The Washington Redskins take on division rival New York Giants at the New Meadowlands Sunday. We asked Andrew Furman to answer a few questions about the G-men for us. Andrew covers the Giants for Ultimate NYG on the Bloguin.com network. Our answers to Andrew’s questions are posted on Ultimate NYG.
Redskins Hog Heaven: The Giants’ line is as banged-up as the Redskins’ line. Please give me a capsule of who the ‘Skins will face Sunday. Will the Giants be more successful on the ground or in the air behind that group?
Ultimate NYG: William Beatty LT, Kevin Boothe LG, Rich Seubert C, Chris Snee RG, Kareem McKenzie RT. Yes, it is possible David Diehl or even possibly Shaun O’Hara could play, but we are hoping for the following week.
The Giants pass protection has been better than the run blocking with this unit.
RHH: I haven’t read past the Brandon Jacobs headlines. I gather he was benched, and then he threw stuff at fans. What’s going on with him?
UNYG: Ahmad Bradshaw deserved the (first-string) job, and he has been extremely productive, hitting the hole faster and manufacturing yards too when there are no holes. Jacobs was pissed at the coaches, but he had to suck it up that he was no longer the alpha. In Week One of the 2009 season, he got hurt and has not been the same since. He is playing better as of late. Enter all of the Ahmad Bradshaw fumbles, on top of the myriad turnovers, and [Giants head coach Tom] Coughlin did the right thing by putting Jacobs ahead of him. Interestingly, by Jacobs not starting in the first 10 games, it has kept him healthier. So he has ‘relatively’ fresh legs for this time of the season.
RHH: What’s the status of receivers Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith? Will they play Sunday? If they do, will they be full-go?
UNYG: Smith practiced. We’ll be doing cartwheels if he plays. Nicks is at least another week.
RHH: Who are the MVPs on offense, defense and special teams? Who is the Giants unsung hero?
UNYG: Until he got hurt, the MVP on offense was Hakeem Nicks. He was stirring the Offensive Coordinator’s (Kevin Gilbride’s) drink by giving the Giants their first true X Wideout since Burress went down. The 2009 #1 is going to one hell of a pro, assuming he can stay healthy.
On defense, it is Osi Umenyiora. He is playing hurt too, but he was a big reason why the Giants ran off 5 straight.
On Special teams, I’d vote for the rookie, Jason Pierre-Paul. He is a menace. Big and fast. Opposing players have already been running away from him.
The Giants unsung hero? I’d vote for Shawn Andrews if he did not get hurt himself. He has given the OL a lot of depth. Two heroes who people know about but who still quietly get it done consistently are Steve Smith and Justin Tuck. Smith is Eli Manning’s security blanket. Tuck is the guy who makes impact plays routinely.
RHH: I am a fan of East Coast smashmouth Beastball. The Giants are the epitome of that type defense. How do the Redskins attack them?
UNYG: Get after the Giants linebackers in space. It used to be that Chris Cooley would roast us alive, but now the Giants have a terrific set of Safeties, so you can’t go there. But you can isolate the RB out of the backfield on the linebacker and get some success because the only one who has range is Michael Boley, and he seems to make mental mistakes. A second way to go after the Giants is to take advantage of their Cover-2. I hate it. Your receiver can sit down over the cornerback before the safety and get space for easy opportunities. And if we are playing off coverage, the easy WR screen is there too.
RHH: What concerns you about the Redskins?
UNYG: The Redskins honestly do not concern me. What concerns me is that the Giants offense is decimated at OL and WR. You have to understand that the Giants are 7-4 but beat themselves with sloppiness and turnovers in 3 games, so they could realistically be as good as 10-1. The Giants are their own worst enemy. If the Giants do not turnover the ball, they win the game.
RHH: Your game prediction and score?
UNYG: Justin Tuck gave a rousing Halftime speech and the Giants beat the Jaguars 18-3 in the second half. So I am looking for that to carry forward and for the Giants to play inspired football. Giants 26 Redskins 16.
BONUS Question: Are Giants fans still misspelling that other team’s name as Jest? Has their fan base grown from a few boroughs to Greater New York?
UNYG: I always rooted for both NY teams in all sports. But I would trade 16 Jets wins for 1 Giants win. I have some dear friends and close relatives that are Jets fans, so I root for them when they are not playing the Giants. The Jets and Rex Ryan are merely awakening some dormant fans who have always been Jets fans. I’d love a Jets-Giants Super Bowl because the G-men would win. The Jets have no pass rush, and if they let Eli sit back there he’ll torch them. So the Jets will have to blitz Eli to get to him, the veteran OL will pick it up and Eli will actually do well that way too.
Redskins Hog Heaven answered questions about the Redskins for Andrew. Visit Ultimate NYG to see if you agree with our responses.
Go take a look. We’ll be here when you get back.
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