Loading ...The New York Giants will get their first look this week at Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III, and while we all know that RG3 can run like the wind, starting safety Antrel Rolle sees the rookie as a good passer who, six games into his NFL career, is worthy of being termed a "complete player."
"As you know, he can run the ball…I mean, he's a fast guy. He has a very, very strong arm and I think he's an all-around quarterback and he's going to get better with time," said Rolle this morning on WFAN radio.
The question was phrased comparing RG3 to Michael Vick, who will forever be known as the prototypical running quarterback who never quite mastered the pocket passing game. The book on RG3 coming out of college was that he would break that mold. So far at least one Giant sees him on that path.
That is, of course, if he can avoid the pratfall of other running quarterbacks and stay healthy.
photo credit: Keith Allison via photopin cc
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I’m more concerned about this game then I was the last one.
I’m not too worried. The Giants just pounded the 49ers in SF, and the Niners are a much, much, MUCH better team than Washington. Plus, the Giants are 0-2 in the division and the ‘Skins are no longer a joke, so this isn’t even really a trap game. I think Big Blue will be ready.
I understand the sentiment. But I think the Redskins have done enough to garner our respect. And I think their defense is set up for us to thrive. Defensively we could have trouble but our offense should be able to win a shootout if needed. We are tied with the Redskins as the 2nd highest scoring team in the NFL.
Division games usually worry me. But the redskins are dead last in their pass defense. They lost their top two pass rushers.
I see Eli having a great game. Another game with Nicks back in the line-up.
Giants win by at least 2TDs.
Agreed with Krow. I felt we’d beat the 49ers, namely because they don’t do anything that we can’t handle. On the other hand, Bobby-G^3 is the sort of dink-and-dunk running QB that could slice and dice our defense. Think Romo and Vick a few weeks back. I’m not saying we can’t beat the Redskins–I think it’ll be something like 35-17 Giants. But they’re a dangerous group.
Drew Brees: 339 yds
Sam Bradford: 310 yds
Andy Dalton: 328 yds
Josh Freeman: 299 yds
Matt Ryan: 345 yds
Christian Ponder: 352 yds
Those are the QBs who have faced the Redskins so far this year and the yardage totals they were able to pass for. Not exactly a Murderer’s Row.
The Redskins defense is woeful; arguably among the five worst in the entire NFL.
The only way they can win is in a shootout. And I’ll take my chances with our QB over theirs, even if he is Jesus, Muhammed, Buddah, and Yahweh all rolled up into one.
But what if he’s all that AND Haile Selassie?
Then we lose.
In all fairness, don’t the Redskins always tend to do well against us? Or was last year just a fluke year in an annual series of beatdowns we normally administer?
Except for 2 games in 2008, 2 games in 2009 and 2 games and 2010, yes. They ALWAYS play well against us.
Haha
Good to know I was right on the money.
Ever since Eli has taken over as starter, he and Coughlin have started the season 5-2 every year except for 2008 when they were 6-1. We will be 5-2 after this weekend’s game lol.
Dammit, did you just invoke Coughlin’s history on this team with season records? Thanks, man, now you damned this team for the second half of the season.
So when do you think the inevitable second half collapse will begin? Against the Steelers, maybe?
Actually, I see the Giants winning every single game from here on out.
In all seriousness, I actually see the Giants winning probably 8-9 of the remaining 10 games from here on out. The only doubt here is if we can keep up our level of play from last Sunday against any team on any given Sunday. Going by recent history, the Giants seem bound to have a bad game or two.
I would also note, however, that last week represented one of the last of a dwindling number of games that set up right in the Giants’ sweet spot.
As reigning Super Bowl champs, they don’t get many chances to play the “us against the world; everyone doubts us” card.
Apart from last week, the only other time they were able to play that card was in Week 3 against the Panthers: Coming off an opening day loss to Dallas and a shaky win over the Bucs and traveling to face The Great Cam Newton and Carolina on a short week. A lot of folks didn’t think the Giants could win that one, either.
Not surprisingly, in both that game and last week’s Niners game did the Giants post their most impressive wins of the season.
We know that the Giants are the #1 team in football when they play at their best. We also know that they tend to play at their best when the consensus is that their best won’t be good enough to defeat their upcoming opponent. What we have yet to see is whether they can play at a consistently high level against teams who are considered inferior.
I’m aware that this is not just a Giants thing and that most athletes thrive on being the underdog and like to draw motivation from “disrespect.” But at some point, when you’re really good, you have to learn how to derive inspiration from being the favorite.
The good news is that we have seen the Giants do this the last time they were defending champs, in 2008, when they were being widely hailed as the best team in football and rolling over opponents on a weekly basis right up until the Plaxident. So we know they have it in them. This week would be a good time for them to shed their old persona of the “disrespected team” and embrace their new one of “the baddest mofos on the block.”
