New York Giants 27 – Washington Redskins 21
Game Overview: My hats off to the Giants’ starters, the back-ups, and the coaching staff for putting together a solid effort despite losing two tough games in a row and confronting an almost impossible injury situation. Heck, at one point, CB Kato Serwanga, who was signed only days earlier, was playing an instrumental role in the defense when nickel back Reggie Stephens was forced to leave the game due to injury.
The most remarkable thing was the number of big plays made by the back-ups. Serwanga, CB Ralph Brown, LB Kevin Lewis, LB Nick Greisen, and WR Daryl Jones all made big plays at key moments in the contest. The Giants also received excellent efforts from veterans such as QB Kerry Collins, HB Tiki Barber, WR Amani Toomer, DT Cornelius Griffin. If it wasn’t for the poor punting and kick-offs, the special teams unit would be in very good shape.
Was the play of the back-ups perfect? No way. In fact, there were some down moments for all of the defensive players I mentioned (more on that in a bit). But for these guys to come in and contribute in a key divisional game on the road was pleasantly unexpected.
Special Teams: Punting continues to remain a problem. Matt Allen is just not getting it done. Often his punts have good hang-time (though the last effort was a dangerous line-drive with the Giants holding onto a 6 point lead with just over a minute to play). His punts went for 21 yards, 36 yards (7 yard return, tackle by Omar Stoutmire), 42 yards (7 yard return, Charles Stackhouse), 33 yards (1 yard return, Stoutmire), 30 yards (muffed fair catch – Nick Greisen down in a hurry), 36 yards (fair catch – Kato Serwanga down in a hurry), and 34 yards (11 yard return – solid coverage all around on a line drive punt). It is sad when a 40-yard punt by your punter is considered a “good kick”.
Matt Bryant was two of three on field goal attempts. His two good kicks were from 42 and 35; he missed from 37. The latter could have proved costly in what became a 6-point game. More distressing is his short kick-offs on a day when the weather was not a problem. Kicks landed at 11, 6, 10, 13, 20 (horrible), and the 13. Kick returns went for 22 yards (Johnnie Harris making the tackle), 33 yards (DeWayne Patmon), 25 yards (Wes Mallard and Quincy Monk), 25 yards (Marcellus Rivers and Ralph Brown), 15 yards (Rivers and Mallard), and 25 yards (Rivers). Not a real strong performance this week by the kick coverage units either.
Delvin Joyce did not return a punt. His kick returns went for 24, 24, 46, and 21 yards. Joyce got great sustained blocks by the kick return unit on his 46-yarder and did a nice job by not going out of bounds and cutting the return back inside for big yardage.
Special kudos to Nick Greisen and Kato Serwanga on Bailey’s muffed punt return. A Redskin actually recovered the ball, but Greisen pulled the arm away from the Redskin at the bottom of the pile and Serwanga successfully fished the ball out. This was a huge play in the game as the Giants had gone 3-and-out right after the Skins had cut the score to 17-14.
Defensive Line: The return of DT Cornelius Griffin (6 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble) from injury had a major impact on the pass rush. Griffin benefited from the fact that he was playing over a journeyman guard, but some of his pressures came against RT Jon Jansen on stunts. On the Skins’ first drive of the game, Griffin sacked QB Danny Wuerffel on 3rd-and-6 coming off such a stunt. This was more of a coverage sack, but at least Griffin got there. Griffin also made what should have been a field goal-saving tackle at the end of the first half when he hustled after the scrambling Wuerffel and kept him in-bounds. But a penalty on Strahan wiped out that effort and enabled the Skins to score their first points of the game. In the 3rd quarter, Griffin sacked Wuerffel again and forced a fumble. The pile drive he put on the quarterback knocked him out of the game and should have warranted a personal foul penalty. Still it was a good play. Later in the same drive, Griffin sacked Patrick Ramsey for an 11-yard sack. Griffin was involved in a few other pass pressures on the day as well. Griffin and Frank Ferrara (who played at DT in this game) did get suckered on a 2nd-and-10 draw play in the 2nd quarter and he was not exceptionally stout at the point-of-attack on running plays, but it was great to see him back in the line-up. It made a big difference.
