The View Back East: Week 2, Here Come The Redskins
It was another wild week in the NFC East and several key players got injured. We saw Michael Vick, Tony Romo, Miles Austin, Felix Jones, Mario Manningham and Dominique Hixon all go down with injuries. How will these teams recover? How will these injuries impact the Cowboys? Here is a review of week two in the NFC East:
Redskins 22 Cardinals 21
The Redskins are off to a 2-0 start as Rex Grossman continues to prove his critics wrong. Grossman threw for 291 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Rookie running-back Roy Helu had a break out game. He had ten carries for 74 yards and three catches for 38 yards. Helu is making a case for a platoon with starter Tim Hightower. Fred Davis continued his case for one of the best tight-ends in the league with six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. Davis will continue to create matchup problems for defenses.
Washington is licking their chops for a shot at the battered Cowboys next Monday night. The Cowboys are beat up and DeAngelo Hall said he would target Romo's ribs during the game. Will the Redskins be able to take advantage? Will Tony Romo start? Will Dallas survive with all these injuries? Should be an interesting game and unless the Cowboys get healthy quick, the Redskins might just come in and spoil the home opener in Big D. The prediction is that the Redskins will win 21-17 since the Cowboys are so banged up.
Falcons 35 Eagles 31
It was Michael Vick's anticipated return to Atlanta as the starter and he got off to a great start. Vick threw for 242 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but he also fumbled twice and lost both of them. Then the nightmare happened when Vick suffered a slight concussion in the third quarter after his helmet hit his teammate's shoulder hard while he was being brought down. The Eagles were winning when he left, but lost the game in the fourth quarter. Back-up Mike Kafka did a decent job, but Jeremy Maclin dropped a fourth down pass to end the game. Maclin had a monster game before that with 13 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns. LeSean McCoy also had another big game with 95 rushing yards, two touchdowns and four catches for 21 yards.
The biggest problem for the Eagles was the defense. The defense looked great for three quarters but melted down in the fourth as the Falcons rallied back and scored twice to take the lead. The defense gave up 114 rushing yards to Michael Turner and four touchdown passes from Matt Ryan. This defense must step up and close games out if they want to achieve their ultimate goal and win the Super Bowl.
Next week, the Eagles take on the Giants. Will Vick be able to play? Will the defense step up and stop the Giants offense? Will their offensive line do a better job protecting the quarterback? There will be more on this game at the end of the article.
Giants 28 Rams 16
The Giants offense got off to a very sloppy start and they were even booed by the fans early on. Eli Manning rebounded after the first quarter to throw for 200 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The running game had a solid night with Ahmad Bradshaw rushing for 59 yards on 15 carries and Brandon Jacobs rushing for 50 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Hakeem Nicks once again proved he's a force to be reckoned with after catching four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.
The defense stepped up in a huge way with a fumble recovery for a touchdown and sacked Sam Bradford twice. Bradford was under heavy pressure all night and couldn't get anything going. For all the good for the Giants, the injury big reared its ugly head again after Mario Manningham suffered a concussion and Dominique Hixon was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The Giants just can't seem to stay healthy.
The Giants take on the Eagles in Philadelphia this week in a game that should be intense to say the least. The hatred between these teams makes this rivalry one of the best in the NFL. The biggest question is if Michael Vick will be healthy enough to play. Mario Manningham's chances of playing are cloudy this week with the concussion and a short week. The Giants look like they will be in trouble this week, especially if Vick plays. The Eagles defensive line is scary good as is their secondary. The Giants must run the ball effectively in order to win. The Eagles have a questionable run defense so the Giants need to take advantage. They also must keep Vick and the explosive Eagles offense off the field. The prediction is that Vick will play and play well. The Eagles will win 28-17 with the defense coming up big.
The Cowboys pulled out a desperate win last week, but paid for it with several injuries. They look like they will be in trouble in the division unless they get healthy quick. All these teams can take advantage of their injuries, because all have tough defenses and fierce defensive lines. Dallas must be able to overcome adversity and health in order to have a successful season.
