Two years ago, the matchup between the Giants receivers and the three Redskins cornerbacks would have been a mismatch in favor of Washington. That's because the Giants were a horizontal football team in those years. Everything went sideline-to-sideline instead of vertical.
Now the Giants, with Tiki Barber, Ron Dayne and Kerry Collins in the backfield, have a more vertical offense, making this a more even matchup than before.
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Salisbury |
Deion Sanders and Darrell Green are not physical cornerbacks. Sanders, in particular, will bait the quarterback and then play catch-up. Both, however, are extremely fast. The way to beat them is for Colllins to get rid of the ball as soon as receivers Amani Toomer or Ike Hilliard make their breaks. Sanders and Green are great when the ball is in the air. If Collins holds the ball a split-second too long -- it's all about timing -- they can bait Collins into a pick.
Unlike Sanders and Green, Champ Bailey is big and physical. He will come up and hit a back out of the backfield or take on a lineman. Bailey is the Redskins' best all-around cornerback because he plays the run and the pass.
People will say, "Don't challenge Deion." But who will they challenge then? Bailey has the same recovery speed as Sanders and Green. But Bailey can also play in the receiver's face.
Because the Giants have changed offensively, with the presence of Dayne and Barber in the backfield, the Giants receivers will see a lot of man-to-man coverage. The Redskins don't want Dayne and Barber to run wild and pound them up front. They will creep a safety up toward the line and allow Deion, Bailey and Green to play man on the receivers.
I expect the Giants to challenge the Redskins down the field. I would be shocked if the Giants don't go after Sanders. I would probably rather go his way as opposed to Bailey's way because Bailey is more physical. But I think the Giants will challenge Bailey more with the deep ball because he plays bump-and-run coverage. Toomer and Hilliard will see softer coverage from Sanders, who plays single coverage wherever he goes.
The receiver should be able to get off the ball on Sanders. The onus falls on Hilliard, Toomer and Collins to be on time and make the plays, because they can.
Editor's note: The experts at Sportvision and ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury will provide an in-depth look at NFL teams' playbooks each Friday on ESPN.com. Sportvision will provide the animated play diagram, and Salisbury will detail how the play works and when you can expect to see it.
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