ES Coverage

ES Coverage: Giants vs Redskins 

12/9/18

DEFEAT!!!

Giants 40 - Redskins 16

Greetings friends, JimmiJo here, and I am joined by my shivering partner, Spaceman Spiff. Together we will bring you this all important NFC East divisional matchup between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants.

When I was last with you the Redskins had command of the division and there was optimism to spare. Since, devastating injuries to quarterbacks, linemen, and cornerbacks has left this team losers in 4-of-5 contests.

But there is still everything to play for, and if they can manage a victory today and the Eagles to the same Washington will once again have a share of the lead.

I can dream can't I?

On paper, the future looks grim. A continued collapse will start the questions about the future of personnel and perhaps leadership. Yes, we can certainly point to injuries as the primary reason the team is struggling. But the record earlier in the year was masking some issues with the squad. No real arial threat. An inconsistent running game. And a defense that has been anything but consistent.

But these are questions for another time. Today, it is just two teams looking for a win.

See you at the half.

Follow along on Twitter @Skinscast 

Inactives

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 12 QB Colt McCoy

o   No. 32 RB Samaje Perine

o   No. 46 RB Kapri Bibbs

o   No. 52 LB Ryan Anderson

o   No. 63 C Demetrius Rhaney

o   No. 66 G Tony Bergstrom

o   No. 99 DL Caleb Brantley

JimmiJo

I was happy to see players like Josh Johnson and Byron Marshall in the game. The marquee guys did not earn the right to play following the disastrous first half. It was historically bad.

Never before had the Washington Redskins trailed by as much as the 34-0 deficit they entertained today at the half.

I remarked to one of the writers that in 13-seasons I had never seen this team so outplayed as today. The offense led by Mark Sanchez was throw-up in mouth bad. At no point did you feel like they would or could score.

I tweeted before the game that it is time for Daniel Snyder to replaced head coach Jay Gruden. Yes injuries are the headline. But the offense was poor before the injuries.

No aerial threat and an inconsistent rushing. They only seemed to score 20-points per game.

What they did do well was hold on to the ball. And the defense was a takeover machine the first half of the year.

But turnovers tend to even out.

So I was more than glad to see those ‘backups’ play. All they did was show they should have been playing in the first half.

Especially Johnson. Take a look at your Redskins’ starter the rest of the way. From his first snap the offense looked different. There was energy. There was life.

And there was threat.

Johnson played with more command, accuracy and imagination than Mark Sanchez. He looked much more the accomplished quarterback.

A word on Josh Doctson. You are an idiot. Without the stupid penalty you are not letting the safety out-position you to make the pick with 5-minutes left.

Following this game, staring at the standings and considering possible scenarios for getting in the playoffs is fools’ gold. It is all about assessing who it worth keeping for next year.

I don’t believe head coach Jay Gruden is going to make the list. Nor should he. He has had nore than enough time to do something here. He had Kirk Cousins’ starting over 3-full seasons.

He had his chance.

I tweeted before the game team owner Daniel Snyder should let Gruden go and bring in Mike McCarthy. Washington Post writer (and friend) Rick Snider made a great counterpoint to that idea:

“Why would McCarthy want to come here? He has better options,” he said.

That sure feels like the truth. And if so, it may explain why Gruden is fast becoming one of the most tenured coaches in the league.

This was my last game for this season. I would like to thank Extremeskins and the team for the opportunity this year. I will see you guys next year.

Let me go on the record now and say I do not think Jay Gruden's position here is secure. Not with the likes of Mike McCarthy available.

I know, I know, that's a terrible title.   However, I've only been to one game here at the Linc, and we won.  Division championship in 2015, a thing of beauty.  I'm also 2-0 while writing these things.  At the same time, I was at the Monday Night Massacre/McNabb's Payday, so don't get too ****y. Philly has been fun-ish.  We went to Geno's to get some world famous cheesesteaks Steak-Ums.  More overrated than any free agent signing we've had since, well, you know.

