Breaking it Down - Skins @ Giants

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Quick Reels
REDSKINS-GIANTS

Redskins offense vs. Giants defense

Pro football’s latest craze is the pistol formation, and no team runs it better than Washington. The condensed formation drives a lot of the read-options and play-action designs that make up the new Shanahan offense. Robert Griffin has the perfect skill set for the pistol. Not only does he have the legs to make defenses respect (even fear) the read option, but he has a quick, compact throwing motion, which enables him to exaggerate play-action fakes prior to his windup.

The Redskins killed Minnesota with a variety of quick slants and rolling pockets out of pistol action. When eyeing Griffin, the New York linebackers will have to be disciplined enough to stay home and trust that their defensive line can disrupt Washington’s zone-blocking. If they try to get aggressive against RG3, they’ll get burned.

Giants offense vs. Redskins defense

A dominant second half performance in San Francisco has us all believing in New York’s run game again. That run game faces another stern test this week. Washington’s defensive line is somewhat mundane, but has enough size to make it hard for guards Kevin Boothe and Chris Snee to do what they've done well this season: get to the second level. When he’s free from blockers (which is often), London Fletcher remains as good a run-stopper as anyone in the NFL. Fletcher made excellent halftime adjustments to help keep Adrian Peterson in check last week. Also worth mentioning is Jim Haslett’s willingness to infuse his run fronts with more speed by dropping a safety down near the line of scrimmage. Reed Doughty has been particularly stellar in this capacity. Eight-man boxes can be risky against Eli Manning and New York’s receivers, but Haslett loves taking risks.