NFC East Madness

The Giants suffered a very painful loss to the rising Washington Redskins on Monday night. It was a disappointing loss to Giants fans and the results are costly. The NFC East is now much tighter with the Giants leading the division by one game with the Cowboys and Redskins breathing down their neck. What's even more unfortunate is due to divisional woes this season the Giants will lose most tie breakers to the Cowboys or Redskins. The Giants will likely have to keep the lead if they wish to make the playoffs.

On Monday night the Giants came out and had a very good first half. Up 13-10 the Giants had a solid running game and Eli looked sharp. Penalties and a missed field goal (due to a bad snap by DeOssie) hurt the overall score but the Giants were effectively moving the ball and the defense was playing tough against the head ache that is the Redskins offense. The Giants threw a couple deep balls and struggled to put together the big play but it seemed like fans were in store for another Cruz bomb that fans witnessed the first time these teams played together. On a couple of throws to Cruz and Nicks they were there, but simply couldn't connect on the big play.

The second half was a completely different story. The Giants attempted to continue their running success from the first half with Ahmad Bradshaw but the Redskins had nothing of it. And in what was supposed to be a big debut for the rookie David Wilson he saw only four carries. The running game struggled against a tough run-stopping Redskins defense, but for reasons very mysterious to everybody, the Giants offense kept trying to hand the ball off to no avail. It put more pressure on the  Giants to convert these difficult third and longs. The offense did not adjust to what the Redskins were doing in the second half and as a result the Giants scored a measly three points in the second half.

Defensively the Giants gave up a lot of rushing yards to Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris, but they played extremely tough and held one of the hottest offenses in football to just 17 points. Fans may see the Giants gave up a lot of rushing yards but don't let that fool you. Stopping Washington's rushing attack with RGIII in the pistol formation is virtually impossible. With multiple running threats in the backfield it really isolates defensive assignments and virtually makes it a seven on seven game for RGIII. Griffin knows every Giants defender has a different match up, and on every snap the defense has to respect the running threat that he provides and everybody knows about. With explosive receivers like Pierre Garcon and Santana Moss in the passing game as well, the Redskins are a huge headache for defensive coordinators everywhere. Give the Giants defense credit, they played tough and one of Washington's touchdowns came off of the luckiest fumble recovery I've ever seen. Of course the media plays it as Griffin making a great play, that was just plane luck dude.

The Giants lost this game because of a lack of discipline on offense and a failure to exploit the Redskins biggest weakness: defending the passing game. The Giants were so close on a few deep balls from Eli in the first half that it seemed virtually unavoidable that the Giants wouldn't connect in the second half. But the Giants rarely attempted this, the only time they did Eli connected with Cruz on a big catch on the sideline, and that resulted in the Giants only field goal of the half. Kevin Gilbride and Eli Manning's combined play calling for the running game really hurt the team. And David Wilson only getting four carries while Bradshaw was getting stuffed in the second half remains a mystery. The only Giant on offense that had a complete game was Martellus Bennett, aka the Black Unicorn. It was good to see Bennett have some success in a big game and the Giants will need that to continue if they wish to win the division.

As a result of these recent wins for the Redskins, everyone in the sports media has RGIII fever. Man it is impossible to not hear RGIII this and RGIII that. Heck I've even heard murmurs from NFL fans that believe RGIII is better than Eli Manning. Pardon my french, but let me clear that fucking shit up right now. RGIII is an explosive player and quite frankly seems like a gentlemen. But in no way shape or form is a .500 rookie quarterback better than a two time Super Bowl MVP. Not to mention RGIII's scrambling ways are not traditionally the formula for super bowl success due to the fact that mobile quarterbacks take way too many hits. The Giants did not sack RGIII in this game, but man did he take some shots in the open field. This will hurt RGIII at some point in his career, just as it did Mike Vick, and Donovan McNabb in his younger days. The point is though, this conversation simply can't be had right now. Robert Griffin III's accomplishments come nowhere near to the great Elisha Nelson Manning's. Fans saying things like that are just a response from the overdose of media hype that ESPN and other networks provide of everybody royally bowing down and kissing RGIII's ass because he happens to be very fast. Eli will never get media attention like that because he's not nearly as flashy and quite frankly avoids any controversy whatsoever. The only time Eli got a lot of hype in the media was due to the "elite/non-elite" controversy on the Michael Kay show last year. Either that or the fact that Eli is Peyton Manning's baby brother. That stuff is all pish posh. Eli Manning is a great football player and if fans don't recognize that they are oblivious to the truth. And this great football player that every Giants fan should cherish, (seeing as he's the best quarterback the teams ever had), is without a doubt 100% better than Robert Griffin III.

Alas, the drama that is the NFC East continues next week. Every game from here on out is the most important game the Giants will play this year. Next on the list is the New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees and the Saints will be coming to the Meadowlands after an embarrassing  loss to their division rival Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. That night Drew Brees threw five interceptions and did not throw a touchdown pass for the first time in over fifty games. Brees and the Saints will really want to bounce back after a tough loss, and the Giants are right in the same boat. The past few years the Saints have absolutely torched the Giants, but this year the Saints defense is nowhere near as threatening as it has been in years past. That's obviously due to the scandal and suspensions that followed for the Saints this off season, but the point is the Giants offense has absolutely no reason to not produce, and they may have to if Brees decides to get hot.

Naturally the Giants lost to the Redskins because it was mathematically a loss the Giants could afford. But those days are officially over. It's time for the Giants to stop fooling around and show the world the defending world champs are still the kings of this insane division. This race may be down to the wire though. Every Giants fan deep down knows that the week 17 match up against the Philadelphia Eagles may have big meaning. Giants fans probably have known that since the schedule was made.

The Giants have made two miraculous runs to the Super Bowl with their backs against the wall. As a result, over the years when the Giants could afford to lose a game they in fact tended to do so. The Giants know they still are in a great position though because they control their own destiny. Win or lose, the defending champs will come to play. New Orleans is next, and Giants fans know this is no time to give up. Fasten your seat belts because the NFC East madness has likely only began.





I'd like to make a shout out to this dude Chuck Knoxx, who is a Giants fan that everybody should admire. Chuck makes bad ass videos on his youtube channel and is an optimistic fan for everything Giants football. He also has a Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to check out Chucks videos if you need to get in the right mindset. Go Big Blue.