Redskins Chop Giants Down To Size

Who was that team in Burgundy and Gold on Sunday?  I haven’t seen a team like that in about 20 years.  The Redskins still couldn’t move the ball on the ground, but they sure as hell could move it through the air.  The Giants had some injuries, but hey, who hasn’t??!!  The Redskins got a big day from Rex Grossman, Fred Davis and Santana Moss as they hand the Giants an Opening Day loss, 28-14.  I am guardedly optimistic, but truth be told, the Redskins looked really good against a fierce division opponent.

No matter how you slice it, the Redskins looked good against the Giants.  For most people, the shocker would be how well the Redskins’ Offense played.  But for me, the shocker was on Defense.  There was a stat that came out a few years back that 76% of the teams that have an INT returned for a TD in a game, has won that game.  That caught my eye as I am a huge fan of good Defenses, not matter who the team is.  And I did predict that the Redskins will finish in the top half (top 16 or better) this season.  But, if they continue to play like they did Sunday, they will finish in the top 10.  The Redskins only gave up 75 yards on the ground and had an INT returned for a TD.  I was happy that the 76% Rule held true Sunday as the Rookie Ryan Kerrigan, not only tipped, but picked of an errant Eli Manning pass and returned 9 yards for a TD.  I don’t know if was winded from the long 9 yard run or from celebrating.  (Just messing with you Ryan, great play.)   Manning threw for 268 yards, but didn’t throw for a TD and was sacked 4 times.  And on top of it all, the Redskins blocked a FG attempt.  Now I know that the FG didn’t have a chance in hell, but hey, that’s not going to show up in the stats.  Overall it was a great Defensive performance and I hope that it only gets better from here.  And I hope that the same thing holds true on Offense.

Fred Davis, former Mackey Award Winner at USC, had the kind of day that I expected him to have when I used to watch him in college.  I just didn’t think he’d ever have that day wearing a Redskins uniform while Chris Cooley was still on the roster.  Davis had 105 receiving yards on 5 catches.  No, he didn’t get into the endzone, but that will come.  Santana Moss has 76 yards on 6 catches.  He too didn’t get into the endzone, but he’ll have his day too.  But the man of the hour was Rex Grossman.  Grossman completed 21 of 34 passing attempts, passed for 305 yards and 2 TDs.  I’ve been a fan of his since he was at Florida playing for the Ol’ Ball Coach (Steve Spurrier) and throwing to Jacquez Green and Jabar Gafney.  Needless to say, I was disappointed in him when he decided to be the second coming of Brett Favre in Chicago.  I knew that he could play better.  Sunday was just a glimpse of what I thought Grossman was.  No I am not saying that he is Super Bowl bound this year, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities.  Right now the Redskins are 1-0 and I will enjoy it until Tuesday and so should Rex.

This weeks game ball goes to Ryan Kerrigan for that huge game-changing play.

IT WASN’T PRETTY…. BUT THE REDSKINS WON!!!

Donovan McNabb has a knack of attracting attention even when he tries to drift off into the background. This Sunday was unavoidable. In his return to Philadelphia, McNabb didn’t have the best passing game, but when you score more points than the other team, do you really care? In the first two possessions of the game, the Redskins scored. The best play between those two drives might have been Ryan Torain’s monster Touchdown. Poor Quinton Mikell took the brunt of that collision. But Donovan McNabb had a pretty floating Touchdown pass to Chris Cooley that put the Redskins up 14-0 early in the game. But things got really interesting after that.

If you ask me, had Michael Vick not gotten hurt, the Eagles may have sneaked away with a win Sunday. Kevin Kolb is a good QB, but doesn’t present the same problems that Michael Vick does. And Vick was making most of his plays from the pocket. That is something that we haven’t seen in all his years in the NFL. The Redskins Defense, who we have seen struggle in the past 2 weeks, came up huge in shutting down the very explosive DeSean Jackson. Jackson was a non-factor, but LeSean McKoy took over with 12 catches for 110 yards. How is that for McKoy who is a Running Back? Jeremy Macklin was also nonexistent. Brent Celek, Philadelphia’s stud at Tight End, was completely taken out of the game as well Sunday. This is where Michael Vick’s legs would have made the difference. Some of the play that Kolb ran for First Down’s, were good, it’s just that Vick would have gotten more yards on those plays. That may have been the difference. But for the Redskins the difference was made in the Offensive Backfield, by a virtual unknown, Ryan Torain.

I love finding guys like this. Ryan Torain is a guy that was brought in with no fanfare. This offseason Torain was brought in because Coach Shanahan signed him in the Denver before taking a break from coaching. Torain has been a hard worker. Torain is consistent. Torain is dependable. And when Clinton Portis was unable to go, Ryan Torain came in and not only finished runs, but finished the game. Torain only had 70 yards on 18 carries and one Touchdown, but the way Torain was running was something that has been missing. Portis runs hard, but in the past, there was a drop off when he came out the game. Now you have a guy behind Portis who runs just as hard, maybe harder, now you don’t have the drop off in the running game. Now Donovan McNabb doesn’t have to throw 50 times like the genius Eagles used to have him do. How big is it to give McNabb a running game? How big is it to have a talent like McNabb not feel like he has to do it all by himself. Slowly but surely, the pieces are falling in place. Washington might have the type of team to make a Playoff run.

At 2-2 this early in the season, there is a glimmer of hope. I am cool with a 9-7 season. It will mean that the Redskins have finished with a winning record for the fist time in 3 seasons. It will give the organization something to build on going into the 2011 season. Anything after 9 wins is huge. Anything after 9 wins may mean a Playoff birth. And the Post Season is something for which Donovan McNabb has a nose. Dare I say that Washington could sneak into the Playoffs this year and steal a win or two? We will see. They have a tough test this Sunday against the very good Green Bay Packers. Which Redskins team will show up? I would like the Defense from this past Sunday, to join the Offense from two weeks ago. If that happens, the Green Bay Packers are in trouble. But I think this game will be a close one. Who will win is anyone’s guess. But for the Redskins sake, this is a must win, because you need some momentum going into your showdown with the great Peyton Manning in two weeks.