Giant hurdles

The Giants. The New York Football Giants. Three Super Bowl wins since the turn of the century for a team that has empty press conferences and a quarterback that looks like this. A team who's most famous fan is animated.

Those are just facts. Well, maybe not the last part.

Anyway, that team in 2-0, while the Redskins are 0-2. That doesn't provide a lot of leverage for jokes or belief in the Redskins' chances on Sunday. Oh well.

Three weeks, three teams, three all-star receivers; this is how the Redskins have started their season. Before the thought of Bashaud Breeland covering Odell Beckham Jr. has you reaching for the nearest container of bleach, much like Odell's barber, consider that football is a game played by humans. Humans are the dominant species on planet earth. Humans, as a species, achieved this mark due to having a profound mental ability to recognize and adapt to challenges. Joe Barry is the defensive coordinator for the Redskins. Joe Barry is a human being or, since he coaches a team named after Native Americans, possibly a convincing skin-walker. Assuming that Joe Barry is a human who can recognize and adapt to challenges, he'll notice that his defense's exploitation is avoidable. He doesn't even have to abandon his beloved cover-three zone.

While Josh Norman is among the NFL's elite in zone coverage, the rest of the Redskins are not, allowing teams to use their #1 receiver to find holes where Norman is not. Norman can stay in zone coverage where he is best, while still trailing the #1 receiver pre-snap. This either forces the recover to stay in Norman's zone, or go across the field, which takes time. Considering the history between Beckham and Norman, it may be for the benefit of the Redskins, minus Josh Norman's brain tissue, to keep Beckham in Norman's zone.

In good news, the Giants are coming off of a forgettable offensive output against a Saints defense that was 31st in the league in 2015. Their passing game was similar to the Redskins, with Eli Manning throwing for 368 yards but without a touchdown to show for it. In fact, the only touchdown the G-Men scored was off of a blocked field goal in the second quarter. The rushing game was pedestrian, accomplishing on 64 yards on 32 attempts. Defensively the Giants are allowing an average of only 16 points and 308 yards per game so far this season, but against the Cowboys and the Saints, not exactly offensive juggernauts.

This game is another chance for the Redskins to redeem themselves in the division, maybe the third times the charm. The offense has shown flashes of 2015, minus the red-zone woes. The defense should look to adjust and avoid further getting exposed by the all-pro, all-hair team.