all the blame on TW, but Brown struggled early, Kory L. gave up at least one sack, and it's not just limited to the OL. Our backs and receivers, including Hightower struggled in picking up blitzes a couple of times. Luckily, Kyle's underrated schemes (combined with a depleted Giants secondary) put a lot of open receivers out there. Still, it's something that needs to be corrected

[B]The Running Game[/B] I didn't understand it quite honestly. I thought they'd use Helu some more, even thought Torain might see some action. But really what I didn't understand is why we seemed to be repeatedly running Hightower to the outside, and not really getting much out of it. I'd need to watch the game again, but less than 3 yards a carry is disappointing

[B]Graham Gano[/B] No excuse for missing that field goal...and once again, we go back to getting nervous every time you line up for a field goal

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I would be more than a little concerned about TW and the rest of the line .. not only was the giants secondary depleted, their D line was missing Osi and Tuck, arguably two of the best D Linemen in the league. Pierre Paul is no slouch but Trent Williams looked flat out bad against him today.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=rbanerjee23;834617]I would be more than a little concerned about TW and the rest of the line .. not only was the giants secondary depleted, their D line was missing Osi and Tuck, arguably two of the best D Linemen in the league. Pierre Paul is no slouch but Trent Williams looked flat out bad against him today.[/quote]

Well we won the game, I think the o-line protected Grossman for some crucial plays. I do think the o-line needs to improve their play though, b/c we will see better pass rushing teams than the depleted Giants.

I wont mention our safety who struggled, but we need landry back ASAP. Any of you haters still think we are better without him?

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Yeah, watching Demarcus Ware tonight should scare the daylights out of everybody. We'll see him in two weeks, and they better figure something out quick. You also have to figure this was the first full game for all of these guys to play together and there are going to be some kinks to work out.

I was surprised that with all the pressure, we didn't see any screen passes. At some points, I thought playcalling in anticipation of obvious blitzing situations was a bit suspect. They have to do a better job of setting up some plays to get the ball out quicker.

Overall though, I have a tough time complaining tonight. Great win. And they needed this one bad.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Beemn, I was thinking the same thing about Ware. He's gonna eat our lunch.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

My only other gripe that Smoot didnt touch on was the drops by Armstrong and Gaffney.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

My biggest ? is why no RB rotation??? I really expected to see Torain and Helu. Hightower did what I expected in the 1st half but was very one dimensional the 2nd. Why the heck have 3 great backs and only use 1? With that said, Great Game! HTTR!!!

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Well, Armstrong and Gaffney each had a couple of nice catches as well so it can slide today.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Yeah, Armstrong dropped two catches but kind of made up for it with that sick diving catch where he barely missed the endzone.

The only reason I bring up the OL play was because there were some plays where Grossman was getting plastered and I actually felt bad for the guy. Great win though, as I said somewhere else, we were neck and neck with the Giants the whole game and dominated them in the second half.

People are going to bring up how depleted the Giants team was ... mofos, look at the redskins, half our team are new players from our RB, C, DT(2), DE ... and the list goes on. Lots to be positive about today.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=rbanerjee23;834642]Yeah, Armstrong dropped two catches but kind of made up for it with that sick diving catch where he barely missed the endzone.

The only reason I bring up the OL play was because there were some plays where Grossman was getting plastered and I actually felt bad for the guy. Great win though, as I said somewhere else, we were neck and neck with the Giants the whole game and dominated them in the second half.

[B]People are going to bring up how depleted the Giants team was ... mofos, look at the redskins, half our team are new players from our RB, C, DT(2), DE ... and the list goes on. Lots to be positive about today.[/B][/quote]

I'm sure people will bring this up, but what they forget is that our team couldn't beat the teams we were supposed to beat. I do hope that we do well against good teams, but also I want to continue to see us do well against inferior teams and not play down to the level of our competition.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I thought our protection issues were exacerbated by poor recognition a lot. Either by Rex or the line there seemed to be ample opportunity to diagnose and react to the pressure. Most of their pressure was artificially generated via overload it seemed. A couple times Rex just needed to see it and get rid of the ball faster. I have to think the ability to do so will come with more time on the field in the scheme.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Yeah, I thought they would bring in another RB and give HT a break. They need to mix it up with HT and give the opposition new looks with more options with running plays and putting in the guy that might best run that specific play. The days of the feature back are slowly slipping away into history.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=rbanerjee23;834642]Yeah, Armstrong dropped two catches but kind of made up for it with that sick diving catch where he barely missed the endzone.

The only reason I bring up the OL play was because there were some plays where Grossman was getting plastered and I actually felt bad for the guy. Great win though, as I said somewhere else, we were neck and neck with the Giants the whole game and dominated them in the second half.

