T-Rock's Take on the Giants

It's the day everyone has been waiting for since early February — NFL football is back!

The defending Super Bowl champion Giants begin their title defense tonight against NFC East-rival Washington at the Meadowlands. I'm Chris Mascaro and I'll be bringing you all of tonight's live game action of the season-opener.

Lots has happened since the Giants last took the field in a meaningful game — Michael Strahan retired, Tom Coughlin got an extension, Brett Favre came to the other side of town, Osi Umenyiora (the Giants' only Pro Bowler last season) suffered what most likely will be a season-ending injury, and now — just hours before the game — Plaxico Burress got the contract extension he has been hoping for all offseason.

For the Redskins, this will be their first game under new head coach Jim Zorn, who took over for the legendary Joe Gibbs after last season. The Redskins are hoping to open their offense up behind fourth-year quarterback Jason Campbell. They still have the usual suspects at the skill positions — Clinton Portis in the backfield, Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El as the wideouts and Chris Cooley at tight end.

Where the Redskins made a splash this offseason was on defense, as they signed former Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor (of Dancing with the Stars fame). He sprained his knee in the third preseason game, but will play tonight.

The first matchup between these two teams last season marked the turnaround of the Giants' season. Going in 0-2 (with ugly losses to Dallas and Green Bay), the Giant D held the 'Skins on four plays from the 1-yard line with under a minute to play to seal the win. The G-Men went on to win their next five games to solidify their spot as one of the conference's elite teams.

This season the Giants are looking to get off to a better start, and here are some of the keys to do it:

1. Play better at home. It sounds simple, but the Giants were just 3-5 at home last season — and 11-1 on the road (including the playoffs). Last year's team showed it is possible to reach the pinnacle of the sport without much success at home, but I'm sure Tom Coughlin's bunch doesn't want to test that theory again in 2008. So far, so good. The Giants really fed off the crowd early and held on in the end.

2. Eli Manning needs to improve his consistency. Just take a look at Eli's numbers against Washington last year. The first game he was 21-of-36 passing (58.3%), which is not terrible. But he threw two key interceptions that game. In the second game he didn't throw a pick, but was a dreadful 18-of-53 passing (34%). Entering his fifth season, the Giant quarterback needs to eliminate the bad that goes along with the flashes of brilliance — much like he did during last year's playoffs. Eli was good tonight, but threw a pick and had at least three other throws come close to being turnovers. Nice start, but could have been better, especially in the second half.

3. Balance the carries. Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward are all talented backs, but can they coexist? Each had their moments last season — Ward's 154 yards against Chicago, Bradshaw's 151 against Buffalo (and team-high 45 in the Super Bowl), and five 100-yard games (including an average of 91.7 per game) for Jacobs. But rarely did all three play together last season. We'll see if they can balance their act to provide a potent blend. Bradshaw never rushed the ball, but Ward provided a nice change of pace from Jacobs, with nine carries for 39 yards.

4. No Strahan, no Osi — no problem? Oh, it'll be a problem, considering this unit sacked Tom Brady five times in the Super Bowl and really controlled the game. But the Giants hope it's not a huge issue. Justin Tuck is back, but neither of the aforementioned QB killers are around, so Mathias Kiwanuka will have to come up big playing in his natural spot. He looked comfortable in the preseason, but we'll see what happens with the mobile Campbell tonight. Only one sack of Campbell tonight (by Tuck), but Kiwi was tied for second on the team with six tackles. The line as a whole did a pretty nice job putting pressure on the QB.

5. Kick it up a notch. Lawrence Tynes (knee) is inactive tonight, and that'll leave the kicking duties to newly-signed veteran John Carney. We'll see how much the 44-year old has in the ol' boot. Nice job by the vet, as he went 3-for-3 on field goals (with a long of 47) and made his only extra-point.

Here are the ESPN experts' picks — in case you care about that sort of thing. Chris Berman, aka "The Swami," also picked the Giants to cover the four-point spread.

*Another quick note, the last eight Super Bowl champs have won their season-openers. The G-Men look to make it nine in a row tonight.

Obviously there is plenty more to cover tonight, so let's get the comments going in the chat box below! And be sure to vote on all of the poll questions! I'll be back after each quarter to update everyone on the action.

We're about 10 minutes from football on NBC! It's game time, folks!

End of 1st Quarter:
Giants 10, Redskins 0

First Giants scoring drive: 11 plays, 84 yards, 5:06
Scoring play: Manning 1-yard rush (Carney kick)
Key play: Manning to Burress for 30 yards on 2nd and 7 from their own 30

Second Giants scoring drive: 9 plays, 45 yards, 4:38
Scoring play: Carney 24-yard field goal
Key play: Derrick Ward's 5-yard rush on 3rd and 3 from the Washington 45

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Plaxico Burress made three catches on the first drive for 60 yards (and four grabs for 68 yards in the quarter). The beneficiary of the contract extension (see above) doesn't seem to be resting on his laurels — he came to play tonight.
-Justin Tuck sacked Jason Campbell on the team's first defensive play of the season.
-Eli Manning looked in sync with Burress in the early-going and made a nice shake-and-bake move on his touchdown run.
-Brandon Jacobs ran for 43 yards on six carries (7.2 per rush), including a 17-yarder in which he unloaded on safety LaRon Landry. Landry got flattened out and then went to the sidelines to get looked at by the trainers.
-Derrick Ward picked up a first down on a 3rd and 3 to keep a field-goal drive alive.
-Danny Clark batted down a Campbell pass on a front-side blitz.
-The defense held the Redskins to just seven total yards and -8 passing in the quarter. Amazing numbers.

