Game Preview: Washington Redskins at New York Giants, December 14, 2014

Rashad Jennings – © USA TODAY Sports Images

[contentblock id=1 img=html.png]

Washington Redskins at New York Giants, December 14, 2014

The early audition for the 2015 New York Giants roster continues. That includes coaches as well as players.

FOUR DOWNS:

First Down
No major injures.
The Giants already have 20 players on injured reserve, including a potentially career-altering injury to WR Victor Cruz and career-ending injury to RB David Wilson. The last thing this team needs in December is a serious injury to an important cog that could impact the 2015 campaign. In particular, get Eli Manning and Odell Beckham out of this season healthy.

Second Down
Is Perry Fewell gone, or in the process of saving his job?
Statistically-speaking, Perry Fewell’s defense was among the NFL’s worst in 2011, 2012, and most of 2014. But the NYG defense has improved in the last two weeks by playing two of league’s worst offenses (Jaguars and Titans). It is now the 23rd-ranked defense and could continue to improve by facing offensively-challenged teams like the Redskins and Rams before facing the more explosive Eagles. The defense has been very aggressive in the last two games with many more blitzes (and successful blitzes being called).

Does Fewell only get more aggressive against lesser competition, fearing to do so against better offenses? Or is this yet another example of him changing his style mid- to late-season after repeated failure, only with him reverting to his old unsuccessful schemes if he returns in 2015?

Management has to be VERY careful here when evaluating Perry Fewell and the ENTIRE defensive staff. It must not base its judgement on the last five games of 2014, but the the entire body of evidence from 2010-2014. Despite changing components, the overall track record has not been good with many late-game breakdowns.

Third Down
Who will be part of the solution on the offensive line?
Obviously, the hope and need is that Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg, and Geoff Schwartz will be part of the answer moving forward. Assuming Richburg will be the center, what positions will Pugh and Schwartz play? Is offensive line coach Pat Flaherty, who been with the team since 2004 but who has been unable to mold a cohesive unit the last couple of seasons, the right man to steward them forward?

“What’s (Pugh’s) better position? I don’t know,” said Flaherty recently. “He’s an NFL right tackle for the New York Giants and is that his best position right now? It is. I don’t see anything in the future that changes unless something happens in free agency or in the draft. Can he be a good right tackle in this league? Absolutely, I think he can be one of the best.”

Obviously much depends on what transpires in free agency and the draft in 2015. What about Will Beatty? He has rebounded from a terribly inconsistent 2013, but the Giants could do better. But with needs everywhere, is he a guy they can win with while addressing many other positions of need?

In the last three games, it will be important to see how Beatty does at left tackle and Pugh at right tackle.

Fourth Down
Who will be part of the solution on the defensive line?
For the last few years, much of New York’s issues have involved their line play on offense and defense. With important cogs like Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Linval Joseph, and Chris Canty fading out of the picture, the Giants have struggled to maintain the same elite level of play. Who on the current roster should be part of the fix? Jason Pierre-Paul has played better than his injury-plagued 2013 campaign, but he still has not regained his 2011 form. He looked very sharp last week against backup tackles but he needs to be an impact player against top-flight starters. Pierre-Paul faces some good tests down the stretch and these games will be important for him. The bad news for the Giants is if he departs in free agency, they will have yet another huge hole to fill. He still is that one guy on defense who other teams game plan around.

What about Damontre Moore? Is he a future starter or simply just a pass-rushing role player? Is Kerry Wynn just a guy? Johnathan Hankins looks like a foundation player, but what about Jay Bromley? Cullen Jenkins will probably be back one more season, but the team probably should move on from Mike Patterson. Markus Kuhn seems like just a guy.

BREAKING DOWN WASHINGTON:

OFFENSE
Strength?
Statistically, Washington’s offense (12) is better than New York’s (14). They pass the ball better (10th versus 13th) while the Giants run the ball slightly better (21st versus 22nd). The Redskins have some dangerous weapons at key positions. Alfred Morris is still one of the NFL’s tougher, more physical runners. DeSean Jackson (who has a shin injury) and Pierre Garcon are very dangerous wideouts who can break a game open. The Redskins like to throw to their tight ends as both Niles Paul and Jordan Reed each have 36 receptions. Trent Williams is a very good left tackle.

