The Washington Redskins kick-off the 2011 season in about 28 hours against their oldest rival. The team, as the Boston Braves, won its first franchise victory over the New York Football Giants 14-6 in an October 1932 affair. Sadly, the Jints have won nine of the last 10 games against the ‘Skins. A rash of injuries leaves the Giants very vulnerable. They can be had.
We fired off a note with two questions to Andy Furman, our Bloguin colleague who covers the Giants on UltimateNYG. He was kind enough to give us a quick turnaround. Check it out.
RHH: Which Giants’ player injury loss worries you most?
UNYG: Terrell Thomas’ loss is the biggest injury because he was a very sure cornerback who gave the Giants a lot of flexibility and depth. Thomas could blitz. He could cover, he led the team in tackles two years in a row. Yes, our linebackers smell, so that stat is nothing a Giant fan should be proud of… But without Thomas there and two more linebackers gone, who’s going to be tackling? Aaron Ross can play corner but now we are scary thin in the slot. We’ll miss Thomas.
RHH: Which Redskins player concerns you most?
UNYG: Orakpo is the guy who can make the impact play. If I’m the Giants I double him, chip him, use screens and flares to slow his pass rush down. (the Giants oc isn’t smart enough to do the latter two.)
My two cents on [Barry] Cofield is that he will have trouble in the nose position. As I am sure you know, nose tackle is the physically most demanding position to play in the NFL. So I just don’t see how Cofield survives. He’s an overachiever as a fourth-round Draft pick, and a nice staple on your team, but he was never an impact player. I think he is a liability at nose.
In a back channel discussion, I suggested that the Redskins are every team’s trap game. Andy had an interesting take.
Re the skins being a trap game thru the season, I agree with that in spots. It really doesn’t work that way for the Giants games, as they are divisional games. These teams can never really look past one another.
Yeah, that’s the problem when you’ve been playing someone since 1932.
We answered Andy’s questions about the Redskins. You will find it on UltimateNYG now. Go take a look. we will be here when you get back.
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