Players who struggled:
-New Giant Jerome McDougle — on his first play with his new team — had a 15-yard personal foul penalty for roughing the kicker on a Redskins' punt. The Giants' D picked him up though, as the unit forced its second straight three-and-out.
-Ahmad Bradshaw took the opening kickoff three yards deep in the end zone and only returned it to his own 19.

What to watch for in the second quarter: Can the Redskins' offense get a first down tonight?

End of 1st Half:
Giants 16, Redskins 7

Third Giants scoring drive: 11 plays, 62 yards, 4:17
Scoring play: Carney 25-yard field goal
Key play: Manning to Sinorice Moss for 23 yards on 3rd and 7 from their own 45

Fourth Giants scoring drive: 11 plays, 57 yards, 6:21
Scoring play: Carney 47-yard field goal
Key play: Jacobs 24-yard rush on 2nd and 7 from his own 30

First Redskins drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 1:47
Scoring play: Santana Moss 12-yard reception from Jason Campbell (Suisham kick)
Key play: Rock Cartwright 50-yard kickoff return to the Giants' 45-yard line

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Jacobs continued pounding the Redskin defense. He finished the half with 74 yards on 11 yards, aided mightily by the stellar play of the offensive line.
-Carney has been impressive so far, nailing all three of his field-goal attempts, including one from 47 yards.
-Burress finished the half with seven catches for 98 yards and looks perfectly in step with Manning.
-Moss made a nice 23-yard reception to convert on a third down.
-James Butler made five first-half tackles.

Players who struggled:
-The Manning-to-Toomer connection nearly resulted in two picks because the pair wasn't on the same page on what route the latter was running.
-The defense let up on the final Redskin drive of the half, leading to the 16-7 halftime margin (the kickoff coverage to start the drive was poor, as well).

What to watch for in the second half: Can the Giant offense convert touchdowns on its red-zone opportunities? It did only once in the first half.

End of the 3rd Quarter:
Giants 16, Redskins 7

No scoring drives to speak of this quarter.

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Jacobs continued his tough running, and is just seven yards shy of the century mark for the game. Derrick Ward has been a nice change of pace, but Ahmad Bradshaw doesn't have a carry yet.
-Kenny Phillips made a nice stop on third down to end a Redskins drive.

Players who struggled:
-Manning, after playing with fire a handful of times, finally got picked off by Fred Smoot.
-R.W. McQuarters and Corey Webster haven't been able to get much on punt returns, with just seven yards on three attempts.

What to watch for in the fourth quarter: Will the Giants hold on to the lead and get to 1-0?

End of game, Giants prevail, 16-7.
Giants: 1-0
Redskins: 0-1

No fourth-quarter scoring drives. (In fact, no second-half points.)

Players who impressed for the Giants:
-Feagles put a punt out-of-bounds at Washington's 10 with 4:10 to play.
-Tuck — as he has been all game — was nearly unblockable. He broke up rushing attempts in the backfield and chased Campbell around the field.
-Kevin Dockery made a nice defensive play in the final minute on a deep pass intended for James Thrash. Corey Webster also tipped away a pass in the end zone later in the drive.

Players who struggled:
-Chris Snee allowed Chris Wilson to spin off his block and sack Manning to force a punt with six minutes left in the game.
-Gerris Wilkinson got flagged for a 15-yard personal foul because of a late hit, giving the Redskins some breathing room on their second-to-last drive.

Here are your three stars for tonight's game:
1. Burress: 10 receptions for 133 yards
2. Jacobs: 21 carries for 116 yards
3. Tuck: tied for second on the team with six tackles, plus one sack

*Eli Manning threw for 216 yards on 19-of-35 passing with an INT, while Jason Campbell was 15-of-27 for 133 yards (most coming late in the fourth quarter) with a TD. Clinton Portis ran 23 times for 84 yards.

London Fletcher was in on 17 tackles for the 'Skins, while Aaron Ross led the Giants with eight. Rookies Bryan Kehl and Kenny Phillips made five and four stops, respectively, in their pro debutes.

**Kiwanuka clutched his leg on the final play, so stay tuned for updates on him from our Giants beat reporter Tom Rock.

***Also, be sure to check back above for updates on my pregame keys to the game!

As always, it was my honor and pleasure to bring everyone all of tonight's live game action. A hearty thank you to each and all who came out! See ya'll soon!

Goodnight.