Weakness?
Though the Redskins can move the ball, they have struggled scoring (26th in the NFL) and keeping drives alive (30th in the NFL on third-down conversions). They turn the football over quite a bit too. The offensive line has struggled to protect the quarterback, and most importantly, their quarterback play – be it Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy, or Kurt Cousins – has been suspect.

DEFENSE
Strength?
Statistically, the 3-4 Redskins defense is far better than the Giants, ranking 10th in yards allowed (to New York’s 23rd). They are 11th in run defense and 13th in pass defense. The Redskins actually have a pretty tough and physical front seven and can be difficult to run on. RDE Jason Hatcher (5.5 sacks but battling knee issue) and OLB Ryan Kerrigan (11.5 sacks) have been disruptive. NT Chris Baker and LDE Jarvis Jenkins are tough against the run, and have actually forced former NYG Barry Cofield to the bench as a top reserve. The other linebackers are no slouches either. ILB Keenan Robinson leads the team in tackles, ILB Perry Riley is athletic, and OLB Trent Murphy is an up-and-coming rookie.

Weakness?
Despite not giving up a lot of yards, the Redskins give up a lot of points, though some of that is related to offensive issues (turnovers). The secondary is not as strong, starting one rookie at corner, and the Redskins continue to have issues at safety. They can be vulnerable to the big play.

SPECIAL TEAMS
The Redskins special teams are ordinary. They have given up one kickoff return TD and one punt return TD this year.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

WR Odell Beckham
He’s the reason to tune in. This might be the week where he breaks one on special teams too.

Damontre Moore/Kerry Wynn
While Cullen Jenkins may see a lot of time at defensive end, this is a good opponent to evaluate how Moore and Wynn do against the run. Not just in terms of the physical nature of the Redskins’ running game, but also the amount of misdirection the Redskins will employ at times. Like JPP, Moore hasn’t been the most disciplined guy out there on the field in terms of maintaining his gap responsibility.

FROM THE COACHES’ MOUTH:

Tom Coughlin – “You really can’t overemphasize the fact that (the Redskins’) record is 3-10. How the heck could they be the 10th-rated defense in the NFL and the 12th-rated offense? They do a lot of things very, very well. Obviously, putting it all together has been an issue. They’re not alone in that area, but they are very physical. They’re an outstanding defensive front. People don’t run the ball on them, they’re 11th in the league against the run. What they’ve really done, they’ve gone to an aggressive pressure package and they’ve made mistakes in the secondary and they’ve given up big plays. ”

Jay Gruden – “It is very difficult to be a one-dimensional team against a good pass rushing team like the Giants, the Rams, and the Colts. We have to do a good job staying in the football game, keeping the football game close where all three of our dimensions of runs, play actions, boot legs, and the drop backs are all opened in the play book, and not be one-dimensional.”

FINAL WORD:

Don’t be misled by the first meeting between these two teams. The 45 points scored by the Giants are misleading because so much of that was set up by terrible passing decisions made by Kirk Cousins (four interceptions), who no longer is in the picture. The Redskins can be very aggressive up front with a variety of blitz packages, and the Giants’ blockers have proven that they don’t handle the blitz very well. NT Chris Baker is going to be a problem for OC J.D. Walton and this is also a tough opponent to run the ball on. New York should attack early and often with the pass. If the Giants run, run, pass in this game, they may be falling right into the hands of Skins who then can be more aggressive on 3rd-and-long. Defensively, this will be an interesting game as the Redskins can run the ball and will use misdirection. Also, unlike the Jaguars and Titans, Washington has downfield passing threats who can break a game open. Eli and Odell could take over this game, but this is also a contest the Giants could very well lose. Much depends on how motivated each team is…who wants it more? I have no idea who will win, but if you were to put me on the spot…Redskins 21 – Giants 17.