The other defensive tackle position was not productive at all. Lance Legree (no tackles) started, but Frank Ferrara (no tackles) saw a lot of playing time as well. Ferrara got effectively blocked on most running plays in his direction. Dwight Johnson didn’t play much but made a nice tackle in the hole on the play preceding the Skins’ last turnover of the game.
DE Michael Strahan (4 tackles) did not pick up any sacks, but he was a factor on the pass rush on a few plays. His pass rush on 3rd-and-4 in the 1st quarter forced Jansen to hold him and turn the play into a 3rd-and-14. In the 2nd quarter, Strahan expertly played a draw from the defensive tackle position. But his delay of game penalty a few plays later handed the Redskins 3 points. Michael needs to maintain his composure in such a situation. In the 3rd quarter, LB Brandon Short picked up a sack that Strahan had a big role in as he was the first on the scene to cause Wuerffel to pull the ball down.
Kenny Holmes (no tackles) and Byron Frisch (2 tackles) split time at the right end spot and neither was particularly productive. Holmes got close on a couple of pass rushes, but that was it. Both he and Frisch each lost contain on WR reverses. And Frisch had problems at the point-of-attack on running plays (including the 33-yarder by HB Stephen Davis). Holmes was flagged with an offsides penalty and really overplayed a run to the right and left his side exposed to a cutback on another Davis run for 8 yards.
Linebackers: Let me first focus on the positive. Kevin Lewis (6 tackles, 1 sack) did an admirable job filling in for Dhani Jones on the weakside and seemed to be in the game on almost all downs as a nickel linebacker as well. And he continued to play on the special teams units. That’s a lot of work for a guy who hasn’t played much. Lewis played an aggressive game against the run and made a real nice play near the end of the 1st quarter when he shot the gap and tackled Davis for no gain on 2nd-and-2. He picked up a sack on a 3rd-and-10 play in the 3rd quarter when he was left unblocked on a blitz. I saw him have nice coverage twice – once on the halfback and another time on the tight end.
But the Skins took some advantage of Lewis’ aggressiveness with some misdirection to his side that succeeded (cutbacks, reverses, screen). There were also a few running plays where Lewis couldn’t play off the block quickly enough. Lewis also got beat by the tight end on one 15 yard reception.
Nick Greisen (1 tackle, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery) made a huge play with his forced fumble and fumble recovery when he sacked Wuerffel in the 2nd quarter. And defensive starters said Greisen did a good job of calling the signals and being where he was supposed to be in the game. But Nick had his problems in the running game as I saw him wired to a lot of blocks. With sub-par run defense by players such as Frisch, Ferrara, Greisen, and Lewis at times, it is fortunate for New York that Washington didn’t run the ball more.
Brandon Short (7 tackles, 1 sack) stats look good. He finished off Wuerffel on a pass rush where the quarterback was scrambling for his life as Strahan, Griffin, and Holmes were also there. But Short was blocked at the point-of-attack on Davis’ 33-yard run in the 3rd quarter (as was Frisch – and Greisen took the wrong angle on the play). Short was also flagged with roughing the passer that helped to set the Skins up on the Giants’ 4 yard line.
Quincy Monk saw some playing time and was credited with a tackle.
Defensive Backs: It was a minor miracle that the Skins didn’t tear the Giants apart with the passing game. As it was, they still passed for 363 yards and there were a few complete breakdowns in the secondary. For example, there was a play near the end of the 1st quarter, where the tight end was left all alone by himself (linebackers most likely played a role here too). At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, WR Derrius Thompson was left all alone on a 28-yard pick-up. And there was huge 36-yard pass play given up in the 4th quarter when Thompson was left alone in a zone between CB Ralph Brown and CB Kato Serwanga (I don’t know who was at fault). Later, a screen pass by the Skins picked up 24 yards on 2nd-and-20 (the linebackers have role here too).
