Redskins @ Giants - First Quarter Thoughts

The opening drive wasn't great. Some of the things that have frustrated fans of this team for the last few years were on clear display: the defense had a chance to force the three-and-out, but let the Giants stay on the field Carlos Rogers dropped what looked like a sure interception the defense wound up on the field for a fairly long (7:19) drive But here's the thing: the Giants only came away with three points. That may not seem like much, but a repeat of last year's opening-drive march downfield would've felt simply disastrous. Being able to stuff the Giants on third-and-1, even given that Brandon Jacobs wasn't the ballcarrier, has to rank as almost a success. But then, the whole quarter seemed to full of those almost-successes. Clinton Portis starts the offense off with a 34-yard run, but an end-around pass attempt by Antwaan Randle El on second down wiped a third of that. (Questionable call at best, and Randle El's execution didn't hel...