Scud's Studs Week 1 (Giants at Redskins)

[GMScud]

The regular season is off and running, and so were our Redskins. Plenty of praise to go around today, so let's narrow it down.

Mike Shanahan: A tip of the hat for going with Rex as the starter. Sure he doesn't have Beck's mobility, but he stood strong in the pocket today, and demonstrated confidence and a real command of this offense in his third year with Kyle Shanahan.

Rex Grossman: The fumble could have been really costly, but otherwise, a very good game. Distributed the ball well, stood in there and took some hits in order to get the right throws off, and displayed a bit of gunslinger mentality. It was all against a very depleted secondary, so there's certainly a grain of salt, but Rex had himself a heck of a game.

Rookie defensive draft picks: Will Ryan Kerrigan and Chris Neild please stand up? Wow. Who would've thought Neild would see so much time on the starting D-line? And Kerrigan's tipped pass/pick 6 was awesome. Love what we have in these two.

Fred Davis: I like Chris Cooley as much as any Skins fan, but Davis is just too much of a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses for us not to have him out there a lot.

The 3-4 switch: Night and day from last year. I know the Giants had plenty of injuries, but they were largely to their defense. Their offense couldn't do much of anything, particularly from the mid-2nd qtr on. The personnel folks are doing a very good job transitioning us quickly from a 4-3.

Sav Rocca/Special Teams: Sav Rocca was the most underrated of our offseason signings. He was pinning the Giants deep left and right. Banks had a nice return. If it weren't for Gano's FG miss, I'd give an overall A to teams.

Who were your studs today?

[SmootSmack]

D. Hall and Josh Wilson-the Giants receiver were, for the most part, non-existent

London Fletcher-Just continues to amaze me, year after year

[12thMan]

Very quietly, I think both Josh Wilson and Deangelo Hall had really good games. No passing TDs given up and if you take away that one big catch by Nicks, the Giants put up some very pedestrian numbers.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

D. Hall and Josh Wilson-the Giants receiver were, for the most part, non-existent

London Fletcher-Just continues to amaze me, year after year

I was amazed in one play where the Giants threw a screen pass, and I believe that it was Fletch who went through three blockers and slowed down Bradshaw (I believe) enough to allow the rest of the team to stop him. He also scooped up the blocked FG. He's a beast.

[skinsfaninok]

The WHOLE Defense today was great accept 37..

On Offense:
Grossman
Moss
TH
Davis
Gaffney
A.A
MS
KS

[44ever]

D. Hall showed us more than just "flashy" That blitz was lightning fast and effective! Grossman surprised me with some nicely timed passing. If he settles in from here and stays steady, we may finally have ourselves a true starting QB.

[FRPLG]

I am only guessing honestly because it was hard to tell without watching film...I suspect OJ Otogwe had a hell of a game. Other than the one play to Nicks they Giants had nothing down field available all day.

[MTK]

Grossman - outside of a couple of WTF moments I thought he was great

Davis - he was in beast mode all day. Cooley is clearly not 100% so it's good to see FD stepping up

Gaffney - the trade to get him was a steal

The defense - loved how they played with such high energy, especially in the 2nd half, the transformation to the 3-4 seems to be complete

[12thMan]

Was the Gaffney trade straight up or was another pick involved?

[diehard]

The front seven did their thing, could end up becoming a "bend but, don't break" unit. Who has the breakdowns for yardage per half? Giants didn't do well converting 3rd or 4th downs either.

[rbanerjee23]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Grossman - outside of a couple of WTF moments I thought he was great

Davis - he was in beast mode all day. Cooley is clearly not 100% so it's good to see FD stepping up

Gaffney - the trade to get him was a steal

The defense - loved how they played with such high energy, especially in the 2nd half, the transformation to the 3-4 seems to be complete

I would add that the trade for Hightower was a steal as well - Jarmon for our starting RB? great move by Shanny . Running 25 times a game for 72 hard-earned yards and a TD is an awesome pick up in my estimation.

[rbanerjee23]

Originally Posted by 44ever

D. Hall showed us more than just "flashy" That blitz was lightning fast and effective!

Hall played awesome today -- I am a professed, frequent Hall-basher but his ability to wrap up and make good tackles really made a huge difference today.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by rbanerjee23

I would add that the trade for Hightower was a steal as well - Jarmon for our starting RB? great move by Shanny . Running 25 times a game for 72 hard-earned yards and a TD is an awesome pick up in my estimation.

And Jarmon got cut, correct?

[MTK]

Originally Posted by rbanerjee23

I would add that the trade for Hightower was a steal as well - Jarmon for our starting RB? great move by Shanny . Running 25 times a game for 72 hard-earned yards and a TD is an awesome pick up in my estimation.

Yup no doubt.

I really liked our overall commitment to the run even though it wasn't cranking out big yards. I feel like last year we bailed on the running game too often.

[diehard]

Originally Posted by rbanerjee23

Hall played awesome today -- I am a professed, frequent Hall-basher but his ability to wrap up and make good tackles really made a huge difference today.

Did Manning even look Hall's way? He's proving that he's way too much of a playmaker to be tested often.