Still, even though players such as CB Ralph Brown and CB Kato Serwanga got beat, they seemed to make up for it by causing turnovers that switched momentum to New York. The big surprise was Brown (4 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery) who made two huge plays with his fumble recovery and his interception. Early in the 2nd quarter, Brown was beat on a slant by WR Derrius Thompson for 9 yards to the Giants’ 13-yard line. FS Omar Stoutmire (6 tackles, 1 forced fumble) hit Thompson hard, causing a fumble. Brown quickly scooped up the ball and weaved his way for 31 yards, stopping a scoring threat and setting up the Giants with excellent field position (something the defense hasn’t done all year). Later in the quarter, Brown picked off a pass over the middle and returned it for 19-yards. On both returns, Brown demonstrated excellent vision and quickness picking up extra yardage. But Brown did have some problems in the second half of the game. He was beat by Thompson on a crossing pattern in the 3rd quarter and also missed the tackle on the play. On the next drive, Brown was beat for 19 yards on 3rd-and-13 by Thompson, keeping alive a drive that ended with a Redskin field goal. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, Brown made an excellent play by knocking the ball away from Thompson on a 3rd-and-5 crossing pattern.
CB Jason Sehorn (4 tackles) had another rough game. Interestingly, the Skins seemed to be targeting Sehorn more than anyone else in the secondary. For whatever reason (injuries? lack of confidence? lack of speed?), Sehorn is playing far too soft and giving his opponent a big cushion. This would not be a huge problem if Sehorn closed quickly enough, but he isn’t. This was particularly noticeable on slant routes. Sehorn started things off well with an excellent hustle play on a WR-reverse to the Giants’ right. Sehorn, playing at left corner, chased the play down all the way across the field and limited the gain to 5 yards. However, on the very next play, Sehorn was for 23 yards on 3rd-and-2. On the next drive, Sehorn was again beaten by Gardner on 3rd-and-2 – this time for 12 yards. The play that made me the angriest with Sehorn came near the of the half. On a Wuerffel 26-yard scramble to the right, Sehorn completely whiffed on the quarterback, thus enabling Wuerffel to pick up approximately another 15 yards in a successful effort to set up a field goal. In the 3rd quarter, Sehorn had excellent deep coverage on a pass intended for Gardner in the end zone. On the next drive, Sehorn was beaten for a slant near the goal line, but the pass was off-the-mark. The Skins came right back with the same play on the next play and Gardner beat Sehorn for the touchdown. In the 4th quarter, on 4th-and-9, despite the Giants blitzing two linebackers, Sehorn was beat by Gardner for 18-yards (he slipped on the play). This play kept alive a drive that allowed the Skins to cut the score to 27-21. Sehorn did make a nice play on the Hail Mary at the end of the game by coming all the way from across the field to knock the ball away.
CB Reggie Stephens (2 tackles) started the game off as the nickel back, but was forced to leave with an injury. Stephens got beat by Darnerien McCants in the 2nd quarter and missed the tackle on the play as well. But for the most part, he was not exposed in coverage. CB Kato Serwanga (2 tackles, 1 forced fumble) took his place and played late in the game with a pulled hamstring. He understandably was a bit confused at times in zone coverage – on one such play he didn’t pick up Thompson quickly enough, leading to a 17-yard pick-up on 3rd-and-15. However, a few plays later, despite getting beat by McCants on a slant pass, Serwanga punched the ball out of the receiver’s hands and saved the day for the defense.
Shaun Williams (2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) had a relatively quiet day. He made a nice play in run defense in the 2nd quarter, tackling Kenny Watson after a 2-yard gain. His big play was the fumble recovery and 16-yard return of the McCants’ fumble. He batted down a pass intended for the tight end earlier on this drive. Johnnie Harris (2 tackles) got beat by WR Chris Doering on the successful 2-point conversion. He also missed a tackle on a short completion that turned into an 18-yard reception. This missed tackle was responsible for a successful 44-yard field goal on the next play.
