Giants-Redskins Preview

Week 17 kicks off tonight with the Redskins hosting the Giants at FedEx Field. In their first meeting, the Giants were dominant in a 19-3 win at Giants Stadium. Unless you've been living under a rock the past two months, you know many things have changed. The Giants went from chic Super Bowl pick to "team turmoil", whose members haven't missed an opportunity for a detrimental sound bite. For the Redskins, Coach Gibbs benched starting quarterback Mark Brunell in favor of young Jason Campbell and an injury to Clinton Portis has led to the emergence of Ladell Betts. The Skins have been playing better football of late, including a win on the road in New Orleans two weeks ago. Running back Ladell Betts has eclipsed 100 yards in five consecutive games. No matter what the records, a December game between the Giants and Redskins will always be intense. Tonight figures to be no different.

The Giants Will Win If... they can stop beating themselves. Out of all the errors the team has made this year, the worst has been consistently putting themselves in bad situations with penalties. Coach Coughlin finally has made his players accountable and supposedly will bench major culprit Bob Whitfield. With the switch of play callers, the Giants hope Kevin Gilbride will put the offense in better situations to score points. It all starts with getting more touches for Tiki Barber. Between Eli's struggles and their inability to keep their defense off the field, the Giants must establish a consistent running game. In the passing game, someone needs to step up. The perfect man seems to be Sinorice Moss, who would allow Eli to develop an early rythym with some short passes and screens. His speed could be a great mismatch for a depleted Redskins secondary. Defensively, the Giants need to challenge Jason Campbell to beat them. He has a talented trio of WR's and a great pass catching tight end but is still very inexperienced. Betts has been extremely effective running between the tackles, so Barry Coefield and Fred Robbins need to get penetration. Antonio Pierce always has a chip on his shoulder facing his former team, so he should be ready to neutralize Betts. On special teams, they can not afford to give away great field position like they did last week. They could really use a spark from the kick return unit that has failed to produce all season. Again, this is an area where Sinorice Moss could be a difference maker.


The Redskins Will Win If...they can shut down the Giants running game. Eli Manning's struggles have been well documented, so the Giants should be expected to give a heavy dose of the ground game. The offense has been given a huge boost by the play of Ladell Betts. Since filling in for the injured Clinton Portis, Betts has topped 100 yards rushing in each of the last five games. He's taken a lot of pressure off inexperienced QB Jason Campbell. Campbell's numbers are nothing spectacular, but he's been efficient. He's shown the ability to make plays down the field and is starting to get better play from his receivers. Last year's December matchup in Washington turned out to be the Santana Moss show. The Giants had no answers for him and he could give a struggling secondary nightmares all day. If the offensive line can give Campbell time to throw, they should have opportunities to attack down the field. Defensively the Redskins have been susceptible to deep passing plays and that should continue now that cornerback Shawn Springs is out. Sean Taylor has terrific ball skills but can be caught being too aggressive. Like the Gians, they should stack the box and make Eli Manning beat them. With Shockey out and other receivers struggling, they need to make the Giants one dimensional.

Prediction: In the past two months, nothing has gone right for the Giants. They've squandered fourth quarter leads, they've shown dissension in the locker room, and they've nearly played themselves out of the playoffs. But that's just it: NEARLY played themselves out of the playoffs. With a win tonight, they're virtually assured of a playoff berth. For all that's gone wrong, one victory can change everything. Unfortunately, the Giants have been in this situation for weeks and still can't play well enough to win. The Redskins would love to spoil the Giants postseason plans, so I imagine they'll come to play. Former Redskin Antonio Pierce said earlier this week he expects the Redskins to be physical, so at the very least the Giants have to limp in to the playoffs battered. Everything surrounding this game indicates it will come down to who can run the football. The NFL has been so crazy this year, it'll probably turn in to a shootout. With a loss, the Tiki Barber era and Tom Coughlin era will come to a close. It may just be foolish optimism, but expect the Giants to get themselves in great playoff position.