Fresh off their impressive 38-10 drubbing of NFC North foe Green Bay, the New York Giants head back to the practice field in advance of another prime time contest. This week’s opponent, the Washington Redskins, have two of the most dynamic offensive rookies in the NFL this season.
The game is set for Monday Night at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Most fans recognize Robert Griffin III, he of the RG III moniker, and the straw that stirs the drink for Washington. The former Heisman Trophy winner, and second overall draft pick this year, is certainly living up to his pre-draft hype. The ex-Baylor Bear is completing 67.5 percent of his passes and has 16 passing touchdowns. Perhaps, more impressively, Griffin has only thrown four interceptions this year.
As if containing Griffin in the passing game isn’t enough, the mobile quarterback has gained 642 yards on the ground with six rushing touchdowns this year.
While Griffin was a known quantity coming out of college last year, Redskins’ rookie running back Alfred Morris was an unknown. Morris, out of Florida Atlantic University, has 982 rushing yards this year, and he is likely to break the 1,000 yard plateau against the G-men.
Morris averages almost 90 yards a game on the ground himself and has six touchdowns on the year. If there is any drawback to Morris’ game, it’s that he is not a threat in the passing game with only six catches out of the backfield this season.
Griffin likes to spread the ball around to wideouts Santana Moss (29 catches), Josh Morgan (37 catches) and Leonard Hankerson (29 catches). Moss has been revitalized with Griffin under center with seven touchdown catches this year and seven catches of 20 yards or more.
Free agent pickup Pierre Garcon has been a disappointment thus far, as injuries have kept his production down (16 catches), but he did catch five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
Tight end threat Fred Davis was lost for the year with an achilles injury that was sustained in the team’s earlier 27-23 loss to the Giants on October 21st, and Davis’ replacement, 3rd-year pro Logan Paulsen has struggled with a hip injury in the last two games, limiting his production to just three catches during that span.
The Giants are also dealing with injury problems on the offensive end as well. Slot-receiver Dominick Hixon has been battling an ankle injury, but his replacement, Rueben Randle, had a beautiful 12-yard touchdown catch against Green Bay on Sunday
In addition, running back Andre Brown was lost to a broken fibula in the victory against Green Bay, and he is likely lost for the season. Rookie first round pick David Wilson from Virginia Tech is expected to see more of a workload, but the Giants also hinted they may try to sign a veteran backup as well.
On Tuesday, the Giants signed former Seattle Seahawks’ running back Kregg Lumpkin and former Redskins’ tailback Ryan Torain to take Brown’s place on the roster.
