Redskins Chop Giants Down To Size Again, 23-10

Who was that Burgundy and Gold team??!!!  Not only did the Redskins prove me wrong (I picked them to lose), but they embarrassed the Giants.  It got so bad, at one point, that the Giants fans were booing their own team.  I’ve never seen that before.  It was weird.  Giants Stadium was eerily quiet for most of the game in between boos.  As that’s happening, Rex Grossman is slinging it all over the place.  Hell he even threw 2 INTs early in the game.  One INT came on the very first play from scrimmage for the game.  With nothing on the line and coming into the game after being mathematically eliminated from the Playoffs, the Redskins get their 5^th win of the season, and a series sweep this year of the Giants on the strength of a 23-10 win.  Washington improves to 5-9 and the Giants drop to 7-7.  The only bad thing about the win is that it moves the Dallas Cowboys into sole possession of 1^st place in the NFC East. 

The Giants looked like they never came out of the locker to start the game.  Hakeem Nicks, a normally sure-handed WR, dropped two TD passes.  On one play, Nicks was wide open.  It was almost as if the God’s thought that it was time for things to go Washington’s way.  Eli Manning didn’t even throw a TD pass Sunday. That is rare.  Manning finished the game completing 23 of 40 passing attempts for 257 Passing Yards, no TD passes, but 3 INTs.  Manning was under constant pressure the entire game.  Although Manning was still able to move the Giants, most of their drives ended with no points.  And although the N.Y. Giants were able to force turnovers, they were not able to capitalize on them.  Brandon Jacobs was able to get going later in the game, but the Giants weren’t able to put together a 100-Yard Rushing effort.  And, although the Giants have one of the best Defensive Lines in the NFL, so much so that they rarely have to Blitz to create a Pass Rush, they were only able to tally one QB Sack, and it came on what looked like a blown assignment.  As crazy as it sounds, the Redskins shut down the Giants on Sunday.  How many times have we heard that this season?

I have one thing to say about the Redskins’ performance on Sunday.  It’s about damn time.  This is the first time that I have seen Washington punch a team in the mouth and follow it up with a knockout.  Washington had games won against Dallas both times this year, had the Patriots beaten, let the 49ers and Eagles games slip away, and never showed up for the game against the Bills.  Washington should be 10-4 heading into these final two games.  Washington has had key injuries.  Otogwe has been hurt all season, LaRon Landry, Tim Hightower, Kory Lichtensteiger, Jarvis Jenkins, Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Trent Williams and Leonard Hankerson are all out for the season and all are key starters.  Santana Moss even missed extended playing time this season.  This was an NFL Playoff team.  Hell I’ll take it a step further and say that Washington should be in the running for the NFC East crown.  Washington is just in need of a Franchise QB.  No disrespect to Grossman who finished the game Sunday with 15 completions on 24 passing attempts, 185 Passing Yards and 1 TD.  But he threw 2 INTs that could have been crucial mistakes, but the Defense bailed him out.  Rex takes way too many chances and the difference between he and a Tom Brady is that Brady will not put his team in those situations.  Brady is conscious of his decision-making at crucial times.  To put it plainly, you’d trust Brady in crunch time and expect him to make the plays to win the game.  With Grossman, you are hoping that he makes the plays to win the game and more importantly, you are hoping that he doesn’t turn the ball over doing something crazy.  But Grossman will do for the next two weeks. 

This week’s gameball goes to the entire Redskins Defense for one of their best performances of the entire season.

Pat’s Edge Redskins, 34-27

Who would have thought that the Patriots-Redskins game would have been a shootout that would have come down to the Redskins driving in the final 5 minutes with a chance to tie the game and send it to Overtime?  It was a loss, but Washington proved once again that they can compete with any team in the league, but closing has been a problem.  Washington has worked hard to create opportunities to win, but they have worked just as hard at giving them away.  I don’t want to take anything away from Tom Brady’s performance because, unless you’ve been living under a rock, he’s been nothing short of amazing.  He’s still tearing it up without a legit #1 WR.  Chad Ochocinco is up there in New England with him, but as Chad’s girlfriend states it… “He’s been a non (mother$%^&^&) factor!!!”  And as I see it, Washington has nothing to hang their heads about.

Time and time again this season Washington has had their games decided in the final few minutes, which tells me that they are doing enough to be in the game in the final minutes.  Sunday it was a nip and tuck battle with one of the best teams in the NFL.  I had no doubt in my mind that Washington was going to win.  I know my team.  The better the competition the better that they play.  So why wouldn’t I think that they were going to give New England hell?  Rex Grossman, for the fourth straight week, has played extremely well.  I have been impressed with how he’s handled the pressure of playing in a big game.  Not only did Grossman lead 5 scoring drives, but he actually threw a TD pass on the final drive of the game, but an Offensive Pass Interference call nullified what would have been a game-tying TD.  Hell, even the INT that ended the game wasn’t his fault.  I can’t believe I am actually typing that by the way.  Grossman had help with his WRs coming up with big plays, especially his college teammate Jabar Gaffney who had 6 catches for 92 yards and 1 TD.  Gaffney has been on my radar since his days of playing for the Houston Texans as their #2 WR next to André Johnson.   Roy Helu put up another 100-Yd effort with 126 Rushing Yards on 26 carries.  Even little Brandon Banks threw a TD pass today to Santana Moss.  But the star of the game was on the other team today, and boy did he put on a performance.

I get a little pissed off when the “experts” and I used that term lightly, says that teams shouldn’t use high draft picks on Tight Ends (TE).  When you have a guy who is a physical freak like Vernon Davis, you might want to take that chance.  New England has a guy that is along those lines as far as size and speed.  At 6’6” tall and 265 lbs, “Gronk” as his teammates call him, is a freak.  Not only did this dude run a 4.65 in the 40 Yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he broad jumped 9’11”.  That may not mean anything to you, but that tells me that he is a very explosive runner and has great acceleration.  That spells doom for Linebackers (LB) and Safties ([SS = Strong Safety] and [FS = Free Safety]).  I think the signature play of the game was “Gronk” making  a diving catch, getting up and then dragging two Redskins players a few yards before breaking the tackle and running up field for a few more yards.  Amazingly this is only his 2^nd year and he has broken the NFL Record for Most TD Receptions For a TE In One Season (15).  And although Tom “Terrific” Brady completed 23 of 37 passes for 357 Yards and 3 TD passes, he did throw a crucial INT in the end zone that almost cost New England the game.  I know that was the only blemish on his record Sunday, but  I have to give the game ball to Rob Gronkowski today.  If you take away his numbers, New England doesn’t have a chance in hell.  That matchup killed the Redskins Sunday.  And for a 4-9 team, you need all the matchups to go your way every week. 

Congrats to Rob for winning this weeks game ball with 6 catches for 160 Recieveing Yards and 2 TD’s.  Keep an eye out for this kid.  He is the real deal.