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Giants begin Super Bowl defense against Redskins

Sep 4, 2008 - 2:42 PM Washington at NY Giants, Thursday, 7:00 pm EDT

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Minus two key defensive cogs, the New York Giants begin defense of their Super Bowl title on Thursday when they host their long-time NFC East rivals, the Washington Redskins, in the opening game of the NFL season.

New York will be without defensive ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, who combined for 22 of the team's NFL-leading 52 sacks last year. Strahan retired after the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots and Umenyiora suffered a season-ending knee injury in a preseason game against the New York Jets.

Now a Fox Sports analyst, Strahan turned down the Giants' request to return, opting to remain retired. Mathias Kiwanuka, who played at linebacker last season, was switched back to his natural defensive end position to replace Umenyiora.

"The players are excited, the coaches are excited, the organization is excited and the fans are excited," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "The significance of playing on Thursday night to open the regular season is held in high esteem for the Super Bowl champion from the previous season."

One thing the Giants hope to do this season is improve their play at home. They were just 3-5 at Giants Stadium last season, including a 22-10 defeat to the Redskins in Week 15. New York, which has won 10 straight games on the road, clinched a playoff spot the following week with a 38-21 victory at Buffalo.

Thursday's contest marks the head coaching debut of Washington's Jim Zorn. He succeeds Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, who retired for the second time to devote more time to his NASCAR interests.

If the Redskins are going to contend for a playoff spot in the competitive NFC East, they likely need further development from quarterback Jason Campbell, who returns from a knee injury that caused him to miss the final three games of last season.

Washington won its final four games last season without Campbell, as journeyman Todd Collins spearheaded the Redskins' emotional run to the postseason following the shooting death of safety Sean Taylor.

Entering his fourth full season, New York's Eli Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, wants to show that he has entered the ranks of the league's elite quarterbacks. Last year, Manning had an up-and-down regular season before leading the Giants on their storybook run in the playoffs.

"I think Manning does a nice job on the line of scrimmage looking things over," Zorn said. "They play hard and fast. You can tell they are a veteran team."

Redskins safety Jason Taylor, who was acquired from the Miami Dolphins in the offseason, is questionable for Thursday's game with a sprained right knee.