(My Sportsbook) - For the first time under Steve Spurrier, the
Washington Redskins will face NFC East rival New York in a Week 11 matchup on Sunday at Giants Stadium.
In his first NFL regular-season game in the state where he became a legend, Spurrier watched his modest two-game winning streak go by the wayside. The Redskins grabbed an early 7-0 lead but allowed 26 unanswered points by Jacksonville en route to their first loss in three games. Possibly influenced by his "Fun 'N Gun" Sunshine State roots, Spurrier decided to air it out against the Jaguars. Washington threw 51 passes versus Jacksonville while running the ball just 16 times. The ill-advised ratio had the "old ball coach" second-guessing himself after the team's fifth loss in nine game.
"We threw the ball too much," Spurrier admitted. "Any time you throw more than you run and you lose, you've thrown too much. We had our chances but didn't finish drives. Maybe sometimes I have more confidence in our passing attack than I should have. I've seen our guys throw and catch in practice pretty well. Maybe I need to temper my confidence in the way we can throw and catch."
The Giants have won two consecutive games since head coach Jim Fassel assumed the play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Sean Payton. Fassel's club scored a season-high 27 points in last week's seven-point victory over Minnesota. However, the team has been decimated by injuries to its receiving corps. Ike Hilliard was lost for the year after an illegal hit by Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins in Week 8. Last week, rookie Tim Carter, who assumed the role of the team's No. 3 receiver, suffered a torn Achilles' and will be out for the rest of the season. Ron Dixon, who stepped into Hilliard's starting spot, will miss the next two games after straining a knee ligament in the win over Minnesota.
"I'm a little concerned about [the injuries], obviously," Fassel said. "This team can't continue to sustain injuries, although this team will always play hard and always fight. I just want to have a good shot at winning. Some guys are going to have to step up."
In an effort to bolster the wounded receiving corps, New York signed veteran free-agent Herman Moore, one of the most prolific wide receivers in NFL history, and Tony Simmons, a former second-round draft choice of the New England Patriots.
SERIES HISTORY: The Giants lead the all-time regular-season series, 77-57-4. The postseason series is tied, 1-1, with the Redskins earning a 28-0 victory over the Giants in a divisional playoff game in 1943 and the Giants defeating the Redskins, 17-0, in the 1986 NFC Championship Game. The teams have split the four games played over the last two seasons. In 2001, New York beat Washington at Giants Stadium, 23-9. The Redskins won the meeting at FedEx Field, 35-21.
The Giants, who have played the Redskins more than any other opponent (138 meetings), have a 9-6 mark versus Washington in the last 15 matchups at Giants Stadium.
Spurrier will be facing the Giants for the first time on Sunday, while Fassel owns a 4-5-1 mark versus Washington.
REDSKINS OFFENSE
Spurrier admitted he would have done things differently if he had another shot at the Jaguars. With RB Stephen Davis out for a second straight game with a knee injury, the first-year NFL head coach allowed QB Shane Matthews to throw the ball 50 times while Patrick Ramsey also attempted a pass. Kenny Watson rushed for 52 yards on 14 carries, but the Redskins could not control the tempo of the game after they took a 7-0 first-quarter lead over the Jaguars.
Matthews, who led the team to a touchdown on its opening drive, completed 27- of-50 passes for 256 yards including a 20-yard scoring pass to Rod Gardner and two interceptions. The Redskins only trailed Jacksonville by three points at halftime, but Spurrier appeared to use Davis' injury as an excuse to throw the ball more. Instead of attacking a porous Jacksonville run defense with Watson, who ran for 110 yards on 23 carries in a Week 9 victory over Seattle, Spurrier decided to air it out. The passing spree produced just one touchdown and allowed Jacksonville to take control of the game.
"I'm a little frustrated at times that we have not performed quite as well as I had hoped or expected," Spurrier said of his offense. "But that's the way it's happened and we just have got to keep plugging along and take care of some errors and get a little bit better here and there. Get a little bit better on the play-calling. It all goes in there. Sometimes you can have some better plays called, trying to coach the quarterback to get to some plays occasionally and things like that. So we're struggling but there's still hope."
Davis, who has rushed for a team-high 528 yards and three touchdowns, is expected to return to the lineup on Sunday against the Giants. His injured right knee has healed adequately and should enable him to carry the team's ground attack for the first time in three weeks.
A week after having too much confidence in his sporadic passing attack, Spurrier will undoubtedly turn to Davis to lead the offense against New York. The Giants allowed Philadelphia to rush for a total of 299 yards back in Week 8, and the Redskins believe Davis can do damage now that he's healthy. The bruising back rushed for 107 yards on 29 carries in Washington's victory over New York in the previous meeting (October 28, 2001).
