WHALEN Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Take 2: Giants vs. Redskins By Scouts Inc Saturday, September 22, 2007 Earlier this week, our scouts filed their advance scouting report on this week's matchup between the Giants and Redskins. Now they're back with a second look. Matchup to watch Washington DC Shawn Springs vs. New York Giants WR Plaxico Burress Despite the slow start by the Giants, Burress has been pulling his weight this season. He has been competing at a high level, running better routes and working hard to be a playmaker in this offense. His efforts have netted him four touchdown receptions in the first two weeks of the season. Quarterback Eli Manning (shoulder) did not go deep as often last week, though, and that could affect Burress in this game. Burress has the size and speed to be a factor against Springs, who is not very physical. Washington defensive coordinator Gregg Williams likes to play man coverage, which will give Burress some opportunities on his patented fade route. The Giants might not be able to get the ball as deep as they would like in this game but if Manning puts the ball high down the sideline in the 20-25 yard range Burress will have a chance to make plays. Why is the Giants run defense more important then this pass defense this week? It has been a rough two-week stretch for the Giants' defense. They come into Week 3 ranked 29th overall but face an offense this week that is rather one-dimensional. And despite their poor secondary they need to focus more on the run than the pass, because the Redskins feature one of the best running back duos in the NFL in Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Washington head coach Joe Gibbs would love to run the ball 40 times every week and he will test the Giants with the run despite the fact that they have been better against the run than the pass. Everything the Redskins do in the passing game is based on the ability to run the ball, and despite having weapons in WRs Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El and TE Chris Cooley, Washington has struggled to throw the ball when it has not been off bootlegs or play-action. To have an effective play-action passing game the Redskins must run the ball the ball, so look for the Giants to drop S James Butler down into the box. Butler has struggled in coverage and is much more effective playing close to the line of scrimmage, while S Gibril Wilson has solid range from center field but must be disciplined on the backend. If the 'Skins can run the ball effectively QB Jason Campbell has shown the ability to look off the free safety and come back to his next option. In this case that would be Randle El, who could find some room on option routes on the outside. What can the Giants do to find good offensive matchups in the passing game this week? Even though they struggled to score points last week the Giants have the ninth-ranked offense in the NFL (381.5 ypg). Backup RB Derrick Ward has been a nice spark in the run game while filling in for the injured Brandon Jacobs, and Burress has been productive early. Washington has been solid on defense the first two weeks but has not played an offense with as many working parts as New York will bring this week. The Giants have been working more from the spread offense and we look for that trend to continue this week. Manning left the game early last week in what was likely a precautionary move to protect his injured shoulder, but he will stat this week and he looks more comfortable playing from the spread offense. It gives him an opportunity to get rid of the ball quickly and his footwork in the pocket is not as much of a factor as when he takes the five- or seven-step drops from under center. The spread on early downs will also force Redskins S Sean Taylor into more coverage situations, as the Giants will spread the field with base personnel and the Redskins will not go to nickel coverage. New York will look to get TE Jeremy Shockey matched up with Taylor as often as possible and if they exploit that matchup they have a chance to pull the upset. Will the Redskins finally open their offense against a beleaguered Giants secondary? They have not opened it up much so far as they have been in some close games and offensive coordinator Al Saunders has done an excellent job of not putting young QB Jason Campbell in bad situations. Washington has started both games in conservative fashion knowing that they were playing teams (Dolphins, Eagles) with inferior offenses. They may look to open it up a little more early this week, though, with the Giants bringing the 32nd-ranked pass defense in the league into the game and CBs Sam Madison and Corey Webster have both been picked on. Madison still thinks he can get by on athletic ability and his technique has been lacking the first two weeks. He can't run like he used to and Saunders would love to get the aggressive Madison matched up with Moss, who does a great job selling double moves and may get Madison to take some bait. The Giants safeties also have struggled in coverage and Cooley is a player who can get vertical and make plays down the seam. The Giants will be looking to slow down Portis in this game, so expect for the Redskins to change gears from their normal attack and and use the pass to soften things up for the run. If Washington wants top get Campbell more confidence in his second season as the starter it has found a secondary that is ripe for the picking.Scouts' Edge The Scouts Inc. Position Advantage QB RB WR OL DL LB DB ST Coach The Giants played a competitive game in Dallas in Week 1 but left that game battered and bruised and played with very little emotion last week in a blowout loss to the Packers. If Manning is healthy, though, this team can compete in the NFC and Ward actually looks like an upgrade over Jacobs at this point. New York is getting enough plays out of Burress and Shockey in the passing game as well, but the big issue has been the defense, specifically the lack of a pass rush that has been hurting an already suspect secondary. Even though Washington has not opened up the offense it has the weapons to do so. The RB tandem of Portis and Betts can keep a defense guessing, and the Redskins just have too many working parts for a Giants defense that has not been able to stop anyone so far this season. For that reason, we like the Redskins in what should be a competitive football game. Prediction: Redskins 23, Giants 20 http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/features/take2?gameId=270923028 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin11 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 already posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FootballGuy2677 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Springs not physical....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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