The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Giants vs. Redskins

The Good

Let’s start at the beginning. Michael Strahan popped out of a giant Vince Lombardi Trophy (thank god he was wearing clothes) with the real thing. Yes, the Giants are defending Super Bowl champs, and the crowd at the Meadowlands finally got to enjoy it. As for the game, the Giants started right where they left off last season, dominating the first half and staying in control the rest of the way. Should they have won 28-0? Probably. But a win is a win, especially a division win. They came roaring out of the gate, with an 84-yard opening drive and capped it off with Eli Manning rushing for a touchdown on a naked bootleg. And they scored, albeit all field goals, on their next three possessions.

Plaxico Burress, fresh off his signing a five-year $35 million contract, had a huge game. With all those dollar signs in his eyes, he made 10 catches for 133 yards. He and Manning just have that great chemistry. The rest of the passing game was spread out among the other receivers. Steve Smith is turning into a great third-down, short-yardage weapon.

Watching Brandon Jacobs plow over defenders is like watching the running of the bulls in Pamplona. He just punishes a defense. He finished with 116 yards on 21 carries. Derrick Ward added 39 yards on nine carries. And the offensive line led with their usual toughness. Manning had a Manning-like game: 19 for 35, 216 yards, no TDs and one pick. He’s no fantasy footballer’s dream, but here in the real world, he just wins.

As for the defense, no Strahan and Osi Umenyiori? No problem. They limited the Redskins to 209 total yards and only 11 first downs. They continually stopped Washington on their third-down passes, with the cornerbacks being right on the spot for the tackle. Aaron Ross led the team in tackles, with eight, while Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka each had six. Tuck also came up with a sack, and did a great job in helping to stop the run. Kiwanuka didn’t miss a beat in his return to the defensive end position. Though he did scare everyone on the last play of the game, when he went down with an apparent ankle injury. He seems to be ok, though.

Forty-four-year-old kicker John Carney was three for three in field goal attempts, including a 47-yarder, and did a great job on kickoffs, with all them going to at least the five-yard line. He also made Jeff Feagles, who was up to his old tricks, feel like a kid again. The 42-year-old didn’t look a day over 41.

The Bad 

Instead of running up the score and turning the game into a laugher, the Giants had to keep settling for field goals. Manning made a few bad decisions, with one leading to an interception, and had accuracy issues (again). There were some bad penalties: a Jerome McDougle roughing the kicker penalty on a punt, a late hit by Gerris Wilkinson and a face mask by Jay Alford (though replays show the refs may have gotten that one wrong). In all, they committed seven penalties for 70 yards. They need to work on those late hits. Antonio Pierce was also in on the late hit penalty. He was only kind of late, though. The Redskins were already huddling up when Wilkinson jumped on the pile.

The Ugly 

The Redskins. They are ugly bad. They helped the Giants tremendously in this game, especially toward the end when they were in the their two-minute offense. Their hurry-up offense is about as fast as Bobby Bacala waddling through the Paramus Park Mall. First-time coach Jim Zorn’s play-calling at the end was also questionable―they didn’t go into a no-huddle and they kept running the ball even though they needed two scores and were running out of time.

It’s a better start for the Giants than last season. Was it perfect? No. They beat a bad team, and there are some first-game kinks to work out. But did they win? Yes. And that’s all that matters.