Skins beat the Giants!

Great game yesterday. Great overall performance. It was an obviously emotional day but I really liked what I saw. Here are my specific thoughts on the game:

1. I LOVE REXY!!! Yes, Robs! I am a believer!!! Actually, I don't want to go that far but I wanted Rexy to start and he got off to a little rocky start but quickly settled down and played very good football. He was under pressure a number of times as the Giants seemed intent on blitzing (particularly on 3rd and longs) and did a good job for the most part to get the ball out effectively. He didn't play mistake free football as his fumble was one where he clearly saw Pierre-Paul and should have just tucked it away and taken the sack (BTW - Williams did his matador impression on that play allowing Pierre-Paul to come right on through). He also took a VERY bad sack losing 16 yards and taking us well out of FG range. Still, he made some very good throws including the two TD passes (one to Armstrong and one to Gaffney). They were spot on. Really liked his performance and if he can be more consistent like that, he could do very well. Again, I love his confidence. It's probably one of the bigger reasons the team likes him and it certainly works for me.

2. Defense was huge. Particularly in the second half. Put good pressure on Eli and he struggled. Play of the game was the trifecta by rookie Ryan Kerrigan - tipped, picked, TD. Great play for the rookie in his first NFL regular season game. Backup NT Chris Neild also came up big with two sacks. Nice to see new comer Bowen get a sack. Secondary was solid EXCEPT for Doughty (will comment on him separately as I have a number of thoughts on him).

3. Doughty sucks! I have stood by Doughty but he was pretty terrible yesterday. He got blown away on the 3rd and long deep ball from Eli that set up their first TD. B Mitch said it best saying that it's not Doughty's fault -- he's just not athletic enough. Doughty has pretty good fundamentals but he just can't compete in those situations. What was worse was that he was juked out by Bradshaw on their second TD. Doughty finished with the most tackles on the team but he just wasn't that great and it will be a huge upgrade getting Landry back in there.

4. Fred Davis was huge! The guy came into camp 12 lbs. lighter and he's already very athletic. Seems like the Shannys recognize that they can create good mismatches with him and use him more effectively than previous coaches. Davis had a couple of great catches and nearly all of his catches were critical third down completions or receptions for first downs. Will be interesting to see how Davis does this year and also how it affects Cooley's status. My own impressions are that Cooley is going to be phased out a bit but he will always be a fan favorite.

5. Gano scares me. He won the competition in preseason/camp. He was pretty solid from what I saw but he missed a 39 yarder that came after the Skins drove the ball pretty effectively and would have made the game 7-3. That is unacceptable. An NFL kicker needs to make FGs inside 40 yards 95% of the time. It's one kick but he really needs to step up his game.

6. O line needs to improve. They were okay but still Rexy was under quite a bit of duress. This was mostly a result of the regular blitzes they sent but still have to do better. It was also coming against many second stringers as the Giants were w/o Umenyiora and Tuck and two of their starting LBs.

7. Good job of coaching. I liked the mix of run vs. pass although I was getting a little concerned in the fourth quarter when it seemed like the run game faded and we were getting one dimensional in just a passing attack. Still, I like the mix of short, intermediate, and deeper routes. We missed on a few of the deeper balls but I like that we had those opportunities and we'll connect on some of those this year. I would like to see the screen set up a little more. Hightower seems like he could be very effective with that.

All in all a very sound victory. A great way to start the season. It's one game so you can't get over excited. You really can't figure out how good/bad your team is until about week 4 or 5 but for what it was, it was good.

HAIL SKINS!!!