No matter what this turns out to be, it'll be a nice break from all of the distractions off the field.  #yourenotwinningoffthefieldbruce  It's been something that's divided us intensely, and I'm glad that we can all agree that we're scared ****less about the ramifications of this game.  A few weeks ago we are two games up, Dallas is faltering, Philly is doing poorly, and Giants gonna Giants.  Now?  With a loss today, we're in third place in the division.  I mean, that's, ouch.  Some of us can see the bright side in the deepest cavern, and others of us only see shadows while staring at the Sun (I happen to fall into the latter category).   This game means everything.  It's not a tone-setter, it's as Code Red as Tampa three years ago.

It's definitely nice to see Thompson and Crowder back.  I hope that Stroman can defend Wentz, because he's gonna get picked on all day.  And that  #86, you gotta cover him.  As @TK said, that number is dangerous for both sides.  A big problem is actually following through on that.  We knew that Cooper was going to get the ball, but our safeties (I love ya, DJ, but ugh on Thanksgiving) were more like safety valves.  We cannot let that happen, even once, against this Eagles team that has Sproles returning.

As you've already read, Inactives:

Sudfield

Maddox

Mills

Hicks

Warmack

Mailata

Pryor

Quinn (ugh!)

Dunbar

Perine (forgot he was on the team)

Marshall

Howard

Ioannidis

So some hits on both sides.  Both secondaries need to really bolt down to give their respective teams a chance (don't worry, I didn't tell Philly that).  Oh, and then there's that Colt McCoy guy.  With a non-zero number of practices with the ones, hopefully he can actually do something.

With 38 minutes to go, it's not looking much better than FedEx.  I even heard cheers when our boys ran out.

Well, that's it for pregame unless something else happens.

With 13 minutes to go, the stands are maybe half full?  Nothing to Josh Norman's standards for sure.

With three minutes to go, we are at about 2/3 capacity.  All levels on the home side look full, but other than that it's not impressive.

FIRST QUARTER

7:31 Zach Ertz with the insane false start.  Except not.  So touchdown.

Well, looked like typical Redskins.  A little  help from the refs for the Eagles touchdown and then for two straight, and wasted, first downs.  But Doctson did something.  So at lest we have that.

SECOND QUARTER

McCoy hurt.  Sanchez in.  Peace out, season.

And I'm wrong.  Colt's first play after coming in, touchdown.  Sanchez's first play after coming in, touchdown.

Longest run in Redskins history.

At 4:03 - And a fourth down stop?

Sanchez with a nine-play, 40-something drive ending in three points.

At the half, the team is showing some grit.  Two bad calls by the refs led to 14 Philly points, the non-call on Ertz on their first touchdown and the ticky-tack roughing the passer by Stroman.  Moreau looking very, very good today, which is a relief.  Josh Norman needs to tackle, not strip.  It's costing us yards and on the Sproles run cost us seven.

Overall we're doing better than I thought we would.

THIRD QUARTER

Off to a bad start.  McCoy out for the year.

The rest of the third was also bad.  Another injured lineman, down to zero reserves.  Moreau injured after being awesome all game.

This isn't going to end in a win for us, unfortunately.

FOURTH QUARTER:

And it just keeps getting worse.  Sanchez, Sanchez, Sanchez.

That was awful.  In all ways.  I don't know how it could've been worse.  I'll finish this up later, emotions are too high in being too low.

Greetings from yet another Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium. Feels like this is starting to become an annual thing playing here in Dallas. Though last year the team stayed home & beat the Giants on Thanksgiving. Personally I wish the League would take off this schedule as it makes the holiday more enjoyable without having to worry about a game. 

And what a game this could be. The Redskins are still looking for their 600th franchise win. They also come into this one a game ahead in the Division with a chance to sweep the Cowturkeys. 

“Wait.” You’re saying to yourself. ‘Did he just use the word “Cowturkeys”?’

Yes. Yes I did. Think of it as a Turducken, but with red meat. 

Anywho, this game will also see Texas legend Colt McCoy take his first start in nearly two years due to Game Manager Alex Smith going down to injury last week & having his season ended after managing to help get the team to a 6-3 record. 

