Giants vs. Redskins

Tonight’s game was originally supposed to be meaningful NFC East game, but now is barely on the radar of most sports fans. The Redskins completely fell on their face this season and have struggled their way to a 4-9 record. The Giants came out of the gate firing, starting out 5-0. Since then they have gone just 2-6 and are holding on to their playoff hopes by the skin of their teeth. The good news for the Giants is they play the Redskins, who up until a few weeks ago looked like a gimme win for a team like the Giants. The bad news for the Giants is a couple of things have changed for the Redskins in the last few weeks.

First, they realized that scoring more points than your opponent is the recipe for success in the NFL. Their patchwork offensive line has held up fairly well, and opened a few running lanes. Their new play-calling approach is surprisingly working, and creating a more potent attack. Their new offensive approach also seems to be helping the defense (looking up at the scoreboard and seeing a lead must be a nice change), by keeping opposing offenses off the field. Right now the Redskins look like the team we all expected at the beginning of the season.

The second thing that has changed for Washington is the resigning of Vinny Cerrato, who is replaced by Bruce Allen as General Manager. While the move seems insignificant to an outsider, or even something that could negatively impact a team, any Redskin insider knows that this is maybe the best news since the Redskins won the Super Bowl in 1991. Cerrato was reviled by fans (and from the sounds of it, around the league), and responsible for some horrible moves during his tenure for the Redskins. With Cerrato gone, fans can breathe a little easier and have hope that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Even if this same reaction isn’t amongst the players, this is bad news for the Giants because fans now have something to cheer about tonight, despite the Skins record (or the temperature).

Anytime the Giants and Redskins meet its always a great game, and given the Redskins recent mini-turnaround I’d expect a pretty close game tonight. In the end, the Giants are the better team and have more to play for. I think they squeak out a 27-24 victory.