Die Hard Sports Fan

The best part of yesterday’s game between the Seahawks and the Giants was when the G-MEN roughed up Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game making him ineffective and providing him with an early exit. It was similar to the last Giants game when they roughed up Carson Palmer, and the Cowboys should thank us for that since they squeaked by the Bengals yesterday. Imagine what a healthy Palmer would’ve done to the poor Cowboys defense. The Cowboys should also thank us for ending Drew Bledsoe’s time in Dallas because who knows when Tony Romo’s opportunity would’ve came if not for our nasty defense. The Road Warriors won their third home game in as many games in the early 2008 season. These are the Road Warriors that could barely win at home in ‘07.

Offense

Eli Manning had a pretty good game statistically. He went 19/25 which is a 76.00% completion percentage and threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs…in only 3 Quarters. David Carr was able to come in lead the team to a 4 Quarter Touch Down as well. The last time we saw Carr was against the Rams for a couple of minutes, but he played an entire quarter today. We knew that Eli was not going to have his favorite weapon in Plaxico so everybody needed to step up, and they did just that. Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led the team in Receptions. Hixon had 104 yards in the 1st Half before leaving the game at Halftime due to a concussion, and I would’ve loved to have seen what he could’ve done by playing the entire game. Surprisingly, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Catches, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD. Earth, Wind, and Fire had an outstanding day as they steamrolled the soft Seattle defense for 241 yards on 33 attempts which is an average of 7.3 yards per carry. WOW! Jacobs led in rushing yards with 136 and 2 TDs. The Giants’ offense put up 35 of the 44 points.

Defense

Mike Holmgren developed a pretty good game plan because Big Blue was only able to get 2 Sacks which is the lowest since the Giants opened up the season against the Redskins. With that said, the hit that Justin Tuck laid on Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game, which wasn’t even a sack, was enough to make him a non-factor as the Seahawks didn’t score any touch downs. Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson were the two players that actually got to Hasselbeck. I was extremely impressed with Kevin Dockery’s pick and 46 yard return. That was the last we saw of Hasselbeck. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 44 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts, and he hasn’t missed a field goal yet this season. It will be interesting to see what the coaches do when Lawrence Tynes is healthy and ready to return. I would suggest that they ride out it out until he misses and then put Tynes in. The Giants’ special teams put up 9 of the 44 points.

So the Giants won their first four games which makes them perfect through the first quarter of the season. I picked them to do exactly that. The last time the Giants went 4-0 was in 1990 when they won Super Bowl XXV against the Bills. This game was over after the 1st Half. When was the last time you saw both starting Quarterbacks taken out of the game after the 3rd Quarter? The team that has so much trouble coming off of the bye week had no problem in 2008. The Giants travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns on Monday Night Football.

Share This

The Giants dominated the Seahawks as they scored 4 TDs and 2 FGs on their first 6 possessions of the game which was enough for both coaches to pull their starting quarterbacks out after the 3rd Quarter giving Big Blue their fourth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

During the opening drive of the Seahawks, Tuck took down Matt Hasselbeck which required medical attention on his knee, and the drive ultimately led to a punt.

During the Giants first possession, Eli Manning handed the ball off to Jacobs three times for 64 yards before he hooked up with Domenik Hixon in the left side of the end zone for a 32-yard Touch Down reception with 11:21 remaining.

Hasselbeck marched the Seahawks 56 yards to set up a 30-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Olindo Mare with 7:09 remaining.

The Giants second possession began at the 25 yardline, and Manning got Toomer involved with 3 receptions on this drive before handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who ran it up the gut for a 3-yard Touch Down run with 3:39 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Manning aired out a 41-yard pass to Hixon which got the Giants to the Seahawks’ 18 yardline, and John Carney made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 14:50 remaining.

Manning sprinkled in some Smith, some Hedgecock, and some Manningham as he led the team 73 yards to the end zone, and he capped off the drive by handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who jumped over the pile for a 1-yard Touch Down run with 7:23 remaining.

On 2nd and 5, Patrick Kerney sacked Eli Manning on his blindside and knocked the ball out as well, but Kevin Boothe recovered it so the Giants did not turn the ball over. Manning got Hixon, Moss, and Ward involved as he marched the Giants into field goal range, and John Carney made a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:47 remaining.

