Poof!
Splat!
Whimper!
Whatever word I could write that would emulate my overwhelming feeling of being underwhelmed with the first game of the NFL season, that’s the one you should imagine I used.
The Giants actually came out looking like the Super Bowl Champions at the beginning of the game, mostly due to Eli Manning playing with the confidence of a big-game MVP early, Plaxico Burress making catches, Brandon Jacobs just moving the ball, and the guys in blue on the defensive side of the ball seeming to be everywhere, despite having lost two key components to their defensive line of last season.
After that?
Pffffttttt!
I know head coach Tom Coughlin tends to be a bit conservative, which is a pretty good move with a studly big back like Jacobs just POUNDING the rock right at the Redskin defensive front with plenty of success.
I get it.
However, while it felt the entire time that the Giants were dominant in this game, you started to realize they weren’t finishing drives and that, should Washington catch just one big break, you suddenly had a contentious game, which might have even shaken first-year head coach out of his seeming stupor.
Okay, that seemed unlikely.
In fact, the Redskins looked so entirely hapless for most of the game, that I actually became excited that they are on the Lions’ schedule this year. That game I had as a ‘maybe, maybe not,’ but I’m now leaning toward, “aw hell, we could beat them!”
Give me a break. It’s early. I get like this every fall.
So, Eli stopped looking like a confident leader and the Giants went into a shell. The defense looked amazing, but, eventually, it looked like the Redskins were simply not ready to play a regular-season game.
Wait…had anyone informed them that the preseason was over?
Clinton Portis was ineffective. That couldn’t have helped young QB Jason Campbell when he needed to make plays, but Campbell, otherwise, didn’t really look impressive. His demeanor wasn’t that of an offensive leader, nor was his play. I began to wonder: which came first, Zorn’s lack of confidence in the pass game or Cambell’s lack of confidence to execute it.
Either way, it wasn’t any fun to watch for me. I’m sure NFC East fans enjoyed it, though.
Well, not the Washington fans, of course.
I guess it’s not as if you have to be razor-sharp in week one, especially if you get the win. There were plenty of weeks last season where the Giants didn’t look like much, but they got the wins they needed, so they can just write this off as a victory where they played very well in bits.
With the target that comes with being the defending champions, however, they’re going to need a more-complete game than what they had tonight to have a shot at retaining their place on top.
2 Comments
September 6, 2008 at 3:51 pm
are you a skins fan or a giants fan, seems like skins
September 6, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I do not have a customer service department here, so I will NOT provide you the answer to a question you could have easily answered yourself with just the slightest of efforts. Thanks for playing.