Eli Manning
courtesy of Mike Morbeck
This one has been coming for awhile. It is finally time to see what Bob Griffin can do against Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of the Giants defensive line. If you don’t know the story it goes something like this. Jason Pierre-Paul was asked what he thoughts of RGIII and how they would stop him. He then went on to explain that Robert Griffin had done nothing in the NFL and wasn’t worthy of the respect of a nickname, and until he won something he was just Bob Griffin.
The Giants defensive line is tough. Aside from Jason Pierre-Paul there is Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Prince Amukamara. All four of them can get to the quarterback and be a general nightmare for an offensive line. Their ability to get to the quarterback allows the Giants to drop more men into coverage and close off passing lanes for their opposition. The Redskins offense has been one of the best in the league thus far into the season, but the Giants defense is going to provide a tough test for RGIII and the rest of the Redskins.
Despite the fact that the Giants have the best defensive line in football they still only manage to be middle of the pack in yards allowed per game passing and rushing. The Redskins behind Alfred Morris and RGIII have been one of the best rushing teams in the NFL and Morris might be the key to keeping the Giants defense off of RGIII. If they do decide to be aggressive then a couple quick screens to Morris could go for big yardage.
The big thing about this game is that the Redskins won two games against NFC East foes last season. Both against the Giants, and the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl. Wins like that only mean something if they help a team to win something. Last season the Redskins finished 5-11 and watched the playoffs from home. The 2011 Redskins were also 3-3 after six games, but that season took a quick and awful downturn as John Beck replaced Rex Grossman and managed to be a downgrade.
The Redskins are hoping for similar results in 2012 against the Giants and different results against everyone else as the second half of the season nears. If the Redskins do ever hope to win another division title they are going to have to beat teams from their own division which is not something they have done well in the past. This game is going to come down to how RGIII plays as will all Redskins games from now until the time he is no longer a member of the Redskins.
The quarterback for the Giants, Eli Manning, has never gotten the respect that he has earned. Now that he is a two time Super Bowl champ that might change, but some are already saying RGIII is the best QB in the division. One person that will take exception to that is Eli Manning and he and the Giants defensive line enter this game with something to prove.
