Giants at Redskins: Vinny, Vidi, Vici...He Came, He Saw, He Made Bad Free Agent Signings

New York Giants (7-6) vs. Washington Redskins (4-9)
8:30 p.m. FedEx Field
The Redskins sure know how to make a 4-9 season interesting. Christmas came early for Skins fans, as Vinny Cerrato stepped down as team executive whatever he was. Will he come back as a “consultant” or team adviser? Will he take a year off, only for Dan Snyder to summon him back a year later ala 2002? It’s all entirely possible. But all that doesn’t matter as of right now. He’s gone. He’s not at Ashburn. He’s not walking around the field before the games. Most importantly, he won’t be making trips to Austin to scout Colt McCoy. He’s gone, and the Redskins instantly got better with the addition by subtraction of one Vincent Cerrato.

Cerrato’s “resignation” was step one towards fixing whatever is wrong with this organization. As I’ve said before, I don’t think there are too many issues, or issues that can’t be addressed within in the next two offseasons. However, the Redskins weren’t positioned to do that with Cerrato in charge or Cerrato whispering in Snyder’s ear.

Cerrato’s disappearance was only half the story of course. The Redskins immediately hired Bruce Allen just hours after the Cerrato announcement. This obviously means two things. One, it means this transition was lined up weeks, if not months ago. Two, Cerrato was forced out. That’s important, since only Snyder could make that call, and it’s important that he got rid of Cerrato and wasn’t able to go the easy way out with Cerrato actually resigning. So it gives me hope that Cerrato will actually stay away this time.

As for Allen, I’m not huge on his credentials. He worked well with another one of the NFL’s difficult owners in Al Davis. Along with John Gruden, he assembled a talented veteran roster in Oakland and helped the Raiders get to Super Bowl XXXVII. Two years after his coach jumped ship to Tampa, and beat Allen in the Super Bowl, Allen also went to the Bucs. This time success eluded him. The Bucs were up one year and down the next, but they basically broke even over the course of Allen’s five years in Tampa. It seems without Gruden, Allen has basically presided over teams that have gone slightly worse than .500. Regardless, he has a pulse and ties to the Redskins (the name Allen, while a popular last name, is not a coincidence). It’s a step up from Cerrato. Then again, I would be a step up from Cerrato. Allen will only be able to have a success if he is allowed to do his job. If he’s given a chance to get the players and coaches he wants, then I’d say it’s 60-40 he succeeds. If Snyder starts meddling, there’s basically no chance for this marriage to work. A lot of this will be wait and see. At least Allen has worked with both Davis and the Glazer family in the past, and should know full well what he is getting himself into.

Of course Allen’s hiring led the widespread speculation of who would be coaching the team next season. Gruden became the media’s popular choice for the first 24 hours, but after they actually did a little research, they realized that it will be nearly impossible for Gruden to get out of his Monday Night Football contract (and how much fun will it be to see Gruden in the booth Monday Night...how long until Tirico or Jaworski ask about the job...2nd quarter maybe). Then they did a little more research and realized that the Redskins have had a not so secret desire for Mike Shanahan for the past year. Shanahan appears to basically have the job, unless another team swoops in and pays him more (the only team that could do that would be Dallas, and the jury is still out as to whether they will need a new coach or not), or he has a sudden change of heart. Either way, we’ll cross the Shanahan bridge when we get to it. Jim Zorn is still the coach here, and the Redskins still have three games remaining before embarking on what should be a very interesting offseason. A very crucial offseason.

Now to the Giants. This is a team the Redskins simply can’t figure out. Over the past few seasons, the Skins have basically played the Eagles and Cowboys even. However, the Giants have had the Redskins number. They beat Washington at home and on the road. Many times it’s been by two or three scores. Even this season, one of the worst in recent memory for Washington, double digit losses haven’t been common. So the Giants know something, and it goes far beyond having a couple of former Skins on the roster.

After a 5-0 start, the Giants have face-planted to a 7-6 record. The defense, which is normally formidable against the pass and run, hasn’t been able to stop either. Granted, all six losses have come to teams with winning records. The Giants have played a killer schedule the past two months. However, they haven’t held an opponent to under 21 points since their 44-7 win against Oakland on October 11th. That was the Oakland team quarterbacked by Jamarcus Russell, who Redskins fans found out last week is God awful (although Denver might want to argue that). Since then, they gave up 48 to the Saints, 24 to the Cardinals, 21 to the Chargers, 26 to the Broncos and 85 combined points in two games against the Eagles. Even in their two wins, they gave up 31 to Atlanta and 24 to Dallas. They’ve given up 32 points a game in their last eight games. Again, they’ve faced good offenses. But you figure somewhere, if the defense was still as good as it was supposed to be, they’d hold at least one of those teams under 20.

Also failing the Giants has been their long reliable running game. The last time New York had a 100-yard rusher was that win against Oakland. In fact, in the last four games, they haven’t had a back go over 60 yards…let alone 100. Eli Manning has actually become this team’s best player, and he’s playing well while somewhat injured. Coming in to the season, most (including me) figured the Giants running game and defense would be great and all the question marks would surround the passing game. The complete opposite has unfolded, which combined with the tough schedule, has the Giants two games out of the playoff picture instead of the 10-3 record many people expected.

The Redskins seem to be catching the Giants at the right time. Their offense has clicked the last three weeks, and they are facing a defense that has forgotten how to play. Futhermore, the Giants seem to have that impending sense of doom hanging over their heads. They are one or two mistakes away from folding up the tents and packing it in until next season. The Skins are playing like they have nothing left to lose, which of course, they don’t. Nothing would make them happier than playing spoiler and knocking their nemesis out of the playoff mix for good.

Having Albert Haynesworth back in the lineup is huge. He didn’t play in close losses to Dallas and Philly, and he didn’t play most of the loss to New Orleans. Had he been in those games, a couple may have had different endings. If he plays the full game tonight, that’s a huge plus, and could be the difference. He’ll help stop the already struggling run game, and he’ll help Andre Carter and Brian Orakpo have more sack opportunities. For some reason, I’ve felt really good about this game all week. I’m not for tanking late season games, especially games in the division, for better draft picks. So I would really like to see the Redskins come away with this one, even if it doesn’t help Allen and the future coach in April.