When McCoy took over last week, you instantly see a change in how the offense worked. They were faster. There was a sense of urgency. And McCoy gave more guys opportunities. He even gave Doctson three opportunities on go balls. 

While most will say McCoy just doesn’t have that canon arm that fans love to see fire off the deep ball, they’d be wrong. You see, McCoy has been building his arm back up again. He suffered a shoulder injury in the National Championship Game back in 2010 & a neck injury in 2014. During the last four seasons, he’s been following his shoulder exercises, but the team has also worked with him to compact his throwing motion. 

That said, with McCoy behind the wheel, the car will go faster, sound meaner, & take more off the line then the Smith driven to perfection luxury grandpa machine ever thought about doing. McCoy will get you pulled over once in a while, Smith is the guy in the right lane with the blinker on for the last five miles.

Expect a ticket, maybe even a reckless driving charge from McCoy today as it’s all on the line. The franchise’s 600th win. First place in the Division. And a two game lead on that same First Place before heading into an ECW street fight in Philly next Monday night.

Good afternoon Redskins nation!  I’m in beautiful Landover, MD with Spaceman Spiff who has been pulled away from Instagram models and tailgating and sent down to the field to do what he does best (roll around in the mud).
 
Let’s get down to business...  Can we block them?  There are other story lines entering into this game but worrying about them feels largely academic.  The Texans have two terrifying pass rushers and the Redskins intend to block them with optimism and underdog stories.  Alex Smith isn’t a statue but he does take time in making decisions and getting the ball out.  This combination looks disastrous.  The sort of thing that has us all after the game consoling each other with things like “well, it was just a bad matchup" and “we caught them at the worst possible time.” 
 
Or... we could walk away wondering just how the heck this team managed to pull off another improbable win.  Last week the gave up something like twelve thousand yards of offense to the Bucs, I’ll have to check those numbers to be sure, but only three points.  That’s not supposed to happen.  Maybe we can enjoy an outrageously unlikely result again.  Not probably, not likely, but you know... maybe.  I’m saying there’s a chance.   
 
I’m here for that chance.  (and you know... the free food and climate controlled free seats) 

1st Quarter Update

Greetings humanoids. Murf & I are here in the land of perpetual sunshine, oranges, & the world famous Florida Man.   

What a difference a week makes. One game, one single game, completely changed the look of this then 5-2 Redskins team. Last week against the Falcons they lost nearly the entire Offensive Line. Having to scramble, the FO was signing guys off the street in order to play the Bucs. 

There’s lots of factors that will play into what this M.A.S.H. unit of an Offensive Line will be able to do. As Jay Gruden said earlier this week, they’re teaching these guys OTA’s, Training Camp, & Pre Season all in about 5 days. 

Also to consider, it that the local weather will be around the low to mid 80’s. If any of these 3 new guys didn’t bother to keep in football shape, it’ll show up pretty quickly. If dehydration starts up, they have to start recruiting dudes from the stands to run/pass block. 

If this feels somewhat familiar, it may be because the same situation happened last year in Seattle. Skins went in there with a make shift O Line & came out with the win at the last second thanks to D Hall having some major hops & breaking up Russell Wilson’s pass attempt in the end zone. The difference was it was raining & cold there. In Tampa, anything below 90 degrees is considered cold. 

Today’s matchup should be interesting either way. 

“Usually the team that scores the most points wins the game.” - Madden  

5-2 teams rarely face as many doubts as the Redskins, and it's all about points.  The most significant doubts hang over the offense and trigger that Washington sports fan anxiety we all know and try desperately to repress.  Every win this season has come against teams that have been held to under 20 points.  The offense sits at 25th in the league in points per game, and saying they struggle to score in the second half fails to capture the extent of the situation.  The offense is practically nonexistent in the second half.  Stated plainly, can the Redskins passing game deliver enough points to beat good teams?  More specifically, can Alex Smith win games with his arm?

