ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Washington Redskins fans probably didn’t see this at Fed Ex Field, because most of them left by the end of the third quarter. But the several thousand New York Giants fans still in the stadium at the end chanting, “Let’s go Giants,” may have witnessed the appearance of a large 8-ball that fell on the field when the final gun sounded of Thursday night’s 45-14 Giants win.
That was the 8-ball Washington coach Jay Gruden predicted the team that lost this Thursday night game would be behind.
“You fall too far behind the 8-ball this early in the season, it’s going to be tough sledding,” Gruden said at Redskins Park on Tuesday as his team supposedly prepared to face the Giants. “We’re already behind the 8-ball at 1-2. The team that goes to 1-3 is not out of it by any stretch but it’s going to be a lot harder than if you’re 2-2.”
After this 45-14 beat-down on national television by a team that seemed to destined to be an NFC East bottom feeder this season, Gruden’s team is not just behind the 8-ball — it is broke, busted. He was hustled by Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who seems to be at his best when everyone wants to bury his NFL coaching career.
“They were better prepared,” Gruden said, gripping the podium as he watched Kirk Cousins throw one of his four interceptions on a television in the interview room deep inside FedEx Field. “The coaches had them ready to play. We didn’t have our team ready to play. They outplayed us in every phase — offense, defense, special teams.
PHOTOS: Redskins-Giants gallery
“We were abysmal, offensively and defensively. There’s not a lot to say. The game was pretty evident. It was a total butt-kicking from offense, defense, special teams.”
He may have been too kind in the evaluation of his team’s — and his own — performance Thursday night before crowd that was filled with way too many blue Giants jerseys, right from the start of the game, until they were all that was left at the very end.
Here is the autopsy:
New York rushed for 154 yards, compared to 86 by Washington. Eli Manning completed 28 of 39 passes for 300 yards, four touchdowns and one interception (he also rushed for a touchdown, the first time he had done so in three years), while Cousins completed 19 of 33 passes for 257 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. Manning’s quarterback rating for the game — 117.5 — was more than double Cousins’, which graded out to 53.
John Beck’s historic 23-0 loss to Buffalo in Toronto in 2011 — the game where he was sacked 10 times — graded out to a 53.6 quarterback rating.
Gruden left out “historically” abysmal.
The rookie head coach seemed every bit the guy who has an Arena League championship on his resume as the main man — the guy who is responsible for the direction of this team on the field. He had a short work week, coming off Sunday’s glorious 37-34 loss to Philadelphia, and proved that he wasn’t up to the task.
Fortunately, he will have plenty of time to prepare his team for the next game — Monday night, Oct. 6. He said they will need it.
“I think we need a little time,” Gruden said. He was speaking more about a long list of injured Redskins players who need time to heal, but the preparation contrast between the two teams that took the field Thursday night was stark.
“We need people to get away and get their bodies healed, get their minds healed,” he said. “Take a step back, figure out what’s important to them and come back ready to roll for the defending champs.”
Oh, yes, did I neglect to mention that at the end of all that extra preparation time are the Seattle Seahawks? That will be a personal embarrassment to Gruden if he can’t get them better prepared to face a far tougher opponent than the one they played Thursday night. That would take place in front of his brother Jon in the “Monday Night Football” booth.
Gruden is a rookie NFL head coach. Coughlin has been a head coach in the league for 19 years in Jacksonville and New York, and has guided two Giants teams to Super Bowl championships.
Jay Gruden being outcoached in just his fourth game as the Redskins coach isn’t a shock.
What’s Jim Haslett’s excuse?
The defense he sent out there to face Manning was shameful. He’s been a defensive coordinator for this league for 12 years, with New Orleans, St. Louis and Washington since 2010, and was the head coach in New Orleans from 2000 to 2005.
All we heard out of Redskins Park this off season was how Haslett was handcuffed by Mike Shanahan from running the defense he wanted to use — that he would now be “unshackled.”
Well, if Thursday night was unshackled, Haslett made the case for bondage.
Manning picked the Redskins defense apart, and never looked uncomfortable out there. When Washington was down 24-7 going into the locker room at half time, you might have expected some adjustments to slow Manning down.
That’s what coaches do.
But Manning continued to pass at will, sometimes giving the appearance he was playing a scrimmage. Yes, they missed DeAngelo Hall, their starting cornerback out for the season with a torn left Achilles, and had a rookie, Bashaud Breeland, out there.
This was not the highly charged Eagles offense they were facing, though. This was a Giants team that was still adapting to a new offense. Personnel wasn’t the problem on the defensive side of the ball. Coaching was.
Defensive coordinators with the history Haslett has here in Washington lose their jobs because of games like this one. Wade Phillips — one of the most highly regarded defensive coordinators of his time — is sitting at home, watching these games as a Redskins fan. His son Wes Phillips is the Redskins’ tight end coach. Reportedly, he is working on a book about the 3-4 defense.
“Sometimes a good slap in the face is what you need, a wake-up call,” Gruden said after the game, searching for hope.
And sometimes you need a new face.
• Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 radio and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.