Quarterback: Kerry Collins (17-of-31 for 212 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) played pretty well, especially when you consider that once again he was without another veteran receiver to complement Amani Toomer. Thus, as was the case in the first game against the Redskins, Collins felt most comfortable throwing the ball almost exclusively in the direction of Toomer and Jeremy Shockey. However, Collins’ accuracy was generally much better this time around. He made some simply marvelous throws. And one thing that has been key for Collins most of the year is that he is not turning the ball over much (both interceptions and fumbles).
I was a bit worried after the first drive when Collins overthrew Shockey on a fly pattern down the left sideline. But on the next drive, he threw an exceptionally accurate pass to Toomer over the middle for 29-yards despite tight coverage (unfortunately the play was called back due to a personal foul penalty on Tiki Barber). But Collins demonstrated resiliency and toughness on the next play as he hit Toomer for 16 yards on 2nd-and-18. This despite pressure coming down on him and Collins taking a big hit after he threw (this is the type of toughness that I’ve been calling for from Kerry). Collins tried to hit Daryl Jones on a slant later in the drive, but threw too low. (Most of the slant Kerry’s slant passes to Jones since Jones became a regular have been very low – almost as if Kerry doesn’t trust Jones…that will probably come with time).
On the Giants’ first scoring drive that resulted in a field goal, Collins threw a very accurate pass to Jeremy Shockey that resulted in a 20-yard gain. What I liked about the play was that Collins threw to Shockey’s shoulder that was away from the safety that was covering him and thus preventing the safety from making a play on the ball…pin point accuracy. But the drive fizzled on 3rd-and-2, when Collins’ pass on a sprint roll, was thrown over the head of Jones. This is one of Hilliard’s old staples and it is clear that Collins and Jones are still working on their timing. Collins’ touchdown throw to FB Charles Stackhouse on the next possession was a superb play; Collins just got the ball off as LaVar Arrington was bearing down on him and the throw was perfectly made to a double-covered Stackhouse on 3rd-and-2 from the 2-yard line. Two possessions later, Collins deliberately slightly underthrew Toomer on a go-route up the right sideline as CB Champ Bailey’s back was to the play. It was easy play for Toomer to stop and catch the ball as Bailey ran by him…a perfect pass again for another touchdown.
The first two drives in the second half were aborted due to bad field position and a sack. On the third drive, Collins badly overthrew Shockey on 3rd-and-8. But after Bailey’s muffed punt, the Giants got the ball back and Collins quickly found Shockey over the middle for 20 yards down to the 1-yard line. On the next drive, Collins got the Giants out of a big hole by throwing yet another perfect pass to a well-covered Shockey for a 30-yard catch-and-run. Two plays later, standing tall in the pocket with LaVar Arrington flying up in the air near him, Collins another pin-point pass to Daryl Jones for 32-yards despite tight coverage on Jones. These two plays put the Giants in field goal position on a drive that started from the New York 9-yard line. The only play I didn’t like from Kerry on this drive was that he rolled out away from imaginary pressure on 1st-and-goal from the 22-yard line. On the next drive, Collins also badly missed a wide open Tiki Barber on 2nd-and-16 on what could have been a big play. But all in all, there was a lot more positives than negatives, two touchdowns, and no turnovers.
Wide Receivers: It is interesting to note that despite all the injuries (Hilliard, Dixon, Carter), Jim Fassel is still employing quite a few 3-, 4-, and 5-WR sets (with Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber often spreading out wide). Fassel tried to spread the Skins out quite a bit in order to get the running game going. It didn’t work, but I applaud the strategy.
Once again, WR Amani Toomer (4 catches for 60 yards, 1 touchdown) came through with some key receptions despite being the focal point of the Redskin defense and facing their toughest defender, Champ Bailey. Toomer had a 29-yarder called back due to a penalty on Barber, but followed that up with a 16-yard reception. Amani had two short receptions on the first field goal drive, but also dropped a pass over the middle. And Toomer beat Champ Bailey for a 29-yard touchdown reception in the 2nd quarter. However, Toomer dropped another pass in the 3rd quarter on 2nd-and-22 over the middle.