I think what matters more is being able to put up a couple great games against any opponent in a short period of time. The underdog card is good for periodic motivation, but the team flips on Super Bowl mode once it’s able to realize most of its potential over the course of a few games. Last year, it took great games against the then-undefeated Packers, the Cowboys, and the Jets to catapult ourselves to an elite level.
This year, we had PHENOMENAL games against the Panthers, Browns, and now the 49ers.
The truth is a lot can change in the next few weeks.
Was this weekend’s defense an abberation or will our defense get stronger as the season progresses? What’s the truth behind Nicks and Bennett?
They always say, you are never as good as you look when you win, nor are u as bad when you lose.
But if things are indeed good and can only be better, they should beat the redskins pretty good. Playing at Dallas shouldn’t be too bad either. They have some injuries on their line, as well as their primary back. Pitts lost 2/5ths of their oline, and more importantly Pouncey. But he may be back for our game. No read on Cincy, except a young team.
Which greenbay team will show up? Will saints get on a roll Is atlanta for real? Can Flacco carry his team? Season is still young. Heck, we don’t even know if the Giants are that great yet. But we have faith they can be.
That lineup really is absolutely brutal. We just beat a team that was considered best in the NFC this year and last, we’ve got the Packers who actually were the best team in the NFC for most of last year, and we’ve got the Falcons, who (other than us) are the best NFC team this year.
Don’t forget the Saints, who might be off to a rough start but still have Drew Brees who absolutely kills us, and the Steelers, who have a good offense in their own right and always a tough defense. Whoops, almost left out Ray Rice and the Ravens.
And to me, Cincy is a trap in the making. Because that’s the kind of young team we count as a win all year and then get our butts handed to us. Do not mistake: they are a good team who can put up points.
That is a really, really tough lineup…the Giants would do themselves an absolutely huge favor by beating the Redskins and Cowboys this week and next and take a firm hold of the division.
I agree that Cincinnati is a huge trap game, especially if the Giants roll into that game having been winners of five straight (which I actually see happening).
I can certainly see this team going on a roll like it did in 2008 and finish the season with 12 wins. They are perfectly capable of that, and with matchups against the Steelers, Packers, Saints, and now the Ravens (with all of their injuries) looking much easier than they did when the season started, I see no reason to believe why we shouldn’t actually expect it.
That said, I see the Giants going 11-5. You’ve gotta figure they’re going to play a bad game somewhere along the line. I certainly don’t think asking for a 7-3 record over the final 10 games is too much to ask. They are, after all, the defending champs.
Paging Dan Benton, Mr. Dan Benton … please pick up the nearest courtesy phone.
More fodder for 49er fan conspiracy theorists, courtesy of Ralph V:
“The amount of times the Giants’ defense signaled at the last minute and changed a formation, putting them in a perfect position to make a play, was startling. Things like Michael Boley waving a safety towards a gap at the line of scrimmage, which happens to be just where Frank Gore runs. Or Antrel Rolle signaling to cornerback Prince Amukamara about a coverage (during the play) and the result is an interception. It must have happened more than a dozen times. You know what that’s a sign of? Out-coaching your opponent. Badly, in this case. Maybe Jim Harbaugh should’ve spent a little less time worrying about Kevin Gilbride and a little more time worrying about Perry Fewell.”
Just great coaching and a team paying attention.
From football Outsiders:
There is one throw in particular that stood out to me, and it came when the game was still in doubt; Second-and-8 from the San Francisco 31. The Giants come out with an offset I-Formation, and the 49ers are in their base 3-4. The Giants are up 7-3, with 5:22 left in the half. The 49ers send two linebackers right up the gut, and New York has only Henry Hynoski stationed to get up the middle (he’s not going to pick up his block anyway), so Manning is going to get pressure right in his face. Manning has a few open options, but because of the placement of the linebackers, he’s going to have to execute a throw off his back foot and still get enough on it to stick it in a tight space. It’s a bit of a wobbler, but he finds Martellus Bennett and puts it in a place in this zone where only Bennett can catch it.
The one area that has been most responsible for Manning’s rise to one of the better quarterbacks in the game, whether you want to get into the whole “definition of elite” argument or not, is his pocket presence. He probably doesn’t have this throw in him in 2009, and he definitely didn’t when he was still breaking in during his first couple of seasons.
The contrast between these two teams could not be starker than it is at quarterback, as Smith spent a lot of his day running from pass rushers rather than standing and delivering. It wasn’t the only reason that San Francisco lost, but it was a pretty big factor.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/any-given-sunday/2012/any-given-sunday-giants-over-49ers