Here are 10 observations I had being at the Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins.
1. Robert Griffin III is as much an athlete as he is a skilled quarterback. His ability to fake and then look down field and find a receiver is as good as any top QB. He has a Payton Manning type of attention to detail and is consistent in staying aware of its importance.
2. Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan are very smart in the offense they have designed for Robert Griffin III. It fits his skills and allows him to develop the toughest skills; pure drop back passes.
3. Whoever found running back Alfred Morris, the sixth-round pick of the Redskins last year, should receive a promotion. It is the combination of both Griffin III and Morris that makes it work. He is a Terrell Davis type of surprise player in that it is rare that a sixth-round pick plays like a first-round pick.
4. If you don't think NFL players care about winning first, they do. In the Redskins tunnel as they came off the field, the word 'ecstatic' come to mind in the emotion expressed in winning over the Giants. Players care about winning and I have seen it more than once in my Monday Night Football travels.
5. Redskins fans are nuts. I thought Philadelphia was number one but I now think it is Washington. I would qualify it as aggressive passion with the emphasis on aggressive.
6. Having said that, Redskin fans need to pick up their trash after the game. Fed X Field is a remarkable football monument with history that can't be questioned. A small per cent of the fans use it as a trash site and should respect it more.
7. Eli Manning is surreal in his mental calm demeanor and incredible in an ability to throw with velocity and accuracy. You notice it in warm ups and then see the same ability on the field. It's extremely impressive.
8. Sitting it the press box with my Producer, Dennis Beram, taking notes on the game. No one is allowed to cheer and by rule, you must never show a favorite. In front of us were the Giants ownership and management; completely silent all game and very concentrated and tense. Just moans and groans when things did not go well; quiet smiles and silent fist pumps when things went right.
9. Grass fields are better than anything that is artificial. The smell and visual of grass-stained jerseys present a different much more gladiatorial look and feel to football. Add a little blood and it demonstrates the reality of football as opposed to the synthetic side.
10. Fed X Field, home of the Redskins, is an arena of battle. Cowboys Stadium is like being in the middle of a pinball machine - a completely different atmospheres - but you can tell that when Daniel Snyder built his first. Jerry Jones figured out how to top it. Both stadiums are exceptional in different ways.
