We (almost) never turn down our readers when they request something from us, so by popular request, here are my keys to the highly anticipated Eagles/Giants match-up.
In all honesty, I wanted to write something about this, so thanks for giving me the push. Instead of sitting around and watching The Wire, I will now be sitting around and watching The Wire while writing about football.
Here are my thoughts going into the game…
- The Eagles are very capable of winning this game, but the Giants are favored and they should be. We beat them without Brandon Jacobs and they made uncharacteristic mistakes.
- That being said, we played them tough at home when they HAD Jacobs and Plaxico “Jesse James” Burress.
- On a neutral field, this game is a coin toss, it’s going to come down to two things: the line of scrimmage and turnovers.
- On the line, the most important players for the Eagles are going to be Trent Cole, Broderick Bunkley and Jon Runyan. Cole has to get pressure on Eli Manning, Bunkley has to take up space and blockers to help contain Brandon Jacobs and Jon Runyan is going to have to deal with All-Pro Justin Tuck.
- With turnovers, I don’t expect McNabb to have a 300 yard, 3 TD game, but the most important thing he can do is take care of the ball. He needs to be aware of D-linemen stripping the ball and be particularly careful inside the red zone. He needs to play smart, within himself and make plays with his feet when necessary. As for causing turnovers, it starts with Cole and pressure on Eli Manning. The Giants are going to try to run the ball down our throat because it’s their strength and our corners should be able to cover their corners pretty well. So when they pass, we have to make it under duress whenever possible because Manning is pretty accurate with his feet set.
- For the Eagles to win this game, most of the following needs to happen… They need to force more turnovers than they give up. They need to contain the run, cover Kevin Boss and make the Giants receivers beat our corners. They need a big play in special teams from Demps or Jackson. They need to run the ball successfully with Buckhalter. They need to pressure Eli Manning.
- We’ll see what happens, but with the teams so evenly matched, one play here or there will probably decide the game. Hopefully it comes out in our favor.
Well…you asked for it….that’s my mindset going in. What’s yours?
I’d give the Giants an edge for one reason. Their offensive line. If their offensive line is healthy they can be dominent. If the Giants control the time of posession then the eagles must force turnovers in order to win. Should be fun. Looks like it’s going to be frigid at Giants stadium. Will be feeling the pain from those hits in my livingroom.
Pete, I have to work on my comprehension. I guess I’m basically repeating what you had said.
Pete: i disagree bout eli manning. i think he’s very mediocre, even with his feet set and all. i’d say STOP THE RUN AND THATS IT.
jkay – I am not an Eli Manning fan but I think all the “Eli is mediocre” talk is nothing more than Philly bias. He is better than mediocre and certainly not as great as people make him out to be either. He IS capable of making a play that could win this game for the Giants, but I like our chances with that than having to stop their running game to get the ball back late in the game for a winning drive.
The Eagles need to get a lead, and bait the Giants into throwing the ball more than they are planning to. Increases our chance of forcing a turnover or two, and potentially keeps our defensive line a bit fresher in the 4th quarter.
I’ll agree with your take, Pete. From a pure “love of the game of football” perspective I don’t think you can beat a playoff game between division rivals.
When two teams who have not played each other during the regular season meet in the playoffs, either one or the other could be caught off guard. Watching film isn’t the same as lining up across from each other. Plus, each team will most likely add a wrinkle that isn’t already on film, so it’s difficult to be totally prepared.
Conversely, when two teams who play each other twice a year every year meet in the playoffs, there are no surprises. They each know each other so well that it’s all about execution. No tricks. No gimmicks. Whoever makes more plays and/or makes fewer mistakes wins.
On top of that, when you add in all the bad blood, animosities, and hostilities that accumulate from playing each other so much, it makes the game that much more intense. These games are tough on the nerves when you have a rooting interest, but most times they are fantastic (and memorable since they usually add to the history of the rivalry).
bski, they should have Harry Kalas read aloud what you just wrote right before the game, that would totally get me pumped up:
“…They know each other so well it’s all about execution… NO TRICKS… NO GIMMICKS…”
About the game, here are some oddball angles, and I try to rub on some of that Phillies good stuff:
Does anyone else get the impression that sometimes during the regular season, Shane Victorino goes into this weird coma where he’s just sleepwalking through his at-bats? Like he just goes up there with no real desire to get a hit, like he thinks to himself, “I’m just gonna take a few, swing at a few, whatever dude…”? But then at times he’s fully awake, and he really tunes in and becomes this extremely dangerous hitter? That’s why I saw him doing so well in the playoffs, I could totally see him getting focused in because of the bright lights and the big stage. Well, this coaching staff is like that. I keep thinking about the Patriots game from last year, how when this team was faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge, they really locked in and gave the Pats their first scare of the season. I think we’ll see that same laser-like phocus in this game.
I got to listen to the Cardinals Thanksgiving game while driving across the country on Westwood one, and during the pregame stuff they had Steve Mariucci on, the former coach of the 49ers, and all he had to say was one word for me to understand what was happening with the Eagles at the time: “slump”. Of course!!! In baseball, basketball and hockey teams go through slumps all the time, but we don’t think too much of them because there are so many games and plenty of chances to make up for those losses, something you don’t have in the NFL. Mariucci thought McNabb and the Eagles would break out of his slump and have a really good game, and that the phans’ calling for his benching was lunacy. And he was right, the Eagles kicked butt in that game, they were phantastic. They phinally pulled out of their nosedive. So here’s the Phillies link – their postseason run was full of guys breaking out of slumps to help the team at just the right time, and we’re seeing that same PHenomenon happening with this Eagles team.
E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!
hey, the bulleting doesn’t work!
Zack – Bulleting works.
What did you want bulleted I can fix it.
Thanks Zack. John Facenda would be the ultimate but, since he’s no longer around, Harry would be a great choice (no offense to Harry).
Hope you’re right about the Birds.
The truism held again yesterday. Panthers-6 turnovers, Cardinals-1: Panthers lose. Titans-3 turnovers, Ravens-0: Titans lose. Let’s see what happens today.