WR Daryl Jones (3 catches for 41 yards; 1 reverse for 4 yards) finally came up with a big play – his 32-yard reception that helped to set up the Giants’ final points on the day. It was a perfect throw from Collins, but also an excellent catch by Jones since the defender’s hands were right on the ball too. That said, the Giants do need to get more productivity out of Jones with him returning to the starting roll again. Jones was flagged for offensive pass interference on Shockey’s tight end screen in the 4th quarter.
Derek Dorris and Tony Simmons were not thrown to.
Tight Ends: The Redskins mixed up their coverages on Jeremy Shockey (5 catches for 89 yards). I saw linebackers on him. I saw safeties on him. I even saw him get hit by the Skins when the ball was thrown in another direction. But once again, Shockey abused Washington. Indeed, he would have had an even bigger day if he hadn’t dropped two passes (the frustrating part of his game) and had a 13-yard reception off a tight end screen called back due to a penalty on Daryl Jones (incidentally, this was an excellent play – I hope the Giants use it again). Shockey had a 20 reception on the Giants’ first field goal drive and then came up with a marvelous 4-yard reception on the first TD drive as he caught the tipped ball as he was falling down (great concentration). But his touchdown reception on this drive was wiped out as he was flagged for offensive pass interference (Jason Whittle was also holding on the play). Nevertheless, two plays later, it was Shockey he drew a very important pass interference penalty in the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, thus enabling the Giants to score a touchdown three plays later. Shockey turned a short reception into a 20-yard gain in the 3rd quarter as he quickly accelerated up the field after catching the ball and carried a defensive back for extra yardage, almost getting into the end zone. On the next play, both Shockey and TE Dan Campbell got the key blocks on Tiki Barber’s 1-yard touchdown run. Shockey got free of LaVar Arrington on the next drive and turned a short reception into a 30-yard gain (his longest of the season) as he accelerated down the left sideline. Of note, Shockey’s blocking also continues to improve as I often saw him called upon to block the defensive end all by himself on those runs where New York likes to pull the tackle and guard on Barber plays to the outside. This is what Campbell does so well and if Shockey can do this too, it will make the Giants less predictable on running plays.
Campbell was flagged with a very costly holding penalty that moved the ball from Washington’s 7-yard line to the 17. On the next play, Shockey jumped offsides and the Giants were facing a 1st-and-goal from the 22. On 3rd down on the same series, Campbell didn’t pick up the free Redskins blitzer that forced Collins to unload the ball quickly.
Offensive Line: Very good pass protection, but not much movement generated for the running game. For some reason, the Giants have problems moving the Redskins off the line of scrimmage. Part of the problem is that DT Daryl Gardener is a monster (I wish the Giants had nabbed him). Part of the problem is also that Tiki is a much more natural running back outside of the tackles than between them. But much of the problem is that the Giants don’t seem to drive block very well. That said, sometimes the offensive line gets unfairly blamed for blocks missed by a tight end or fullback. For example, on one of Barber’s stymied goal line efforts, the play was well-blocked except for Stackhouse didn’t get a good lead block on Jessie Armstead and Armstead made the tackle on what should have been a score. On a Ron Dayne run that might have resulted in a touchdown, Marcellus Rivers left the defensive end unblocked and it was the end who got to Dayne as he approached the line of scrimmage.
I also wonder if all the injuries have hurt the line indirectly. Because of all players hurt at a variety of positions, Jim Fassel has had to cut out practicing with pads during the week. This means the Giants haven’t been able to work on short-yardage drills with full contact. It shows.
Tiki’s big run on the day came on a cutback run behind good blocks from Luke Petitgout, Rich Seubert, and a pulling Jason Whittle. Whittle was flagged for holding on one play and missed a block on a defensive tackle coming off the goal line, but it is important to note that Whittle is playing with an injured knee and a fractured knuckle. Whittle did a nice job twice pulling across the formation to pick up a blitzing LaVar Arrington. I cursed the Giants for employing this tactic in the preseason, but it appears to be paying some dividends now. Whittle’s and Tiki Barber’s block on Arrington’s blitz was instrumental on Daryl Jones’ 32-yard reception. Luke Petitgout got beat for New York’s only sack given up by DE Bruce Smith on an outside rush. Tiki’s other big run of the day, his 18-yarder in the 4th quarter, came behind good blocks from Petitgout, Seubert, Shockey, and Dorris.
