Giants vs. Redskins: What Are Experts Saying About Washington?
For the Washington Redskins, the Thursday night game couldn't have come at a worse time.
Banged up with 17 players on the injury list and fresh off a heartbreaking road loss to a division rival, he team would have liked the time to rest up and prepare.
That's not going to happen, however, and instead coach Jay Gruden and Co. have to face another divisional foe. The loser, of course, will sit at 1-3 on the season and in sole possession of fourth place in the NFC East.
Labeling the game a "must-win" could still be a little premature, but the Redskins would feel a whole lot better about the season sitting at .500.
Let's cast an eye around the league and find out what is being said about this matchup.
John Keim: Redskins Need Pressure Up Front
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DeAngelo Hall is out, which means that David Amerson is now Washington's No. 1 corner. Amerson is much-improved this year, so there's no reason he can't handle the additional responsibilities.
Bashaud Breeland will also step in, and the rookie's aggressive play against the Eagles forced a Darren Sproles fumble but also drew a pass interference call.
It would be of great benefit to keep the pressure off the secondary, especially in light of Brandon Meriweather's poor performance last week.
ESPN's John Keim sees the Giants' offensive line as a weakness:
"New York has issues inside—right guard John Jerry pulls, but struggles to get to linebackers and loses his blocks. He's not alone in the struggles. Rashad Jennings rushed for 176 yards last week—the fifth 100-yard game of his 56-game career—showing good cutback ability. The line seems to block better when pulling or on the move rather than straight ahead. But it's debatable if this line can be consistently good like New York units of the past. Chris Baker and Jason Hatcher's strength inside will test them.
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Of course, Hatcher is another player who picked up an injury. He left the Eagles game with a hamstring strain in the fourth quarter but is expected to start at FedEx Field on Thursday. The Redskins need his disruption—even when he doesn't get the sacks himself, the pressure he creates opens up holes for Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo.
Orakpo will need to find a way through the Giants line with torn ligaments in his finger. After he was injured in Philly, he switched sides with Kerrigan to ease his injury a little. This could be a feature of the Thursday game also.
Tarik El-Bashir: Penalties and Special Teams Must Be Fixed
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The two common factors in Washington's two losses have been poor special teams and a multitude of penalties.
In Week 3, the Redskins drew 10 penalties for 131 yards, good for the most in the NFL. Some were questionable decisions, like the facemask penalty on Keenan Robinson, but some were just ridiculous, like the 15 yards on Pierre Garcon for taunting.
There was also the small matter of a kickoff returned 102 yards by Philadelphia's Chris Polk, which negated the excellence from Kirk Cousins and the offense on the opening drive.
Tarik El-Bashir at CSN Washington highlighted these areas as essential to a Redskins victory:
"Specials teams need to be, well, special. Hopes were high entering the season, but ill-timed gaffes continue to haunt the unit. In Houston, there was a blocked PAT and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Against Philly, there was Forbath’s missed chip shot and the kickoff that was returned for a score.
There were multiple mistakes on the Eagles’ costly return. Gruden said the kickoff by punter Tress Way—he’s handled kickoff duty the past two weeks—was not ideal. The coach also said Trenton Robinson got out of his lane and Meriweather missed the tackle. That’s too many mistakes on one play for a unit that’s supposedly much improved. It can be argued that special teams have now cost the Redskins not just once, but twice in three games.
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It’s so demoralizing to watch one unit perform, while another lets the team down. The Redskins have been adept at shooting themselves in the foot for a while now, and they’re quickly becoming the most masochistic team in the NFL. These mistakes need to be fixed before they bring down the entire season.
Gregg Rosenthal: Redskins Wideouts vs. Giants Corners Is Matchup to Watch
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Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson both racked up more than 100 yards with a touchdown against Philadelphia but face a sterner test in Week 4. NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal highlights the aerial battle as one that could define the game:
"There should be a great matchup out wide when the Redskins are on offense. DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon form one of the best wide receiver duos in the league. Giants cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamara are coming off two excellent games as a tandem. Amukamara has made great strides, and DRC is the rare cornerback that truly tracks the opposition's top receiver.