The second doubt is a question of proving it.  It comes from a history of daring to believe only to have the chair pulled out from under us.  Is this defense as good as we think it is?  So far they’ve been most great, but mostly in a season less than halfway done isn’t enough to silence the unwelcome thoughts that creep into my mind.  Thoughts like “the Cowboys, Giants, and Cardinals aren’t impressing anyone. How good is Carolina, really?  Rodgers was on one leg in the mud.    That might be a fluke.”  The New Orleans game should be the exception that we can all write off, but I’m not sure that anyone is doing that with any confidence yet.   

Today’s game can go a long way to granting us peace of mind.  The Falcons can be a very potent offense.  Will the defense shut them down? Will the offense score enough points to win even if the defense uncharacteristically surrenders more than 21 points?   

I’ll find out from the press box, because life is unfair and they’ve once again given me a press pass.    

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:   

No. 25 RB Chris Thompson  
NO. 39 CB Adonis Alexander  
No. 48 S Kenny Ladler  
No. 55 C Casey Dunn 
No. 71 T Trent Williams  
No. 80 WR Jamison Crowder  
No. 83 WR Brian Quick 

The Falcons declared the following players as inactive:   

No. 3 K Matt Bryant  
No. 23 CB Robert Alford  
No. 56 DE Steven Means 
No. 68 T Austin Pasztor  
No. 72 T Rees Odhiambo  
No. 77 T Matt Gono

Pregame personal notes: 

- I had the opportunity to talk basketball with David Aldridge in the Redskins press box.  That’s a sentence I never imagined writing.  Cool moment.    

- Expected chocolate chip but got a mouthful of oatmeal raisin.  I have no one to blame by myself.

1st Quarter update. 

Terrible start to the game for the Redskins.  A big penalty followed by an injury to Lauvao dooms the first drive.  Two big drops and an injury to Moses dooms the second.  Atlanta moved down the field with relatively ease on their first drive scoring a touchdown.  Their second looked to be going the same way, but Dunbar postponed the disaster with an interception.  
 

Falcons are perfect on 3rd down.

2nd quarter update

It's been quite a trip so far up here in the Big (No Eli) Apple.  Google Maps decided to see how many U-turns I could make in a one-mile radius.  The waitress at the restaurant decided to see how long I would wait until my hangry came out (45 minutes for a grilled chicken sandwich?!).  Then the Ambien decided to see if I could function after taking it, I could not from what I remember.  Oh, and then I managed to pull a muscle in my neck either while I was saving kids from an orphanage on fire or while adjusting a shower head.  Let's just go with the former.

Oh yeah, we have a football game, too.  I know, I know, we're 4-2.  The Giants are 1-6.  So I'll say what we're all thinking:

Sitting here in the box, I'm looking down on a 1-6 team, both figuratively and literally.  Just before our game, they get rid of Eli Apple (wrong Eli) and Snacks.  We've got AP hitting on all cylinders and likely making history today, with 26 yards he'll be moving to 9th all-time in rushing yards, passing Tony Dorsett.  So that's a win no matter what since we'll be moving a Cowboy down the list.  Suddenly Kerrigan and Preston seem to be starting to remember that they're on the team, and the Giants have an offensive line that is underperforming.

However, it's the Redskins.  The Giants have won four games in the past two years, and two of them have been against us.  That's not a distinction that is something to brag about.  At the same time, Dak was 5-0 against us until a random penalty and an upright saved our win. To sandwich that point, we are the one win that the Colts have.  Another thing to not brag about.

If we want to win, then today we've got to not let it come down to lucky plays, yellow flags, and a regret about cutting Dan Bailey.  We play well with the lead, but there's not a lot to look to in order to have faith that we can come back from behind.  We're going to need to avoid looking at our record or theirs and getting some sort of ****iness, something that seems to haunt us after a win.  We will need to stay after Eli and get him to make mistakes.  With our depleted secondary, it's had to trust that we can cover Beckham, Shepard, and Engram.  Oh, and they have some running back who can catch the ball.  Man, just thinking about that, how the hell are they 1-6?

As of this writing (11:37), inactives have yet to be announced.  Expect Crowder to still be out in case you drafted him in fantasy.  Thompson is a game time decision in case you drafted him in fantasy.  I bet you can guess which Redskins I drafted.