People are going to bring up how depleted the Giants team was ... mofos, [B]look at the redskins, half our team are new players from our RB, C, DT(2), DE ... and the list goes on. Lots to be positive about today[/B].[/quote]

[Applause] This win shouldn't be downplayed one bit.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=FRPLG;834646][B]I thought our protection issues were exacerbated by poor recognition a lot.[/B] Either by Rex or the line there seemed to be ample opportunity to diagnose and react to the pressure. Most of their pressure was artificially generated via overload it seemed. A couple times Rex just needed to see it and get rid of the ball faster. I have to think the ability to do so will come with more time on the field in the scheme.[/quote]

But that's true of any OL/QB ... Rex looked a lot worse on some plays because of the OL play and the fumble was 20% Rex's fault and 80% the OL's fault. Hell, one play, I saw Pierre Paul run by Williams where Williams just fell down. That has got to be fixed.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Over the long haul we are not going to get it done unless the running game improves dramatically. Counting on Rex or Beck to win the game through the air every week is a recipe for disappointment.

The defensive backfield needs to improve its communication and cohesion.

Bowen needs to raise the intensity of his pass rush.

Everyone on the offensive line had their moments of suck, as SmootSmack indicated. But T.Williams prefaced a sucky game today with a sucky preseason - it wasn't just one game. And we didn't draft him at #4 overall to make excuses regarding Pierre-Paul's abilities. Everyone on the o-line needs to raise their level of play but especially Trent.

Still, we're in first place and have broken the Giants hex at least temporarily. It was a good day.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Too happy right now to diagnose our issues. Obviously there are some things to work on, but I'm just gonna enjoy this one for now.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Hightower played as well as he could have, considering our O-Line got pushed back almost every run play; add on that the Giants stacked 8 men in the box, meant they had some respect for Hightower and the run game. Almost every stretch play our O-Line got pushed back into Hightower. That's not his fault. His 3 yard average is a reflection of our mediocre O-Line play. [B]NOT[/B] Hightower. We've seen what he can do when the O-Line opens holes. Everyone has touched on the poor O-line play and that needs to be addressed, but the stretch play did set up the bootleg and play action pass which was key in the win.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Running game had it's moments today but it still needs a little maturation time to me. That stretch zone is really a major coordination nightmare. Last year we didn't have the skill-sets to even really have a chance for it to work. Now we do have mor athletic guys but it may take some time for it to mesh up. Giants filled pretty well all day on gaps. Generally I expect NY to have a pretty good run defense this year.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=vallin21;834664]Hightower played as well as he could have, considering our O-Line got pushed back almost every run play; add on that Giants stacked 8 men in the box, meant they had some respect for Hightower and the run game. Almost every stretch play our O-Line got pushed back into Hightower. That's not his fault. His 3 yard average is a reflection of our mediocre O-Line play. [B]NOT[/B] Hightower. We've seen what he can do when the O-Line opens holes. Everyone has touched on the poor O-line play and that needs to be addressed, but the stretch play did set up the bootleg and play action pass which was key in the win.[/quote]

Totally...what is more disheartening is that this is our starting OL against effectively their backups due to their not having Tuck and Osi. Let's hope they can tighten that up and get better next week.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Osi was in danger of losing his spot to Pierre-Paul anyways.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Look, I think it's easy to over-analyze and nitpick this win. Take it for what it is. We beat a dinged up, but good Giants team. We scored more touchdowns.

The offensive chemistry will continue to improve, Tim Hightower will find his groove, and Rex seems like he's maturing as a QB. These are good things.

One thing we can take away for sure after one game is that this Redskins team is much better than last year's version.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

folks we BEAT NY, a team that has kicked our ass for a few years.. ENJOY it

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

What was up wit that multi tight end bunch formation that they used over and over during the last half of the third quarter?

That was awful.

I'm all for confusing the defense and all...

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

A division win!

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I'm not trying to nitpick or be negative by any means, but win or lose (unless I have some other pressing obligation) this thread will be here every week. Just as Scud's Studs will be around win or lose. Either we do them after every game or we just don't bother at all..but hey if you prefer one thread that says "Our OL Sucks" another that says "Reed Doughty Has to Go!" another that says "Where was Helu???" and so on...

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=skinsfaninok;834683]folks we BEAT NY, a team that has kicked our ass for a few years.. ENJOY it[/quote]

This is how we enjoy it man...by nitpicking every thing we did wrong

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I certainly didn't mind sticking to the run. The thing that puzzled me was seeing a running back not named Hightower on only two or three plays.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=rbanerjee23;834671]Totally...[B]what is more disheartening is that this is our starting OL against effectively their backups due to their not having Tuck and Osi.[/B] Let's hope they can tighten that up and get better next week.[/quote]

Very True. Which is quite alarming and dissapointing.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I'm definitely gonna enjoy this one. As for these things that went bad during the game, I am willing to not be as harsh about it since we won and we looked definitively better in doing so.