Running Backs: Tiki Barber’s stats (20 carries for 96 yards, 1 touchdown; 2 catches for 13 yards) look better than they really are. He had a highlight reel run for 43 yards in the 2nd quarter and an 18-yard run in the 4th quarter. That means his other 18 carries picked up 35 yards (less than 2 yards per carry). His 43-yard run was a brilliant run where Tiki demonstrated great patience and vision, cutting back against the grain of the defense. His 18-yarder was a tough run as well as he finished it off by carrying tacklers for extra yardage. Barber also had some tough runs late in the game when the Giants partially successful in attempting to run time off the clock. Barber did get flagged with a costly leg whip that wiped out a 29-yard pass play and also dropped a key 3rd-down pass that probably would have resulted in a first down.
Ron Dayne only picked up 11 yards on 8 carries; he also caught 1 pass for 4 yards. FB Charles Stackhouse caught his second touchdown pass of the season. However, his run blocking was inconsistent at best.
View From the Sidelines
by David Oliver
It was a strange and wonderful day and game as the Giants visited FedEx Field. The weather was warm, which was nice, but it was overcast and the light disappeared rapidly. I got to ogle some cheerleaders, had the pleasure of meeting Hbart and better half, met the smiling fellow whose photo graces the photo page, witnessed Ralph Brown and Kevin Lewis get some quality playing time and make some quality plays, once again enjoyed Shockey, well, you get the drift. A win in Washington is worth many, many heartbreaking losses. When I actually had a job, the Monday after a Giants victory over the Redskins was a great thing – sweater, tie, jacket, the works. Of course, a loss was like hell.
The game – well, the first half was kind of boring, at least photographically. There was nothing to shoot but asses and elbows, so I shot cheerleaders. But it picked up. Noteworthy items from the game: it didn’t look as if KC was having a great day, but his rating was 97+, so he had a darn good day. The difference is that he made no major gaffes. His passes were short and generally on target. Likewise, Tiki appeared to be having an ordinary day, and he did, except for his one long run. Most outstanding was the Giants scoring twice from the red zone (goal-to-go). Of course, it took 11 plays to punch in one of those scores, but, hey, it’s a start. Time of possession was slightly in favor of the Giants. The G-Men led in the first half, then held on in the fourth quarter, when we were treated to more of the JF offense, run, run, punt. Someone mentioned to me that this was unfair as a Tiki run came up only 6 inches short of a first down, which would have saved us the last minute theatrics of a Washington drive. My answer to someone was, yeah, and how would your lady feel if you came up 6 inches short. See, that’s how Giants’ fans would feel if they had lost this game. I just don’t care for the hypertension that comes with a conservative play calling, hold on offense. Of course, we all forget about how we bitched over Saint Bill and Ron Erhardt’s very “boring” offense. I guess it’s easier to take in a playoff year, any playoff year.
Shockey only caught 5 passes, but I could have sworn it was more like 15. He is everywhere, catching, running, blocking, greeting other players when they make plays, getting in the faces of the opponents and the fans. As Brandon Short told me, “He’s amazing. He can play on my team, my defense, any day. He has a defensive mentality, as an offensive player. He’s aggressive. He’s athletic. He’s mean. I like everything about his game.”
