Skins-Giants...

* Wow, it looks cold in New York. I'm cold in my living room in Huntington Beach. Never mind being in the middle of a bunch of Giant blowhards in the swamps of Jersey.

* If the ball rolls off the tee and is blown across the field by the wind, odds are it won't remain on the tee the second time. So, why wait to have someone hold the damn thing? Even Madden points this out. If Madden has a grasp of the obvious that exceeds your own, there is trouble to be had.

* Reed Doughty stands out like a sore thumb when the lineups introduce themselves. Still painful.

* If Smoot weren't a 'Skin, I would despise him. Burress goes by you like you're a traffic cone, has you beat by ten yards but, because brother of Peyton underthrows the ball by 10 yards, you're able to get back in the play and interfere with Burress before the ball gets there. This was not something to celebrate.

* Holy shit, that was a terrible punt. Frost just about lodged that in the upback's ass. This game might not match the classic that was Browns 8, Bills 0, but there might not be much more scoring than that.

* I don't know how good I'm feeling if, because of the wind, Eli is reduced to handing the ball off and this game is decided by whose offensive and defensive lines are better.

* Madden observes that Eli and Burress look pretty good going through the passing tree in pre-game warmups. Then again, when there's no one on the field and there's no one trying to rip the QB's head off, I look pretty good throwing the ball to my dog. Aaaaaannnnndddd, right on cue, Eli fumbles the ball away. Eli Manning, x-factor.

* Three straight three and outs for the Skins. But, they have turned the field position around. So, that's progress, right?

* I thought there was no way you kick the 50 yarder in the swirling winds. Shazam is a slight improvement on John Hall, isn't he?

* Shades of Thurman Thomas for Randle-El, losing track of his helmet. Thomas' blunder came in the Super Bowl, so maybe a slight degree of difference there.

* One of the Hogs is in the crowd! You know, I bet the muumuu is nice on a cold and windy night like tonight.

* Collins completes a deep ball! And, here comes the double point, muscle flex from Moss. So many variations. First down!

* Collins to Yoder! Between last week and this, they've become the most productive Skins connection. Who knew?

* And the dreaded Red Zone Affliction continues to manifest itself. Here comes Shazam...and plays the wind to perfection. That kick looked like it was headed for the corner of the stands, not the middle of the uprights.

* Drops and bad throws for Eli and the Jints offense. It would be awesome if the fans, fed up with Eli, start pelting their own QB with snowballs. Please let this happen.

* I've tried licking my fingers before gripping a football. Just makes it slippery. Do I have some type of genetically inferior saliva that ensured I would never be an NFL quarterback? My wife is horrified when she sees players licking their fingers or picking their mouthpieces off the ground and putting them right back into their mouths. I guess I see her point...but, we're men baby!

* The wind just blew the ball from the 19 to the 4 yard line on Frost's punt. Perhaps God has forsaken Jon Kitna and can now fully get behind Gibbs and the Skins.

Digression Numero Uno:
Michigan hires Rich Rodriguez, ending the run of rejection in Ann Arbor. The heir apparent at QB in Michigan is Ryan Mallett, a big, rocket armed statue of a QB. Not exactly a fit for the spread option attack Rodriguez favors. What happens there?
A painful loss for WVU. Rodriguez, a Mountaineer alum, leaves for greener pastures. Had they not shit the bed against Pitt, I doubt Rodriguez is on his way to Michigan right now. So, the pain of that loss just increased exponentially.

* Great hit by Landry on Burress to separate the ball and prevent the big play. Then, in standard 2007 Skins style, he taunts Burress and gets the unsportsmanlike penalty. Pure stupidity. Gibbs, courtesy of lip reading the replay, "What a dumb play." Come on Joe...go over and tell Laron how un-Christian that was. He'll never do it again.

* Smoot just got knocked the fuck out by Brandon Jacobs. Small winged houseboats full of strippers were circling his head. No celebrating that hit. Ow.

* With a Gibbs offense getting the ball inside of 2 minutes, you have to know the clock killing runs are coming, right? Portis busts the draw for a long gain and the refs tack on a questionable 15 yard face mask. Beauty.

* Here comes the Gibbs school of clock management. They run to Portis again, don't take a time out, take their sweet ass time getting to the line, run it again, and now take a timeout. Good grief. Maybe Gibbs doesn't know that you can't take your three timeouts into the second half with you?

* And the RZA strikes again. Wu-Tang lives on. Shazam converts another sidewinder of a field goal and the Giants fans boo the team off the field. Don't be discouraged Giants fans! This is the Gibbs II Redskins....no lead too big, no advantage too secure. This team has increased my pessimism ten fold.

* I have to focus my energies on the second half. After all, my encouragement and focus impacts the outcome of this game.

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