5 Keys to The 2008 Lid-Liftah!
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The 2008 NFL season begins tonight (not a freakin' second too soon for everyone who wearied of the Spyate-Favre-OchoCinco-Playermisbehavior-driven offseason).
By dint of their winning the Super Bowl (I bet you din't think I knew how to use the word "dint"), the Giants get to host this thing. The Redskins will be (hopefully, in the minds of Giants fans) playing the part of Angola, NBC will broadcast and I'll be in the press box happy as hell to be there.
I have absolutely no faith in Jim Zorn having a successful first season on the Redskins sideline. None. Zero. He's overmatched, hired in a hurry and working with players that don't necessarily fir the West Coast offense.
Tonight, we start to find out whether I'm all wet.
So watch for....
1. The tempo of the Washington offense
Zorn wants Jason Campbell up at the line in a hurry and getting the ball snapped so that the Giants don't have time to react and match personnel.
2. The effectiveness of receiver Antwaan Randle-El and Santana Moss in the West Coast. Normally, bigger targets are seen as the West Coast ideal because they are long-striders catching the ball in stride and able to be easily located in the windows between the defensive line and linebackers. Randle-El and Moss are relative midgets.
3. The Giants running game. If the Redskins want to up-tempo things but fall into the same ineffectiveness they showed in the last two games of the preseason (outscored 71-6), the Giants are going to get plenty of three-and-outs and the resultant chance to pound the ball with the most complete set of running backs (arguably) in the league -- Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward. That's when this one can teeter toward blowout.
4. The Giants psychological approach int the first quarter. Do they embrace the pregame celebration of what they accomplished in February and lose a little focus on the game tonight or do they block it out entirely. It can be a telling sign of their maturity and approach - in a season to be filled with distractions, how do they respond to the first one.
5. ELI!!!!!!!!! He was 18 for 53 against the Skins last year (in a wind tunnel) and his receivers (Amani Toomer in particular) were a disgrace with their drops. Does he pick up where he left off in Arizona or resume being regular-season Eli?
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: 5 Keys to The 2008 Lid-Liftah!.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.nbcsports.com/system/mt-tb.cgi/10185
1 Comments
Leave a comment
About this blog
Drilling deeply into the mantle layer of America's Passion, NBCSports.com's Tom Curran offers up quick hits and insights on all things NFL.
THERE IS NO SOUND OF COMMENTATORS ON THE BROADCAST OF THE ND GAME.