While Matthews failed to produce more than seven points for the offense last week in Jacksonville, Spurrier said he will stick with the former Florida Gator as his starting signal-caller. Davis' return will give more balance to Washington's offense, which is 26th in the league in points per game (18.0).
Sunday's showdown against the Giants is a critical contest for the 4-5 Redskins. Washington trails Philadelphia by two games for first place in the NFC East and has already lost once to the Eagles this season. The Skins are one of three 4-5 teams in the NFC, while three other non-division leaders, including the Giants, have better records than them in the race for the two Wild Card spots.
"It's pretty close to a must-win situation if we have any hopes of making the playoffs, which we do," Spurrier said. "We feel like we can play with anybody. We're now into our division play. We have the Giants twice, Dallas twice and Philly again. And a lot can happen in that part of the schedule."
GIANTS DEFENSE
The Giants avoided a huge letdown last week in Minnesota. The team watched its 19-6 third-quarter lead evaporate in a matter of minutes. Vikings head coach Mike Tice yanked an ineffective Daunte Culpepper in favor of Todd Bouman, who promptly led Minnesota to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. New York's defense blew the 13-point lead to put the team behind by a point with less than nine minutes to play.
While the Giants pulled the game out thanks to an impressive late-game touchdown drive by the offense, the defense's fourth-quarter breakdown was alarming. Bouman set up the first touchdown with a 48-yard pass to Randy Moss. Minnesota's second touchdown of the fourth quarter came on a 78-yard run by Michael Bennett, who was a former track star at Wisconsin.
"We had some breakdowns," said Fassel. "I thought we played very well defensively against [Culpepper and Moss], but the quarterback change threw us off a little bit. I wasn't surprised that they put Bouman in there, but we didn't make the proper adjustments."
New York shut down Culpepper when he was in the game. Much in the same way the Giants put the clamps on Culpepper and Moss in the 41-0 NFC Championship Game victory two years ago, the defense did a fine job of limiting the dynamic duo over the course of the first three quarters last week. Culpepper completed just 9-of-20 passes for a season-low 91 passing yards before giving way to Bouman, who passed for 86 yards on three completions.
Despite doing a very good job against Culpepper, the Giants couldn't snap their string of games without an interception. No quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Culpepper (14) this year, but the Giants' defense went a sixth straight game without a pick. That sets a new team record for one season and ties the franchise's overall mark for futility. The last time the Giants went six games without an interception was November 22, 1964 through September 22, 1965.
Forcing turnovers has been a major problem for New York's defense all season long. The Giants are tied with Minnesota for the fewest takeaways in the NFL with 10.
Stopping the run has also been a huge concern for the Giants, who have slipped all the way to 24th in the league (128.2 rushing yards per game). The loss of DT Keith Hamilton has been a severe blow to the defensive line. However, the team is running out of excuses. It allowed 299 total rushing yards to Philadelphia in Week 8, but followed up that disaster by holding Jacksonville's Fred Taylor to nine yards in a Week 9 victory. However, Bennett exposed the Giants' weak run defense en route to a 167-yard day last week.
Washington will welcome Davis back to the lineup on Sunday, so the Giants must stack the box in an effort to slow down the former Pro Bowler.
GIANTS OFFENSE
The Giants scored seven touchdowns in their first seven games before Fassel assumed the play-calling duties. While the move has coincided with a soft schedule, the offense has responded to Fassel's call to arms.
In the last two games that Fassel has called the offensive plays, the Giants have averaged 25.5 points and 426 yards per game. New York posted season highs in points (27) and total yards (458) last week in Minnesota.
"Offensively, I've just really wanted to quicken the game up a little bit," said Fassel of his offensive philosophy. "I really wanted to protect Kerry Collins and to get the ball downfield a little bit more. I want to give Kerry plays that he feels comfortable with."
Collins completed 25-of-35 passes for 300 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Vikings. Despite the rash of injuries to the team's receivers, Fassel credits Collins with keeping the offense afloat.
"[Kerry] is playing the best football [of his career]," said Fassel. "He has matured a lot."
TE Jeremy Shockey has been a non-factor over the past few weeks because of a painful toe injury that has caused him to run with a limp. With Hilliard and Carter out for the year and Dixon sidelined for the next two games, the Giants have moved RB Sean Bennett to wide receiver. Rookie Daryl Jones is expected to start opposite Amani Toomer this week versus Washington, but Bennett, Moore and Simmons should all see time.
