Sports

Week 8 - New York Giants: Philadelphia Eagles Preview

Philadelphia is going to be the center of the sports universe on Sunday. At 1 PM the Eagles host the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field and at 8:20 PM the Phillies will host the Yankees in Game 4 of the World Series. Yeah, I know Brett Favre is returning to Green Bay on Sunday, but he might retire, un-retire, and retire again before Sunday. No, it’s all about Philly on Sunday.

The Eagles are coming off of one of the ugliest wins that you will ever see over the Washington Redskins. Meanwhile, the Giants have lost their last two in a row against the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints, after beating up the dregs of the league. Something has to give here.

The Giants and Eli Manning have been money at Philadelphia in recent years. The Giants haven’t lost in Philly since 2004 and Eli is 4-0 against the Eagles here. That’s the good news for New York. The bad news for the Giants is that Eli has been awful in the last two games, which were against the only legitimate teams they have faced. In the first five games this season, Eli completed 64.4% of his passes with 10 TDs and only 2 INTs. In the last two games those number have fallen to 48.5% with 2 TDs and 4 INTs.

The Giants have always been a run-first team and they should be getting back to that as the temperatures go down and the level of their competition goes up. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have combined for 919 rushing yards so far this season and RT Kareem McKenzie will be back after missing last week’s game. The Eagles’ 11th ranked run defense is more a reflection of their terrible competition than how good they really are. I mean, what does it say when your best LB (Will Witherspoon) is a guy you traded for just two weeks ago? I think that says your LBs suck.

I will admit to being wrong about the Giants WRs coming into the season. Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and rookie Hakeem Nicks have been better than expected, with 12 combined TDs. Of course they built up their impressive stats against bad defenses and haven’t done much the last two week, so the jury is still out on this group. The Eagles absolutely crushed the Giants last December and again in the playoffs when the Giants didn’t have Plaxico Burress. The Eagles CBs are great in coverage, but they like to take chances. The Eagles led the NFL in takeaways, but they are susceptible to the dreaded double-move.

The Eagles offense has been a nightmare lately. Since Donovan McNabb has come back from missing two games with a broken rib he has been nothing short of horrendous. McNabb goes through bad stretches like this every year. Think Cincinnati and Baltimore last season. The only question is how long “Worm Burner McNabb” sticks around. If McNabb breaks out of his funk, he can scorch a suspect Giants secondary this week.

The season-ending injury to safety Kenny Phillips was a major blow to the Giants’ secondary. Without him, average CBs Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas are getting exposed. They will need to double cover the explosive DeSean Jackson on every single play and even then he may have a big game. The other problem with the Giants defense is their average LBs. They are going to have problems covering TE Brent Celek. Hey I’m jealous since the Eagles LB stink, but none of these guys are difference makers.

The difference makers on this unit are on the defensive line. DEs Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka are the best trio of pass rushers in the NFL. When you combine the injuries and inconsistencies on the Eagles offensive line, Andy Reid’s total refusal to ever run the damn football and this pass rush - you have the makings of a very ugly afternoon for McNabb. Add to that the fact that Brian Westbrook is most likely out with a concussion and McNabb will be lucky to get through the game in one piece. Besides Westbrook’s obvious talents (infrequently) running and catching the ball, he is also at excellent at picking up the blitz.

LeSean McCoy will get the start at RB, but he has been less than impressive. Last week when Westbrook went out in the 1st quarter with that concussion, McCoy on gained 37 yards on 14 carries. He also whiffed on a safety blitz pickup and got McNabb sacked. Did I mention that Reid never runs the ball, so the Giants will be teeing off on McNabb on every single snap? I did? Just checking.

If all that isn’t bad enough, the Eagles O-line is such a mess that one of their better players this year is Winston Justice, who once gave up 6 sacks against the Giants. McNabb better check his insurance policy before Sunday.

I’m going to assume that the Giants commit to the run, while Andy Reid looks on from the other sideline wondering exactly what the Giants are doing. (It’s called a “running play” Andy, try it sometime). They will throw it just enough to keep the Eagles defense honest. When the Eagles have the ball they won’t run be able to run the ball effectively, if they even bother to try. The Giants D-line will devastate the Eagles O-line and make it a long day for McNabb.

If Westbrook was healthy and playing, this one might just be different. As it is, I just don’t see how the Eagles can compete against the Giants superior talent level and coaching. The Giants will go into the 2010 season still having not lost a game in Philadelphia since 2004.

All will be forgotten though, once the Phillies beat the steroid cheating frauds from the Bronx later that night in the World Series. Philly is definitely going to be the place to be on Sunday.

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