But the things I saw wrong during this game were:

The offensive line: Couldn't run block at all, and we're lucky Grossman is willing to stand in there and take a big hit if it means a completion, because they didn't play well today.

And Graham Gano: Come on man, you had a perfect preseason and then you go out and miss your first kick that should be considered near-automatic? I was hoping that you had moved past your issues and could finally be consistent, but it appears we're going to have to continue holding our collective breaths every time you kick a field goal.

That's all I got off the top of my head, and I think both issues could be fixed. Gano just needs to get his mind right and maybe the o-line problems will be fixed if we give them a little time.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=Ruhskins;834645]I'm sure people will bring this up, but what they forget is that our team couldn't beat the teams we were supposed to beat. I do hope that we do well against good teams, but also I want to continue to see us do well against inferior teams and not play down to the level of our competition.[/quote]

I don't think that will happen anymore. I think the redskins losing games in the 4th quarter or allowing teams to come back is over. Like the way the defense was still going strong until the very last play. And even after the fumble by grossman, the offense builds on the blocked field goal by marching it downfield to score a td-- with grossman capping it off. I believe that the days where the redskins fall apart in 4th quarter are over.

The giants were relying on those same ol redskins to wilt. Ha! All I have to say is: HTTR!!!

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=SmootSmack;834691]I'm not trying to nitpick or be negative by any means, but win or lose (unless I have some other pressing obligation) this thread will be here every week. Just as Scud's Studs will be around win or lose. Either we do them after every game or we just don't bother at all..but hey if you prefer one thread that says "Our OL Sucks" another that says "Reed Doughty Has to Go!" another that says "Where was Helu???" and so on...[/quote]

I like the Smack-Studs combo. It is good to critique both positives and negatives since no game is either perfect on one extreme or lacking in positives on the other.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=Lotus;834717]I like the Smack-Studs combo. It is good to critique both positives and negatives since no game is either perfect on one extreme or lacking in positives on the other.[/quote]

Seconded. Not sure where the thinking was coming from that people don't want a thread to discuss the positives and a thread to discuss the negatives, but I'm firmly on the bandwagon at this point. I feel like you can't have one without the other.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I concur

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Doughty may be subpar in coverage but the guy led all players with 11 tackles. He had two noticeable bad plays...the long pass to Nicks and he didn't provide support when Fletch got beat by the G-men TE. He's a backup and plays like one, things will be better once LL gets in the mix, but people need to stop acting like having him out there is the end of the world. It really isn't...pretty soon he'll be back to being a backup and ST player.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

I got to say when grossman lost that fumble, I thought that it was the same ol redskins from the past few years.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

totally stoked about this win!!!!!!

braves on the warpath to a 16-0 season, and BEYOND!!~!!!!!!

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

Sometimes fans can take having players like doughty for granted. Like when a few years ago tomilson stiffed armed Ryan Clark to break the game open against the redskins for a long td. Everyone said he sucked and to get rid of him. He turned out to be a good role player for the steelers super bowl teams. And doughtys a backup.

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

[quote=Lotus;834655]Over the long haul we are not going to get it done unless the running game improves dramatically. Counting on Rex or Beck to win the game through the air every week is a recipe for disappointment.

The defensive backfield needs to improve its communication and cohesion.

Bowen needs to raise the intensity of his pass rush.

Everyone on the offensive line had their moments of suck, as SmootSmack indicated. But T.Williams prefaced a sucky game today with a sucky preseason - it wasn't just one game. And we didn't draft him at #4 overall to make excuses regarding Pierre-Paul's abilities. Everyone on the o-line needs to raise their level of play but especially Trent.

Still, we're in first place and have broken the Giants hex at least temporarily. It was a good day.[/quote]

Secondary will not be cohesive without landry. .. other than thatbthey played a HELL .. of a game so I hafta disagree there...

O.line, yes, needs to improve I'm pass pro and run blocking.. but I fear the playcalling was getting predictable in that regard ..

Pass rush I thought was much improved even after last time we saw them.and Bowen had a huge sack ... so I dunno pressure was there today and our corners played verybwell because of it ...



Overall great shut them the F down in the 2nd half... blocked field goal gave me chills and memories of Vincent/Taylor against the cowgirls... being there live feeling the energy of this team and fans... we are gonna find ways to win games. IMO that's all that's gonna matter, this team is READY, to step up and find ways to win as we've always wanted...

Re: Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Giants at Redskins)
 

The safety play was painful to watch. Atogwe did what he's pretty much done his whole career: he plays most of his game off the television feed. But that cover two out route that Manning got complete to Manningham under duress was far too easy of a throw. A good safety breaks up that pass pretty often.

Doughty was Doughty. Happy to have him, but if he's in the starting lineup, the offensive coordinator knows where to go on the field in the passing game.

Getting Landry back will give the Redskins an impact player at the position, but he won't fix the weakness at the position.