Season Begins!

The 2008-2009 season officially began with a game between defending Super Bowl Champion New Engl....err, New York Giants playing the Washington Redskins at home. Some thoughts from the game...

- By far the most entertaining play of the game was in the first quarter when Brandon Jacobs completely owned LaRon Landry. No disrespect to Landry, but that was just pathetic. Why would you try to tackle a 265-pound running back running at full steam with your pads that high? It's rare that you see a defender of Landry's caliber completely reverse direction when trying to make a tackle, but those moments should be replayed over and over for humor's sake.

- First drive: apparently Eli forgot that this was the regular season. He actually looked like a real quarterback.

- I can't tell if Plaxico Burress' 130+ yard game is because it's week one or because Washington refused to double team him. Early games tend to favor top receivers over defenders, but Burress returning to health along with his $35 million contract extension means he has the physical tools to show that he's worth it. It also helps that he was lining up against Fred Smoot for most of the game.

- The Giants didn't seem to miss a step despite missing Overrated Umenyiora and Michael Strahan. Justin Tuck had a great game.

- Mr. Fumbles aka Clinton Portis managed to hold onto the ball tonight. If Portis can manage 84 yards rushing against one of the stouter defenses in the league, imagine what he could do if the Redskins had an aerial attack to complement.

- Speaking of the Redskin's passing game... ouch. Jason Campbell did not look comfortable at all, and I am not a fan of Zorn's offensive system. Not only was the playcalling unimaginative, but setting yourself up to throw on third and long against the dime gets old really fast.

- Santana Moss had 2 key drops, but kind of made up for it with his 2nd-quarter touchdown. Normal games will still have the drops... but won't have the touchdown.

- Chris Cooley is every bit the tight end that Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, and Tony Gonzalez are- big targets who can block as well as line up on the outside. Apparently, the presence of the Redskins' only reliable offensive weapon had 1 official catch for 7 yards in addition to another catch for a dozen or so that got called back due to penalty. While I am bitter in part because Cooley is on several of my Fantasy teams, I honestly don't see why more effort wasn't made to get him the ball.
(Note: true to form, John Madden said towards the end of the game that the Redskins should have made more of an effort to get the ball to the tight end. In every game he calls, two things are guaranteed. 1) In the third quarter there will be a shot of delicious food that he will salivate over. 2) He will criticize the losing team for not throwing to their tight end more. It happens every game- look for it.)

- Jerome McDougle showed everyone why the Eagles cut him by drawing a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty on a punt in the first quarter.

- Going for it down by 2 scores on 4th down with 0:13 seconds left in the game? ....ok?

Final Score: Giants 16, Redskins 7.

Hopefully I will be able to watch all the games this season due to nifty NFL Game Pass HD here in la Suisse, and will be able to comment on the better matchups throughout the year. Next week is definitely going to be Falcons/Lions.