Amani was steady and caught his TD pass and 3 others. Daryl Jones finally showed up, catching one beautiful 32 yarder. Stackhouse caught a TD from short range on the old Comella play. Otherwise, he did not have a particularly noteworthy game. I have several shots of him, particularly on passing plays, sort of wandering around the field looking for someone to hit. I’m not picking on him, merely trying to point out that the FB in the Giants offense, no matter who, will have a difficult time making the Pro Bowl. The line acquitted itself well. Remember, this is a big, tough Redskins D-Line. I was teasing Seubert about one play where he was tossed by a lineman. He said it was after the play, which it was, and the guy must have been mad about something. Actually, he was mad because Seubert had been doing a number on him all day (92 -Daryl Gardener). Seubert told me he was a little sore, but “that’s football, that’s why you play the game. You want to feel like you’ve been run over by a truck after the game. And you want to win.” I love these guys – him and Bober. Chris is always pleasant, always having fun. As he says, “They’re paying me to play football” in that “Man, you just can’t believe it!” manner. Seubert and I talked about the Dallas game and he said, “Everybody is playing for something, playoffs, statistics, a job. We’ve got a chance. We’ll play Dallas and go from there.” I asked him if it would bother him that 20,000 Cowboy fans would be in the seats and he told me not really, but when Giants fans are there and into it “when the place gets loud, it’s big.” These guys feed off fan involvement, so don’t give or sell your tickets to Cowboys fans – get some Giant spirit there on Sunday!
Where was I? The offense. The O got the job done. Scoring 27 points is a good thing, no matter how it gets done. So on the basis of a win, scoring 27 points, scoring twice in the red zone, the O must get an A-. The minus is because of the pathetic third down efficiency and lack of running game (take away Tiki’s long run). Not great, not terrible.
The defense was very interesting. You need a scorecard these days to identify who is playing where, when. Kato Serwanga, Ralph Brown, Kevin Lewis, Nick Greisen, Reggie Stephens, Johnnie Harris, Dwight Johnson, Byron Frisch, all playing and contributing. Frank Ferrara moved back inside and played some tackle. When you look at the final stats and realize that Washington rolled up a lot of yards, almost 500 yards, you just have to scratch your head. Nine different receivers caught passes, yet that’s the reason they lost the game. Stephen Davis ran for 70 yards on 12 carries. I said last week that if Davis had 35 touches, the Skins would win, but the Skins offensive game plan is as stubborn as the Giants, just the perspective is different. WR Derrius Thompson was actually the biggest receiver, although Gardner is the more feared. I asked Defensive Backs Coach DeWayne Walker if they had done anything different for Gardner this game and he told me, “We rolled our coverage to him a little bit and tried to know where he was at times…We had to change a little bit for the new guys like Ralph and Serwanga, so we did a little differently, but there were times when we left them out there, too. A lot of other positions on our defense are thin, so there were times when we had to just get out there and play against them.” Coach told me, “It was a big time challenge. But these guys execute what I ask them to execute; you just have to try to get the detail and be a close knit group and have a lot of pride – it showed today, these guys rallied around each other.”
This game was a Shaun Williams game. He was directing traffic and getting the corners in place; he was cheap shot hit and concussed; he was like the dude in terminator, he just kept coming back. Watching the doctors work him over on the sidelines, then seeing him back in the game, well, he won a lot of points in my book Sunday. Coach Walker was full of praise. When I asked him about SW, he told me, “He’s so tough. He (Williams) told me not to worry about it, ‘I’ll be ready to roll on Wednesday.’ He’s one of my favorites, he is a special guy.” High praise, indeed, from a coach.
It was good to see Kevin Lewis have a good day. He is a quiet, cheerful guy, much like Ralph Brown. Not many people follow his game, but he plays on nickel, dime, quarter and special teams; he is a contributor. He told me “I just try to stay focused, today, I just tried my best, I just feel great right now, I’m blessed.” He extolled the coaches job in getting the team ready, making sure everyone was on the same page. I asked him about the talking out there. Last week, it looked as if there was mass confusion. This week, Lewis told me it was purposeful, because “they were doing a lot of checking. As a defense, when they start checking, start moving, we have to react to that, run around, start talking again.” I asked him about Stephen Davis and he laughed and said “Davis, hard runner, (more laughter), hard runner.” He told me one of the earmarks of this defense is guys flying around, getting to the ball.