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With support from Andre Roberts, Ryan Grant and tight end Niles Paul, Kirk Cousins has generously spread the ball around this year. This is a product of seeing the field well and quickly going through his progressions, which has been a criticism of Robert Griffin III.
However, Cousins rushed his throws when the game was on the line at the Linc, leading to a disappointing finish for the offense. Cousins showed against Baltimore in 2012 that he could make clutch plays, and he led Washington to late touchdowns against the Falcons and the Cowboys last season only to end up on the losing side.
It’s too early to label Cousins as a choker—especially given his lack of time with the No. 1 offense—but it would help his cause if he could remain consistent through all four quarters and give his receivers a chance to put the game away.
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MIke Jones: Strong Run Defense Needs to Continue
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Even when Washington's defense was historically bad through the air last year, it often showed strength and resilience against the run. This strength has continued in 2014.
Mike Jones at The Washington Post stated that this success against the run is of particular importance to the game on Thursday night:
"In their first three games, the Redskins have faced talented running backs Arian Foster, Toby Gerhart, LeSean McCoy (last year’s NFL rushing leader) and Darren Sproles. That group couldn’t even combine for 200 rushing yards against Washington’s improved front seven.
The Redskins, who rank third in the NFL, limiting foes to 64.7 rushing yards a game, have another tough test this week as they prepare for Virginia native Rashad Jennings. Last week, Jennings rushed for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown, and in previous games, he’s also proved himself as a receiving threat. The Giants’ offense had struggled in the first two weeks of the season before erupting last week. Washington’s defenders will try to send New York back in time a couple weeks.
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The Giants have gotten progressively better on offense as the season has progressed. Along with Jennings, Eli Manning has made strides in Ben McAdoo’s West Coast offense, getting the ball out quickly and upping his completion percentage.
However, if the Redskins can take away the threat of the run, it will lead Manning to take more chances and force risky throws, which often leads to interceptions from the Giants’ signal-caller.
Winning the turnover battle will relieve some of the pressure on Cousins to put up gaudy numbers, as well as getting the defense off the field. The Redskins controlled the time of possession against the Eagles and still couldn't win the game with 34 points on the board, so forcing a turnover could be the difference this week.
Joseph White: Safety Struggles Could Sink Both Teams
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Along with injuries to cornerbacks, the Redskins have had to deal with poor performances and further injuries to their safeties. “Next man up” is something we hear a lot of in the NFL, but the Redskins are quickly running out of men.
Joseph White at The Washington Times points out that both teams have had less-than-stellar results from their secondaries:
"The Giants benched Stevie Brown after he was beaten for a touchdown pass against the Texans and replaced him with rookie Nat Berhe. Quintin Demps appears set to start Thursday after practicing with the first unit this week.
The Redskins cut Bacarri Rambo after he allowed big plays in the first two games while Brandon Meriweather was suspended. Meriweather is back, but he looked out of sorts against the Eagles. Another would-be option, Duke Ihenacho, broke his left foot and is done for the year, further depleting a secondary that has also lost cornerback DeAngelo Hall (ruptured Achilles) and will start rookie fourth-round pick Bashaud Breeland against the Giants.
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Washington has a reputation for surrendering big plays at the wrong time. The defense allowed Tony Romo to convert on 4th-and-10 to win the game in Week 16 last year, while Eli Manning launched a 77-yard pass to Victor Cruz in 2012 that sealed a Giants comeback victory.
It's likely that Manning will target Breeland in his first start, so the rookie will need help from Meriweather and Ryan Clark. In particular, Clark has been very vocal in coaching up the young corners, giving them tips on alignments and what to expect from the offense. That has to continue if the defense is to get off the field on third down.
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