2009 Regular Season Preview: Week 1 New York Giants

by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 5:32 PM EDT

I will be previewing all 16 weeks of the regular season,and when we make the playoffs,i'll review the match-ups for the post-season. Expect a week 2 review tomorrow: 7/23/09

For the second year in a row,the Redskins kick-off their regular season with a trip to the Meadowlands. Last year the Redskins left New York with a confused coach,a sputtering offense,a defense that could have been better...

via cache.daylife.com

...a monster block by CP...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dagF3Xoyq3Q

...and a 16-7 loss. What changes were made by both teams in the off season that could change the outcome of this year's match up?

Giants

Losses: Plaxico Burress WR,Amani Toomer WR,Derrick Ward RB,Renaldo Wynn DE

Plaxico was by far their biggest loss this offseason,but none of them helped. Their receiving corps was left bare with the loss of their #1 and #2 recievers, "Wind" was gone from "Earth,Wind,and Fire", and they cut Renaldo Wynn,who provided depth for a nasty D-Line.

via skeptisys.files.wordpress.com

Additions:Micheal Boley LB(Free Agent),Brandon Jacobs RB (re-signing),Hakeem Nicks WR (Draft,1st round,19th overall),Ramses Barden WR (Draft,3rd round,85th overall)

In short,Hakeem Nicks scares me. He's Burress' replacement,expect him to have a great rookie season and great career. Micheal Boley is suspended for the season opener,so we won't have to face him until the Giants visit FedEx Field. Ramses Barden seems like he could be a big threat and possibly take the #2 reciever spot behind Nicks,keep an eye on this one.

via nysuperblog.com

Best asset/unit: Defensive line

via blog.nj.com

This very well could be the best defensive line in football. Last year,they combined for 37 sacks and they have guys on it such as Justin Tuck (12 sacks),Mathias Kiwanuka (8 sacks),and Fred Robbins (6 sacks). I think this unit will be the trademark of the Giants for years to come.

Runner up for Best Asset/unit: Hakeem Nicks

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Redskins

Losses: Marcus Washington LB,Shawn Springs CB, Jon Jansen G.

This offseason,we lost three longtime Redskins and fan favorites. Marcus Washington left a big hole at the starting strong-side linebacker spot,Jon Jansen was cut,ending his 10 year Redskins career and taking a starter away from an O-Line with little depth to replace him, and Shawn Springs was cut after,once again,not being able to stay on the field a full season due to injuries. All of these were hard losses to take,but we filled all of them in the later months.

via 4.bp.blogspot.com

Additions: Brian Orakpo DE/OLB (Draft,1st round,13th overall) Albert "Damn that boy's big" Haynesworth DT/DE? (Free Agent) Derrick Dockery G (Free Agent) DeAngelo Hall CB (re-signed) Jermey Jarmon(Supplemental Draft,3rd round)

This was an awesome draft/free agency period for us,IMO. We got the best pass rusher in the draft without trading up from the 13th spot,we got the best DT in football (for a price,but still), we got Dock back,and we made Hall a Redskin for at least 5 more seasons. The only thing I would say we did badly is we didn't get enough depth for the O-line.At all. We got Dockery and Mike Williams and some undrafted guys,but its not enough. We need to get linemen who are going to be able to become starters in a few seasons,or step into a starting role should one of the current starters go down.

via misterirrelevant.com

Best asset/unit: Defense

via cache.daylife.com

By FAR,the best thing the Redskins have going for them right now is their defense. They were ranked 4th in the league last season without any pass rush to speak of (thanks for the help JT!). Solution? Enter: Orakpo and Haynesworth. The addition of those two fixed one of the worst problems from last year, and will completely change the way teams attack us on offense.

Runner up for Best asset/unit: Clinton Portis

Last year: L 17-6

This year's prediction: W 17-10

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Comments

Giant losses

Derrick Ward (RB) will be the biggest loss to the Giants offense. While Jabcobs is big, he did seem to have endurance and injury problems. I doubt that any of the new running backs will replace Ward. Consequently, the Giants will have to rely more on their passing game.

They should still have a strong offensive line. In the 2007 and 2008 seasons this unit stayed healthy compared to most teams.

by Jefferson1935 on Jul 23, 2009 7:24 PM EDT reply actions

Andre Brown

Is a possible replacement. 4th round,129th overall http://www.nfl.com/draft/2009/profiles/andre-brown?id=71225
He and Ahmad Bradshaw could share carries. I don’t think they will completely replace Ward though,he was a great running back.

"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby

by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 7:48 PM EDT up reply actions

well to be honest

I thought Bradshaw did a great job for them, granted Ward did a good job for them as well, but Bradshaw is a real change of pace and broke enough long gainers that I really think that they’ll be just fine. Now if you can find Eli a better security blanket to replace Plax then I think the Gints may well be untouchable

I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused....

by piratedan7 on Jul 23, 2009 8:07 PM EDT reply actions

As long as BJ stays healthy,they're good with the running game,IMO

What is your opinion on Bradshaw as an every-down back? As for Plax’s replacement,I think Hakeem Nicks can handle that. Maybe not this season,but keep an eye on him,I think he’ll be lighting it up very soon. They also have Ramses Barden (6’6" 227) who is very similar to Plax physically (6’5" 232) and he gives Eli a great red zone target.

"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby

by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 8:30 PM EDT up reply actions

not sure that Bradshaw could handle it

but as a compliment to Jacobs he’s lethal, and he has decent hands out of the backfield too. The Gints are just plain scary, and they’ll go as far as Eli’s arm can take them.

I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused....

by piratedan7 on Jul 24, 2009 1:21 AM EDT up reply actions

The story of this game is going to be Haynesworth verse Snee. The winner here is most likely going to win the game. We are probably going get sick of the media talking about this matchup. IMO the most critical factor in bringing in Albert is to stop Jacobs and Barber. If Jacobs is shutdown, then the Skins can easily win this game. I don’t see the Giants being able to throw it on us without a strong running game. This game is going to be very telling of the impact that Haynesworth is going to have in the NFC East. Hopefully he is as advertised. We get STL at home next and Det away in week three (two wins). Then TB at home in week 4 and KC at home in week 6 (two more wins?). A win verse the Giants would be big. If the Skins are down say 7 points going into the forth quarter, they are in trouble. The Giants can pound Jacobs on a tried skins d like they did to most teams last year…plus our d wore down more than a few times last year at the end of the game. Being down in the 4th would also mean the skins have to throw the ball and I don’t like the idea of facing a non-blitz pass rush of osi/tuck/canty/Bernard. You didn’t mention the return of osi and the addition of Bernard and canty…big additions. I like the idea of the Skins being up in the second half and forcing the Giants to throw the ball. Jacobs can’t catch and I’m not worried about smith/hixon beating us. It will be Nicks first nfl game, so not too worried there either. Hopefully we will be blitzing and Boss will be needed to pass block more. Anyhow, that is my take on the game.

by liger99 on Jul 24, 2009 12:02 PM EDT reply actions

Canty

Giants also picked up Chris Canty. And got Osi back. This is still the team to beat in the East. That said, I think we have a legitimate chance to shock the world by breaking Eli’s face in at home in week one.

Holy crap, can’t it be September yet!!!!!!?!!?!?!???

by Boo. on Jul 24, 2009 12:07 PM EDT reply actions