"I feel confident in myself going out there," said Jones, who has caught two passes for 11 yards this season. "I hope the coaches feel the same way. I always prepare myself so I'm ready to play, ready to start. So there's not going to be a big change in my preparation. I'm getting together with Ike to make sure I don't overlook the little things. Hopefully, Sunday I'll perform well. I feel confident in what I'm doing."
"I like [Jones]," Fassel said of his seventh-round draft pick out of Miami. "The times that he has been in there he has made plays. He's got a lack of experience, but he's a tough guy and a very competitive. He's the one guy who really helped us when he was up because he could really play all of the positions. So he's a smart guy, he learned the offense."
The Giants will be shorthanded going up against the likes of Washington's Champ Bailey and Fred Smoot. However, Collins has confidence in the team's remaining healthy receivers to get the job done.
"There is a certain amount of time you need between a quarterback and a receiver," Collins said. "The bottom line is we don't have a lot of time. Those guys have to step it up. I have confidence that Daryl Jones will play well. He has good speed and he has talent. We have to get everybody in sync."
The 33-year-old Moore, who is 17th on the NFL's all-time list with 670 receptions, signed a prorated veteran contract that will earn him about $300,000. However, the former Lion hasn't played in a game since the 2000 season.
"I'm happy to be a part of this Giants organization," said Moore, who played in the Pro Bowl every season from 1994-97. "The biggest thing was having a chance to win. The Giants are right in the thick of the NFC race and I realize that they are doing everything they can to make a run at a playoff spot."
While the passing attack will have to deal with some new faces, the ground game is doing just fine. Tiki Barber rushed for a season-high 127 yards on 24 carries last week, and will be aiming for his third straight 100-yard game on Sunday.
Ron Dayne has also become a bigger part of the offense under Fassel's watch. The former Heisman Trophy winner has rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries (4.8 yards per carry) in the past two games, including a 30-yard scoring scamper versus Minnesota last week.
REDSKINS DEFENSE
The addition of defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis and free-agent linebackers Jeremiah Trotter and Jessie Armstead was supposed to make the Redskins' defense one of the best in the game. However, Daniel Snyder's plan has fallen short of its intended goal.
Washington is 23rd in the NFL is points allowed per game (24.1), but the unit's yardage totals are slightly more impressive (312 total yards per game). Last week, the Redskins blew an early 7-0 lead to Jacksonville. Lewis' defense surrendered 26 unanswered points en route to the team's third loss in five games. Despite the unit's shortcomings, Spurrier pretty much leaves the defensive game planning to Lewis and his staff.
"Well, with Marvin Lewis here, certainly I don't need to spend much time with [the defense], just team meetings and so forth," admitted the head coach. "So they're in good hands with Marvin and our defensive staff. I probably spent more time in college actually looking at the defense."
Considering the defense's woeful performance last week, it might be a good idea for Spurrier to get more involved with what's going on on the other side of the ball, especially with a tough stretch of games ahead.
"We're starting a lot of our division games now, five of the last seven," stated Spurrier. "If we're going to get back in that division hunt, we're trying to get back even with the Giants. It'll be a tough game. The [Giants] are a good team, and I'm impressed with their defensive team and their offensive team. We're trying to play well and trying to get ourselves a victory if we can."
The Redskins need to concentrate on stopping New York's backfield tandem of Barber and Dayne. The speed and power combo of Jacksonville's Fred Taylor and Stacey Mack combined to run for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries last week.
"I think we can go into New York and be competitive," said LB LaVar Arrington, who leads the team with eight sacks. "We gave one up [last week], and New York pulled ahead of us one game. [But] we're still right in the thick of things. We can't get discouraged. There were a lot of things where, if they were done differently, I could see us really having our way with Jacksonville. We have had our ups and our downs. But I really think we're going to be OK."
Sunday's Redskins-Giants game also marks the first time that ex-Giant Armstead will be facing his former team. New York cut the former Pro Bowler in the offseason because of salary-cap restraints.
"If [Armstead] wants to say hello to his pals I understand that," said Spurrier. "The part I don't really like is when they're laughing and giggling and jiving and all of that stuff. To me, when the game ends there's a winner and loser and the loser should act like a loser. That's just the way that I look at it, and as you know sometimes some guys have a way of getting over losses than I think they should. So that's a part we're if we get our butts beat fellas we don't need to be out there laughing and giggling with guys on the other team. Say hello and get your butt off the field and lets try to get better and make sure that doesn't happen a lot of times to us."
