New York Giants: Defense strong in the Defense of the Title

The NFL season opened up tonight as the New York Football Giants put on a first half clinic that resulted in a victory over the Washington Redskins 16-7.  The Giants, riding the spirit of their Super Bowl championship and the pre-game Michael Strahan speech, came out vibrant and showed no signs of opening day jitters.  The Redskins however, came out flat in the first half, resulting in a first half deficit they could not shed.   The Giants defense proved to be the defining force of the game.

The Giants drove the ball effectively on their first drive. The 84-yard drive resulted in a touchdown on a bootleg touchdown run for Eli Manning.  The Giants defense supplied a third down stop on the ensuing Redskins possession allowing the Giants to march down once again, adding three points from a Carney field goal. The Giants would tack on two more field goals in the first half, failing to find the end zone again.  The defense played extremely well even with the loss of Osi Umenyoira.  A late first half touchdown from the Redskins Santana Moss was the only stain in the otherwise great performance.

The Redskins left their jitters in the locker room for the second half, or at least the defense did.  The Giants could not drive the ball as they did in the first half and were stopped on third downs.  However, the Giants defense did not lose form and continued their dominance in the trenches and in the secondary.  It resulted in the teams trading some punts and ultimately the Skins ran out of time.

Game Notes:

The Redskins early jitters lost them this game that was dead even in the second half.

Justin Tuck is the real deal or at least he was in this game

Plaxico Burress was motivated by his new contract and the ability to practice led to another 100 yard game for him

Eli Manning looked good, but not great.  He stayed on his feet most of the game, but some passes were off the mark.  He ended with one interception and a rushing touchdown.

Brandon Jacobs ran over people.  OUCH! Running like this will wear down opponents all year long if he can stay healthy. He had over 100 yards rushing.  He still cannot catch the ball, dropping an easy grab early in the game.

Ahmad Bradshaw and Ruben Droughns were pretty much non-factors in the game, Ward saw most of the carries Jacobs did not.