As the game starts and things are announced, I'll update this.  In the meantime, HTTR.

And right before I post this, inactives are announced:

Quinton Dunbar

Samaje Perine

Kenny Ladler

Casey Dunn

Geron Christian, Sr.

Jamison Crowder

Brian Quick

Mo Harris is in for Crowder, and Moreau is in for Dunbar.

About an hour until kickoff and the Giants punter looks great.  Hopefully we see a lot of him today.

With 49 minutes to go, the stadium looks like people thought it was at Washington.  Basically nobody here.  We'll see what it looks like once we get underway.

During warm ups Richardson has looked very comfortable.  No noticeable holding back or wincing.  Same goes for Thompson.

With ten minutes to go, stadium is maybe half full?  Something like 90/10% Giants fans.  Crazy since they're 1-6 coming off of a 3-13 season.

FIRST QUARTER:

Not quite sure how to feel about this quarter.  It's great that we're up 7-0, but that'st he danger of this offense.  Control the clock methodically, but then it takes two seconds for the other team to throw a bomb and flip the field along with the momentum.

SECOND QUARTER:

I'm quite sure how I feel about this quarter.  Smith, man.  Smith.  Throws seem off target, happy feet, not keeping his eyes down the field.  I don't know what's up with this offensive line.  They're supposed to be amazing, but they're in their Halloween costume of Swiss Cheese lately.  It's nice to see Doctson playing well along with Reed.  I just can't be happy about this lead even though it's only halfway over.  Hopefully Jay adjusts at halftime (LOLOLOLOLOL), because this just isn't the team that we've seen.

THIRD QUARTER:

I feel like we can copy and paste this each week.  No adjustments, defense still plays well, and we don't score a touchdown.  Unfortunately Peterson has a very rare fumble that gets returned a mile, and we start the fourth quarter with the ball on the Redskins 41.  We seem to be winning on the field, but the scoreboard makes me very nervous.  Again.  Every damn time.

FINAL:

Well that fourth quarter was actually pretty fun to watch.  Peterson got a hell of a TD after being denied the whole game.  Our defense showed up, except for Norman not getting that pick, costing me like 12 points in fantasy (I was playing against Engram).  Somehow we are 5-2.  It doesn't feel like it, does it?  Somehow it feels like a struggle every time, but man, aren't we used to that struggle regardless?

The difference this year is that we are no longer snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, we're actually coming out on top.  I was just down in the locker room and at the press conferences (except for Smith, he was late, because he's Alex Smith), and there's a different feel.  These guys know they're not performing to their peak, but they know they're only going to get better.  It's a lack of satisfaction that I have been dying to see.  Jay's not happy with close endings or miscues on offense.  Adrian's not happy with how little he's seen the end zone (not in a selfish way; guy's the nicest person I've ever met).  DJ isn't happy with anything which is awesome.  The whole team won't be happy until, as DJ said, we're winning Super Bowls.  

DJ said today, and I'm paraphrasing very poorly, that today's victory is nothing.  The other four are nothing.  Channeling his inner Iverson but in a good way, he said that we haven't yet won the division, won a championship, won a Super Bowl.  We're 5-2 and have the Falcons to focus on.

Well, DJ, for the first time in a very long time, it feels like we're on the edge of our seats and on our way.

Hail.

Cowboys versus Redskins - now that just sounds correct.

Hello friends, JimmiJo here along with THE Spaceman Spiff. Space is already on the sidelines, yucking it up with the important people. Me? I'm thinking how grateful I am for the 3-car accident on the beltway...

If you cannot get up for this game, there isn't enough viagra made on earth for you. After all; the Redskins are hosting their eternal rival, the Cowboys. Winner will be sitting on top of the division, with a truckload of bragging rights.

What's not to like?

Well, for starters, everybody and their mom is inactive. Chris Thompson Jamison Crowder, Paul Richardson, Quinton Dunbar; all inactive. What a time to have have your top two receivers out. The chatter here in the press box is Washington should do what they can to bring in receivers - to include making a trade with the Raiders for Amari Cooper.