Hasselbeck, along with a couple of bad facemask penatlies by the Giants, was able to march the Seahawks into field goal range before the 1st Half concluded, and Olindo Mare made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:03 remaining.

3rd Quarter

Eli Manning handed the ball off Jacobs, one of which was a 28-yard run, and Ward before firing a 23-yard Touch Down pass to Sinorice Moss in the middle of the end zone with 11:58 remaining to cap off an 80 yard drive (The Giants reported that Dominek Hixon and Kareem McKenzie left the game due to concussions).

The Giants seventh possession resulted in a Punt which was the first non-scoring drive of the game for them.

On 3rd and 5, Matt Hasselbeck scrambled and threw an interception to Kevin Dockery at the Giants’ 23 yardline, and Dockery returned it to the Seahawks’ 31 yardline. The Giants were unable to get into the end zone, but John Carney made a 25-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:38 remaining.

4th Quarter

Seneca Wallace replaced Hasselbeck on this drive, and Mathias Kiwanuka sacked Wallace for a loss of 9 on 3rd and 10 with 14:11 remaining.

David Carr replaced Manning on this drive, and Carr kept handing the ball off to Bradshaw until they got to the Seahawks’ 5 yardline where Carr hit Sinorice Moss in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard Touch Down pass with 9:25 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 19/25 and threw for 267 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 15 and 136.

Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led in Receptions with 4, and Domenik Hixon led in Receiving Yards with 102.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 TD Runs, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Reception, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD Reception.

John Carney went 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Aaron Ross led the team in Tackles with 6.

Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson had 1 Sack.

Kevin Dockery had 1 INT.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

Share This

How many Redskins fans can recall the plight of the New Orleans Saints QB, Drew Brees?

Drew Brees came in to the league as a second round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers, after having played college ball at Purdue University. While in college, Brees enjoyed significant success by setting a number of Big 10 Conference records, bowl games, the Maxwell Award for the nations most outstanding player, and a two-time finalist for the Heisman Trophy. But, his entry to the NFL game was not smooth, to say the least.

In his rookie season, Brees stepped on the field one time. After a coaching change to Marty Schottenheimer, Brees became the starter. Yet, by his third year, Brees found himself sharing the position with Doug Flutie. In his third season, he was named the starter. But, the team went 4-12 that season and thus earned the top pick in the following draft, in which they acquired Philip Rivers. But a funny thing happened along the way of on the road of public sentiment to run Brees out of town. Philip Rivers held out of training camp over a contract dispute and thus, wasn’t ready to replace Brees as the starter when the season began.

Ooops!

What happened next is truly the upside of being patient. In his fourth season, and one that he really wasn’t supposed to have, Drew Brees achieved the third best QB rating of 104.8, was elected to the Pro Bowl, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. At the end of the following season, and another strong performance, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints to make room for Rivers.

In his first season with the Saints, Brees threw for more 4,000 yards and once again earned a position in the Pro Bowl. He has continued to grow as a QB and has led the Saints to the playoffs, and even the NFC Championship game against the Chicago Bears on January 21, 2007.

Redskins fans might want to sit up and take notice of the upside of being patient with Jason Campbell. Drew Brees, as well as other QBs, have had at least two or more years in the same offense before they began to have real success. Matt Hasselbeck needed almost five years before the light came on; before he understood what he was supposed to be doing. Jason Campbell, by comparison, has had seven months! That’s it.

Now, I realize that I could capture a great deal of attention if I bash the Redskins, Jason Campbell, Jim Zorn, and especially the front office. But, I’m not going there. I fully believe that Mr. Daniel Snyder has grown tremendously as an owner and is beginning to figure it all out. It only took him about 9 years, coupled with one-on-one tutoring from Joe Gibbs.

Imagine what the Skins offense will look like once the light comes on in JC and the entire offense. Let’s be patient and allow him time to grow. The current chatter in the media, and fan comments on other blogs, about bringing in Todd Collins, and prepping Colt Brennan for next year is only going to hinder the process.

So, I’m calling all Redskins fans: Let’s remember the journey of Drew Brees and remember, there is an upside to being patient.

Share This