Good, But Not Great: A Recap Of The Giants First Game

The Giants opened the season with a win and played a good game. However, that game showed me something that I didn't like.

First off, the Giants had too many penalties. Though they had the same amount of penalties as the Redskins, 7, they totaled 70 yards. It was a 15 yard penalty that allowed the Redskins to continue their drive at the end of the second half and score a touchdown. This could be because it was the first game of the season, but it needs to be fixed. If not, then it will cost the Giants even more against teams that will capitalize on those mistakes.

The offense inside Redskins territory looked bad. Besides the first drive the Giants just could not put the ball in the end zone. When you get into the red zone it is imperative to score touchdowns. Traditionally the Giants have had problems scoring the red zone. They'd rack up large amounts of yardage only to settle for field goals. Coughlin needs to put an an added importance of perfecting the red zone offense, especially the passing game in the red zone.

Eli Manning was making better decisions compared to the beginning of last year but is still making some bad passes. The interception was a mistake in that he was running for his life and instead of throwing the ball out of bounds in Plaxico's vicinity, he tried to complete the pass. He made some questionable throws into coverage that could have been picked. However, Manning is going through his progression much quicker and is making better throws overall. He should continue to improve as the year goes one.

The running game was a big positive coming out of the game. The winner of this game has always been the team that had the better running game. Jacobs looked great running the football. He looks a bit quicker and is running lower to the ground. His flattening of Laron Landry was the highlight of the game. Ward also was productive in his limited role. The line completely man handled that Redskins front 7. The Redskins got little to no penetration to stop runs in the backfield. When Bradshaw starts to come in the Giants' running game will only get better.

I know that the Redskins don't have the greatest talent on offense and that they are changing systems, but the Giants defense was great. They constantly got penetration on the run. They got into the backfield so many times that Portis must have been wondering if he had an offensive line. The pass rush wasn't amazing, but was productive. Tuck and Kiwanuka looked good as the #1 and #2 pass rushers. The secondary looks much improved. Ross and Webster covered well and were great in run support. I didn't see the playmaking ability of Kenny Phillips, but I think he will be a playmaker on that defense Before the final drive of the second half, I think Washington had 7 total yards of offense. The defense does need to end the stupid penalties like late hits and pointless face-masks.

It was important to start the year off with a win and the Giants have a favorable schedule for their upcoming games. The St. Louis Rams aren't a quality team and the Giants should win that and Cincinnati should be a complete blowout. These three games not only give the Giants a chance to start the year 3-0, but also help them fix their problems without costing them ball games. All in all the Giants have made their first step in winning the division and defending their Super Bowl crown.