Six weeks ago, in the immediate aftermath of their 27-23 win
over theWashington Redskins, the New York Giants defenders knew they'd gotten
lucky.
With 73 seconds to play, the 77-yard hookup between Eli
Manning and Victor Cruz proved the difference. The Giants defense, which had
spent much of the afternoon playing Wile E. Coyote toRobert Griffin III's Road
Runner, finally exhaled.
The elusive RG3 had confounded, but it was the Giants who'd
escaped.
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| RGIII - Silent, Humble and Talented |
"That guy," Osi Umenyiora said at the time,
"is flat-out unbelievable."
Said Justin Tuck: "I am pretty mad at the football gods
for putting him in the NFC East. To face that guy twice a year is going to be a
headache."
Well, guess who's back, back again, on the Giants' schedule?
RG3 and the Redskins. Monday night. At FedExField. In a game Washington
absolutely has to have, and which the Giants would like very much to win, to
put themselves one important step closer tocapturing the division.
Since the Giants last saw RG3, he's been voted a team
captain and has become the NFL's leader in jersey sales. He's also kept the
Redskins, at 5-6, viable in the NFC East, emerging as 7-4 New York's biggest
threat. And then there are his numbers in his past two games: 33 of 42 for 504
yards, eight touchdowns, one interception, 113 rushing yards on 19 carries, one
perfect 158.3 quarterback rating against the Philadelphia Eagles and another dominant
performance to ruin the Dallas Cowboys'Thanksgiving.
In a word: ridiculous.
That outing against the Cowboys apparently didn't do much
for Tuck's turkey day, either. He tuned in to see if, perhaps, Griffin had
slowed down. "But that," Tuck said, "is not the case."
On Thursday, coach Tom Coughlin stood at a podium and said
he hoped his defenders' "immediate recall" would help come Monday.
The Giants will become the first NFL team to see RG3 twice. And
"recall" isn't the problem.
"He's more of a down-the-field passer than I think
people expected him to be," outside linebackerMathias Kiwanuka said.
"He's very fast," defensive tackle Chris Canty
said. "However fast you think he looks on tape or on highlights, he's much
faster than that."
"Play action, misdirection, deep ball," cornerback
Antrell Rolle said. "They can do it all and they do it extremely
well."
Fellow corner Jayron Hosley: "With the option game,
it's a lot to deal with, especially with a guy like him, who's shifty and also
can get the ball out to his receivers."
Shifty? Just ask Jason Pierre-Paul, who often spends game
day as the best athlete on the field. In their last meeting, on a critical
fourth-and-10 late, RG3 extended the play for eight seems-like-forever seconds,
pivoted past Pierre-Paul and found a receiver for the conversion.
"I thought I had him a couple of times," JPP said.
"He can do things other quarterbacks in the league can't do."
The defensive mantra this week in the Giants' locker room:
Play with discipline, the kind of discipline that can come from the experience
of knowing a unique opponent.
Canty said the Giants have to do a better job against the
run; they gave up 248 rushing yards in Week 7, to rookie running back Alfred
Morris (120) and Griffin (89). The Giants now understand the pace with which
the Redskins operate. Their quick counts, hard counts and misdirection are
designed to confuse.
"They want you to do a lot of thinking, which also
slows players down," Canty said.
The counter? "(Be) extremely prepared, making sure
you're meticulous both in the film room and on the practice field," Canty
said. "Try to put yourself in the best position to play fast and be
successful."
Said safety Stevie Brown: "You've got to have great
eyes and great discipline in your technique. They have so many things going in
different directions, you don't want to get out of place."
Tuck said the Redskins' offense has "an upper
hand" not only because of RG3's athleticism but because of the ability to
disguise. Pre-snap, run and pass plays appear nearly identical.
The Giants are aware that waiting for RG3 to make a critical
mistake would likely not make for a winning game plan. He has yet to throw more
than one interception in a game. He has thrown a pick in back-to-back games
just once. No wonder, at age 22, Griffin has earned the complete confidence of
his teammates. "There's nothing he can't do," Redskins wide receiver
Santana Moss said.
The Giants know what they're in for. Including the
possibility that RG3 goes Road Runner again. What will the Giants do then?
"Line back up, get our heads together, stay
positive," Hosley said. "You definitely don't want to get down when
you're playing a guy like that."
Source Kim Jones, NFL.com
