Friday, September 5, 2008

giants take season opener 16-7 over washington redskins!

what a great way for the ny giants to kick off the new season by picking up just where they left off at the superbowl! the score doesn't reflect how the giants dominated the game from the opening play. in fact, it the redskins didn't get a great kickoff return (50 yards by cartwright) - their most impressive offensive output of the entire game - just before halftime, followed by a gratuitous 15 yard face mask penalty that set-up a 12 yard touchdown pass - they would have been shut-out last night.

but the giants offensive, after an impressive start, gave way to too many stalled drives - which thankfully led to 3 field goals - in the first half. the score at half-time, 16-7, remained unchanged for the second half. the giants lack of any meaningful offensive let the redskins stay in the game well into the 4th quarter (if only because of the close score). but when the redskins finally put together a bit offense drive late in the 4th quarter, poor play selection and execution closed out any hope of rallying back.

while one game doesn't predict much, the win is a great morale booster for the team (and fans). playing without the newly retired strahan (who made a surprise appearance at the start to cheer on his former teammates) and with osi (out for the season) the team got it done. while it was an uneven game for the giants (great start, good first half, non-existent offense for the second half), a win is always a win.

but running back brandon jacobs summed it up after the game; "we still left about 90-95 yards on the field along with about 21 points. it should have been better."

ny times coverage of the game.

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