I wanted to talk to a special teamer so I caught up with Wesly Mallard. This is only the third game I have worked this year and many of the new guys couldn’t tell me from the janitor. Wes surprised me by saying, as I walked up, “Hey, I remember you.” We haven’t seen each other from the rookie mini-camp, so I guess it was the AFLAC thing. He told me he was just trying to improve and that he would get his chance. He’s a confident kid. I asked him about the team spirit and did he see any dog in the locker room. He spoke for many others who I asked the same question, when he said, “This team has so much fight in it. We don’t want to give anything. I don’t know what people are saying out there, everybody in here is fighting. Nobody is taking a play off. You take a play off in the NFL, you’re either going to get hurt, or a lot of people will see it.”
That’s what I see. Maybe bad execution, but I haven’t recognized any joy riders. The defensive line was adequate to the task at hand. There was considerably more pressure today. Kenny Holmes was getting penetration on LT Chris Samuels and Strahan had a good first half, with 4 tackles. Just before the half, there was an incident and I have never seen MS lose his composure like this. The Skins were driving, it looked as if the clock would run out before they could get in a last play, and Michael was out in the middle of the field holding a Skin down – like really pushing him down. He was called for a delay penalty but it took half the team and the coaches to get him off the field. He was cheap-shotted, after the play, by a sub and he was furious. The Skins got the FG and it seemed to take a lot out of MS. Cornelius Griffin tried to stay close to Michael and cool him down without getting into him.
The linebackers were interesting. I’ve talked about Lewis, who was in on 6 tackles. He wasn’t perfect, but he did a darn good job holding down the right side and had a nice sack. Brandon Short had 7 tackles and a sack and played a very good game. We also talked about his college buddy, LaVar Arrington and he told me he wishes him well and wants to see him successful, except when the Giants and Redskins play. He feels he has made the adjustment to SAM and told me, “Absolutely, it’s my spot.” I told him I would love to see him on more dogs and he smiled and said, “You play within the confines of the defense.” He also told me, “Don’t throw dirt on this team yet; we have a lot of talent, and if things fall in our favor, who knows what might happen.” I asked him about Larry Johnson (Penn State) and he told me that LJ had been on the scout team when Brandon was at State. He said, “He was the only guy who had the heart to keep coming back at us, we had a formidable defense.” I asked if he would like to see LJ as a Giant and he smiled and told me, “I’d like to see him be successful.”
Finally, the D-Backs and Special Teams. Kato Serwanga came up big with his forced fumble and 2 tackles and Ralph Brown had a monster day with 4 tackles, an assist on specials, 2 passes defensed an interception and a fumble recovery. It was the first time he looked like a Pro and he knew it. I grabbed him in the locker room and told him I wanted to shake his hand, both to congratulate him and to see if it was true that he had a special magnetic oil on his hands because the ball kept coming to him. We shared a laugh, as we always do, and I told him that it was one thing to see a ball coming to you, which it has to do for you to make plays; it is another to know what to do with it. Then I learned a few things. Ralph told me, “I played QB in High School and my father was a running back (in the NFL – Broncos).” He said this very modestly. Then he said, “Some people have a knack for that , it’s kind of being scared and kind of trying to get in the end zone at the same time.” He was a popular interview this day and I just listened in as he told everyone it was experience, game time, that he knew he had to do something and was kind of down on himself as a 3rd year man, talking about his kidney problem last year, and saying “I’m like a rookie in my third year.” He kept repeating the mantra, “experience, experience, experience.”
Stoutmire contributed 6 tackles, and before I forget, Griffin had 3 sacks, tossed people around all day and played a great game. I had a feeling he was up for it when he came out of the tunnel and looked over at me with a nod and wink. That’s usually a sign to get the camera ready, it’s going to be fun. This nonsense about not playing hurt, is just that. This kid has been hurt since he midway through his first year; he doesn’t complain, won’t even acknowledge it. But when he feels good, he is a monster. On specials, the guys chipped in: Stackhouse, Patmon, Mallard and Rivers had tackles, along with Harris and Stoutmire who added 2 on specials and also had a forced fumble.
What more can I tell you? It was a win. It wasn’t pretty, but there were some good signs. We always complain about not getting a look at the young guys. Well, they’re in there now – and some of them are taking advantage of the opportunity.