Then there's the question of which Redskins show up? They could come out and light Dallas up. Or, post an anemic effort to suffer another embarrassing lost. Neither would surprise me.

One this is for sure, the distribution in fans is something like 55-45 Redskins. Already an embarrassment. Until you consider this team has done much to earn the lack of support.

Still, you have offer the finger in the middle to those fans who sold their tickets to Dallas fans. What were you thinking?

Back shortly...

Inactives

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 10 WR Paul Richardson Jr.

o   No. 23 CB Quinton Dunbar

o   No. 25 RB Chris Thompson

o   No. 30 S Troy Apke

o   No. 55 C Casey Dunn

o   No. 74 T Geron Christian Sr.

o   No. 80 WR Jamison Crowder

The team held a touching tribute to my friend Rich Tandler, who passed this week.

Follow along in-game on Twitter @Skinscast

Half

Did you hear the one about the team that got chance after chance but couldn't score more than a touchdown?

That's right; they are tied at 7 at the half and completely anemic in the second half.

"Against the run of play" is a term you hear in soccer all the time. It is applicable here. It means the better team is either tied or trailing.

Whoever said football was fair?

Washington needs to find a way to get hot in the second half. The Dallas Cowboys are infinitely beatable today.

JimmiJo

How do you like them apples?

The Washington Redskins sent them home happy today. Along the way my ulcer started bleeding, I threw up twice, and peed the chair I was sitting in.

Up by 10 at the two-minute warning, I did not expect to be hoping for a missed field goal to avoid overtime. But there I was, crossing fingers and toes and noticibly relieved when the ball bounced off the upright to seal the win.

A lot of things had to go right for the Dallas Cowboys to even have a shot at the end. A lot more things went right for Washington.

The Redskins held Ezekiel Elliot to just 33-yards rushing. They forced two fumbles by Dak Prescott, one of which went for a Redskins' touchdown, and sacked him a total of four times. 

Ryan Kerrigan had his best day of the season, sacking Prescott twice, one of which caused the fumble for the score. Preston Smith scored the touchdown off of the fumble. Jonathan Allen and and Ryan Anderson each logged a sack. DJ Swearinger hit Prescott square on the ball to cause the other fumble by Prescott.

And then there was the offense.

Adrian Peterson defies time and physics in what he can still do on the football field. His ability to change directions instantly, the speed he still posesses, and his ability to play through multiple injuries is astonishing. He ran for 99-yards on 24-carries with a 4.1 yard per carry average. 

Kapri Bibbs, the other back; added just 13-yards rushing. But as a receiver he caught 4 passes for 43-yards and the first touchdown of the game.

Josh Doctson reeled in 3-receptions for 43-yards. Jordan Reed added 43-yards on his two catches. Maurice Harris logged 2 for 22-yards.

Alex Smith had a adequate outting. He went 14/25 for 178 yards and a touchdown for a quarterback rating of 98.1. He was sacked once.

His obvious miss of Jeremy Sprinkle running free in the end zone is almost cause for termination. Connect on that throw and the game is much more comfortable at the end. 

The real stars of this show were the fat guys in the trenches. The offensive line that opened highway lane-wide holes for Peterson to run through, and the defensive line that wreaked such havok all game. 

But we have to thank Dallas as well for things like an illegal snap to back the field goal unit up at the end. The holding call that negated the big gain one play before the sack/fumble/score was huge. They seemed to find ways to beat themselves.

Despite the above, Dallas was right there until last miss that struck the goalpost. The win was entirely too close for comfort.

But now that's it's over, I sure am enjoying the win.

The Redskins sit alone at the top of the division after 6-weeks. They travel to New York next week where they can continue to help themselves with a win.

But just because New York currently resides in the toilet does not mean they intend to roll-over and play dead. Washington will have their hands full if they don't get more production out of the offense.

That's next week though. For now, I am intent on  enjoying an excellent victory. Against the Dallas Cowboys.

What's not to like?

Talk soon!