Because we only have a one game sample thus far in the 2008 NFL season, and a near two-day break until there are more, we may as well analyze what we saw.
First and foremost, the Giants won that game on the sheer emotion they sported in the first quarter and a half. The last few years (think Colts over Saints and Steelers over Dolphins) the defending Super Bowl champ has been able to play their week one game in front of a rowdy home crowd, all the while being energized by the celebration of last season's Super Bowl victory. The same thing almost happened this year, as the Giants came out like gangbusters. The only difference is that the previous two kept pouring it on all game. This time, the Giants just ran out of gas by the middle of the second quarter.
Even while they were feeding off this emotion, the offense fell far short of where they should have been after four possessions. They put together four very solid drives and came away with the opening drive touchdown and three field goals. After having the ball for 42 plays (compared to 18 for the Redskins) and an approximate 10-minute advantage in time of possession, the Giants only led 16-0. For a championship-caliber team, you've gotta have a 24- or 28-point lead after that. Put the game away early.
Instead the Redskins got some momentum to the end the half, and neither team's offense played even remotely well in the second half. The Redskins' West Coast offense was far too predictable. Though Clinton Portis was running hard and sort of sprung one in the second half, there wasn't much running room due to the fact that the Giants were only watching him. You don't often see a defense so indifferent about the opposing team's threat of the pass.
Overall, neither team was impressive. The Giants completely disappeared after their emotional boost, and the Redskins were pretty awful in their own right.
It's only one game, but I'm guessing the people of Philadelphia and Dallas are pretty excited right about now. What we saw Thursday night were two .500-at-best teams.
Fantasy Spin on the major players:
Again, let's keep in mind this is only one game ... hence the "knee jerk" title.
Eli Manning -- 216 passing yards is good, but you aren't getting that rushing TD many more, if any, times this season. The Redskins dropped several potential picks in addition to the one they nabbed. You know what's funny? All those commenters on the Week 1 QB rankings -- who apparently don't understand concepts like fantasy football or weekly rankings -- were right about my ranking of Eli being poor. I obviously made a mistake in that there's no way he's the 13th-best QB this week with those 13 points. If this is a sign of things to come, you can't start him on your team.
Brandon Jacobs -- BEAST. I can't express how much I love watching him bull his way through a defense. You can definitely count on him putting up RB2 points, and in some cases -- like next week against the Rams' shoddy defense -- RB1 points. Definite breakthrough on the way here, just as I suspected.
Plaxico Burress -- He appears healthier than he has been in a while. He looked like Randy Moss on a few of those plays early in the first half. Definite WR1 if he keeps this up, and easily Manning's only truly reliable target.
Giants D/ST -- Looks like they're gonna get pressure on the QB, even without Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, but that pressure severely diminished after the aforementioned emotional lift early in the game. They only recorded one sack and no takeaways. This doesn't bode well for them as a starting D/ST.
John Carney -- Are you kidding? The old man, who was beckoned from retirement when Lawrence Tynes went down, came through with double-digit fantasy points. I still wouldn't take a look via the waiver wire just yet, though, because kickers are fickle. He's liable to put up two next week.
Jason Campbell -- That was bad. Really bad. Yes, he was under pressure ... he was also off-target frequently and looked like a deer in headlights when he was trying to run the hurry-up at the end of the game. He did find Santana Moss for a TD, though, which is more than Eli could say. Don't start Campbell just yet.
Clinton Portis -- I'm convinced he'll be a stud. He didn't have much room to work with in this game, but the Giants still have a stout defensive front. He'll have more room next week at home against the Saints, and he's still a RB1 in every format. He's going to get the overwhelming majority of touches every week.
Santana Moss -- He was targeted frequently, and used a solid individual effort to find paydirt towards the end of the first half. You still won't be able to rely upon him consistently until Campbell and Jim Zorn get this offense off the ground.
Antwaan Randle-El -- Seven catches for 73 yards ain't bad. Unfortunately, that's pretty much his ceiling. WR3 in deep leagues, especially in good matchups.
Chris Cooley -- This is one case where we're granting a flier. It was just one game. He's still going to get his looks, especially in the red zone if they can ever get there. Still a TE1.
Redskins D/ST -- They got a sack and a pick, but that's hardly stellar with the way the Giants played in the second half. You do have to credit the Skins D for standing strong for almost the whole game in terms of preventing TDs, but that doesn't mean a ton in fantasy. This unit isn't a starting D/ST at this point. They aren't far off, though, so don't completely write them off.
