CBS Sports Dan Fouts Talks Giants vs. Redskins On Thursday Night Football
The NFC East is looking like a bit of a jumbled mess just three weeks into the 2014 NFL season with the Philadelphia Eagles leading the pack, the Dallas Cowboys on their heels, and the New York Giants and Washington Redskins trying to stay out of the cellar. Week four starts off with and NFC East battle that will have the Redskins taking on the Giants with both teams hoping for their second win of the year.
CBS Sports and San Diego Chargers' legendary quarterback Dan Fouts will be calling the game, and he took some time to answer a few questions about the contest.
Both teams are sitting at 1-2, which do you think has a better chance of making the playoffs?
Dan Fouts: "Well, with all the injuries that the Redskins have right now, you have to look at the Giants. Especially with how much their offense improved last week in the win over Houston."
Kirk Cousins has played very well in place of Robert Griffin III, do you think there could be a QB controversy when RG3 is back from injury?
DF: "Oh, absolutely. That's what the fans want is controversy on the field, and especially the media too. There's nothing quite like a quarterback controversy to get the blood boiling. When you've got a back-up quarterback playing exceptionally well and a starter coming off another injury, then there are going to be factions obviously created.
The question is...will the controversy extend to the locker room. And then that's where you've got problems - if it starts to divide the locker room."
The Giants look like a different team week-in and week-out, what can they do or stop doing to be more consistent?
DF: "I think the progress that they've made offensively the last two games. Against the Cardinals, they were better and then against Houston, Eli (Manning) was spot on. To be more consistent, they have to quit making mistakes that prevent them from giving them a chance to win. They did that in the Houston game. They also had a turnover in the red zone...a bad snap on a field goal try early in the game, but they overcame both of those in order to dominate the game."
How will the loss of DeAngelo Hall affect the Redskins' secondary?
b: "Well, it's not only DeAngelo Hall, they've got an injury list that is a half a mile long. When you lose a three-time Pro Bowler like DeAngelo Hall, then psychologically, that hurts the team. He's such a leader in the locker room and a captain of the team. His loss is going to be a tremendous void physically, but also psychologically."
Who is the one key player for the Redskins in order to win?
DF: "It goes back to the quarterback and Cousins has played well. He's going to have to play extremely well to beat the Giants."
Who is the one key player for the Giants in order to win?
DF: "Jason Pierre-Paul...he leads the Giants and they're really getting things together defensively."
Any prediction for Thursday night's game?
DF: "No. No. It doesn't do me any good."
You are covering the Miami/Oakland game in London this week – Is this your first London game and what are you looking forward to the most? Can you describe how the atmosphere is different than a game in the states?
DF: "Yes, it is my first London game.
I've heard from some of the other guys that it is a unique experience. It's educational for the fans there. It will be interesting to see, as we've done a number of games there over the years, the awareness the fans have of certain situations. The big difference is there is no home team so the crowd noise will be less for one team than a home team would have at a normal game."
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
