KFFL; NFL Grapevine: Matchups to Exploit

[bubba9497]

New York Giants at Washington Redskins

Redskins RB Clinton Portis vs. Giants LB Nick Greisen

Portis might be looking for some revenge here after the Giants held him to just nine yards in their 36-0 win the first meeting. Of course, he only had four carries as the Redskins were forced to abandon the passing game early.

Portis has since piled up 1,296 yards and eight touchdowns to become the league's eighth-leading rusher. He'll have to deal with Greisen, who played like a wild man in making seven tackles and a fumble recovery last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Filling in at weakside linebacker again, this time on short notice when LB Carlos Emmons' bad pectoral caused a last-minute shuffle, he made the key third-down stop on RB Larry Johnson at the 1-yard line to force the Chiefs to settle for a field goal. Greisen has become one of the defense's most consistent players, and has taken on a vocal leadership role as the senior linebacker among LBs Reggie Torbor and Chase Blackburn.

Giants RB Tiki Barber vs. Redskins DT Cornelius Griffin

Barber, coming off his second 200-yard game against the Chiefs, had his first of the year against the Redskins. His 206-yard effort was at that point a career high, and he scored a touchdown. Many of those yards came around the outside, however. This time, Griffin may get the bulk of the attention considering Barber did a lot of running over the guards against Kansas City.

The reconstituted offensive line did a good job opening cracks and taking out the defensive tackles last week. Griffin, stronger and faster than what the Chiefs had to offer inside, could be an equal match for the likes of pulling OG Rich Seubert and ORG Chris Snee.

Redskins OLT Chris Samuels vs. Giants RDE Osi Umenyiora

Both players were named to the NFC Pro Bowl team this week. It is Samuels' third appearance (first since 2002) and Umenyiora will be making his first trip to Hawaii. Samuels bottomed out in 2003 but has rebounded with two solid seasons under the tutelage of Joe Bugel. This season, playing with an arthritic ankle injury, Samuels hasn't missed a game and has only three penalties (one false start, two holds). Umenyiora entered the season with eight sacks in two seasons – he allready has 12.5 sacks this season, tied for second in the NFL behind Oakland Raiders DE Derrick Burgess (14). In the first Redskins-Giants game, Umenyiora had four tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery and one pass defensed in New York's 36-0 victory. Expect the Redskins to give Samuels some help this time around in the form of a tight end.

Redskins RDE Phillip Daniels vs. Giants OLT Bob Whitfield

Daniels was NFC Defensive Player of the Week following his four-sack performance against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and has benefited recently from teams playing the Redskins straight up, sending more receivers out and leaving the defensive ends in 1-on-1 matchups. Whitfield made his first start of the season last week, replacing injured OLT Luke Petitgout (back). The key for Daniels is a quick start to get Whitfield thinking and make the New York coaches adjust their blocking schemes, which could open spots for DT Joe Salave'a and Cornelius Griffin. The Redskins posted a season-high seven sacks against the Cowboys and have forced eight turnovers in the last two games.

[Goaldeje]

Samuels hasn't missed a game and has only three penalties (one false start, two holds).

The Redskins posted a season-high seven sacks against the Cowboys and have forced eight turnovers in the last two games.

These two things stand out the most to me. Samuels play has been impressive. Not great, but very very good. Good enough to contain Umeyiora or however you spell his name. If we have to double him and Strahan, it will be a long game. If we can contain one of them in single coverage, that's a huge bonus for us.

And our defense has found its mojo, baby. Anyone here not think we can get to Eli, make him throw some ints, cause some fumbles, etc? :cool: