Redskins-Giants, The Good, The Bad, Yo’ Fat Ugly Mama

Most of us are stunned after the Giants game. To start so well and end so poorly. To let a division rival off the mat and give them a spark for the rest of their season. To lose an early chance to go two up in the NFC East. We needed an extra day to recover. The Good

• 179 first half yards to Giants’ 109 yards
• 10 first half first-downs to Giants’ 3
• First half time of possession 16:35
• Jason Campbell’s 49 yard pass to Santana Moss. The drive ended with Campbell’s eight yard TD pass to Chris Cooley.
• Defense gets two sacks and force three turnovers — two INTs and one fumble recovery.
• Special teams — Derek Frost punt average 45.4 yards, one punt goes for 58 yards; Rock Cartwright kick-off return average 28 yards; Randle El punt return average 12 yards; Redskins down Frost’s 43 yard third quarter punt on the NYG 7 yard line.
• Antwaan Randle El’s performance in the last drive — 27 yard punt return to the NYG 35 yard line; 25 yard pass reception to the NYG 11 with 2:00 to go, the play is nullified by a holding penalty on C Casey Rabach; 20 yard pass reception to the 1 yard line with 1:07 to go positions Washington to score the tying touchdown. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a No. 2 wide receiver.
• Half time score Redskins 17, Giants 3
• The Redskins are 2-1 going into the bye.

The Bad

• 81 second half yards to the Giants’ 206 yards
• 4 second half first-downs to the Giants’ 14 first-downs
• Second half time of possession 10:27
• 31 percent third-down conversion rate
• Shaun Suisham misses a 39 yard first quarter field goal. He would later make a 47 yarder, but NFL kickers should be 100 percent for kicks under 40 yards. The miss ultimately did not cost the team. However, if he made the kick, the last drive would have been for the win rather than a tie.
• The Redskins’ leading tacklers were Landry (6) and Springs (6). It’s never a good sign when the DBs are the top two tacklers. 

Yo’ Fat Ugly Mama

• Poor exchange on the hand-off between Jason Campbell and Clinton Portis results in a fourth quarter fumble recovered by NY LB Antonio Pierce at the Washington 44 with 7:46 left on the game clock. Five plays later, the Giants would score the go-ahead touchdown on Eli Manning’s 33 yard pass to Plaxico Burress. Washington CB Carlos Rogers misses the tackle on Burress allowing him an uncontested run to the end zone.
• Poor offensive line play in the last drive. Center Casey Rabach, normally very reliable, was called for two penalties that wiped out a 25 yard pass play and later pushed the team back five yards. The Giants penetrated the left side of the O-line [Samuels, Kendall] to stop both Ladell Betts attempts to cross the goal line from the 1. 
• The Giants score 21 unanswered points in the second-half
• One bleeping yard!
• Final, Giants 24, Redskins 17

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In his Monday press conference, Coach Joe Gibbs defended the decision to have Ladell Betts, instead of Clinton Portis, in the line-up for the last two plays. He said that he considers Betts and Portis equivalent in that situation. He said that he does not fault Betts as the reason he did not score on the last two plays. [Big, implied finger point to the line.]

Coach can blow smoke with the best of them, but he will have a hard time selling that one. Whether looking at film, or the numbers, especially scores, there is no comparison. Clinton Portis is the go-to guy. Nothing supports this position better than the stats from this very game [Portis – 14 carries, 60 yards, 4.3 Ave, 1 TD] [Betts – 7 carries, 9 yards, 1.3 Ave, 0 TD].

Gibbs said that Betts ran the same play that Portis scored on in the first quarter. I’d call that a hint. Portis should have made one of those last carries. Portis, speaking on the John Thompson radio show yesterday, pointed out that if Betts scored the touchdown, there would be no controversy. Likewise, if Portis made the carry and failed to score, the second-guessers would be screaming that Betts should have been in the game.

The Redskins wore the 1970-’71 throwback uniforms, which calls to mind the great Sonny – Billy debate of George Allen’s day. The modern equivalent is Ladell or Clinton. 

Clinton!