New York Giants: Grading the Week 1 Performance Against the Washington Redskins

New York Giants fans expected to go in to Washington and open the season with a victory against a team they defeated in their last six meetings.

Instead, the Giants were completely manhandled, and Washington opened their season with a 28-14 victory.

The offense, defense, coaching and special teams each had their own issues in Week 1. I’ve graded each unit on their disappointing performances.

4. Special Teams

The kick coverage was better than expected, but as a whole, the special teams didn’t seem to improve.

Steve Weatherford had a solid day punting, but had his worst kick in the fourth quarter out of the Giants' end zone. It’s when they needed him most, and he didn’t deliver, giving the Redskins excellent field position.

The blocked field goal was demoralizing. The following drive resulted in a Washington TD and put an end to the Giants' disappointing Sunday.

Grade: D

3. Coaching

The Giants were in several 3rd-and-short and 4th-and-short situations and opted to run the ball every time.

It’s true that when you have a guy like Jacobs, you should be comfortable running it up the middle.

However, it was all too predictable.

The Giants were running tight sets with no legitimate receivers on the field. Tom Coughlin won his only challenge, but the play-calling was just too predictable on both sides of the ball.

When the Giants showed blitz, they blitzed. When they showed run, they ran.

Grade: C

2. Defense

The pass-rush was effective, but when the Giants were blitzing, they were extremely vulnerable downfield.

Corey Webster was the one bright spot in the secondary, as the Giants got torched all day. They made Rex Grossman look like a Pro Bowler.

Antrel Rolle was decent in coverage, but hypothetically cost the Giants the game with eight minutes left in the fourth when he got flagged for an illegal hit on Fred Davis, who was already down. He kept a Washington drive alive that led to a TD.

Even with Justin Tuck out, the pass-rush was there. Jason Pierre-Paul looked excellent and should be exciting all season long.

Some of the young guys did step up, but the secondary needs to vastly improve if they hope to stop anyone moving forward.

Grade: C-

1. Offense

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw were both solid running the ball, but became irrelevant once the Giants fell behind.

Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham were the only relevant receiving options. Victor Cruz dropped a sure first down completion, and Eli didn’t look his way the rest of the game. Jake Ballard looked like a legitimate option at tight end.

Eli will shoulder a lot of the blame for this game, but the offensive line blocked terribly. They were dominated by a mediocre Redskins front seven. There is no question this unit can run-block, but they need to protect Manning much more consistently.

There were a few bright spots, but the Giants' offense should be spending a lot of extra time in the film room as they look toward next Monday's game against the Rams.

Grade: D+

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