E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

ANTONIO PIERCE: WE'RE 0-0, EAGLES ARE 1-0; WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR IS MEANINGLESS

By DAVE KLEIN
The other shoe dropped. Now the Giants have to make sure they don't step in it.

They'll play the team they least wanted, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Sunday (1 p.m. ET) in Giants Stadium. It will be their first playoff game, while the NFC East rivals will be coming in fresh off a victory over the Minnesota Vikings -- the team that beat the Giants in the season finale.

And yet that fact also holds out hope, since the Eagles did not look especially good beating the offense-challenged Vikings, winning on, among other things, a long interception returned for a touchdown by cornerback Asante Samuel. He tasted the Giants' power last February, you might remember, before he left New England to sign with the Eagles.

The Vikings, playing for the most part against a team of second-stringers in the season ender, just barely beat the Giants, 20-19, on a 50-yard field goal with zero time remaining. So how good are they, really, and conversely, how well did the Eagles play against the same team when it was all on the table and it was win or go home?

"I think the Eagles are a team that is playing extremely well," said center Shaun O'Hara on a telephone conference call Monday. "They have found some rhythm. You look at the games they played down the stretch [they won five of their last six], and what they did to Dallas and then Minnesota. They are playing well defensively and finding a way to score offensively."

If that smacks of faint praise, go to the head of the class.

More to the point, the Giants will be at home and they'll be rested. However much inspiration and momentum the Eagles have established in the last several weeks will never stand up to exhaustion, and there appears to be one distinct advantage to the Giants.

O'Hara was asked if the absence of Plaxico Burress, the wacky wide receiver, would be a negative factor. "I don't think anybody on this team is concerned with that," he said. "I don't think we have anybody who is trying to fill his shoes. No doubt, he's a physical threat when you put him out there and I think [Eagles' safety] Brian Dawkins even mentioned that the last time we played them. As an offense, there will be times when we are going to need guys to step up and that could come from anybody."

Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce likes to stare straight ahead rather than even cast a sidelong glance at the past for even a second. "Last season is irrelevant," he said, when asked if being the defending Super Bowl champions matters much in this game. "We are 0-0," he said, shaking his head, "and the team we are playing is 1-0. They played great yesterday [Sunday]. Being the 2007 Super Bowl champs doesn't scare anybody now, obviously."

Nor is it intended to, A.P. Mentioning it merely implies the experience of that four-game dream ride to the Super Bowl -- all the games on the road, all victories -- and the pride that comes with wearing the ring. Now it's time to do it again, and while he is absolutely correct in that the past counts for exactly zero, other teams, other opponents still make something out of it.

"We know how good the Giants are," said Eagles' Chris Gocong, fast becoming, along with Stewart Bradley one of the team's most dynamic linebackers. Then he added what Pierce and O'Hara and others are attempting to discount. "And they are the Super Bowl champs, you can't forget that."

This game, and all other games played for the last 100 years or so, will come down to success or failure along the lines, that every game starts and ends with excellence on the lines. Head coach Tom Coughlin agrees.

"The Eagles have a massive group of young men," he said, "and they are a strong, physical outfit. From our game [Dec. 7] on, they really have done a good job of at least attempting to balance their run and pass stats. And that way they have been able to keep people really off balance. And I think they did the same thing yesterday [Sunday]. So yes, it is a very good offensive line."

More to that subject -- Eagles' head coach Andy Reid said Monday that hulking guard Shawn Andrews, 6-4 and 335 (or so), who has missed the last several games, might be ready to resume hostilities on Sunday. "He has been doing a lot of cardio, so he's in good physical condition," Reid said. "We need approval from the medical people before we can let him practice, but it is possible."

That might mean a return to the bench for young Nick Cole, who is imposing at 6-0 and 350, but not overly experienced in dealing with the likes of Giants' defensive tackles Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield. Offensive tackle Jon Runyan, a 12-year veteran, played with a sore knee and, as Reid put it Monday, "it's still sore."

You can usually trace the result of a game by the success of the offensive and defensive lines, and this one should be no different. The Giants' offensive line, according to Gocong, "is the best in the league, at least the best we've faced." That counts for something.

But the Eagles' defensive pass rush -- the front seven -- is among the best in the league as well, and is always a stern test for the offensive linemen. Defensively, the Giants' front seven seems to have an advantage over the Eagles' offensive line, with or without the return of Andrews, who might be better 25 pounds lighter. Sacks are necessary and that is the assignment of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who is still the object of much affection from three or four teams seeking a head coach.

A few theories are at work here. One says that the Giants, once they clinched a playoff spot, put the reins on their pass rush and on the intricate details of its implementation in order to keep certain things from prying eyes. Is that possible? We'll see Sunday.

Another theory involving Spagnuolo -- who has attracted interest from the Jets, Browns, Broncos and Lions, among others -- is that the Giants would be desirous of keeping him and might go so far as to offer yet another new contract with a significant raise and -- get this! -- change his title to Defensive Coordinator-Head Coach in Waiting.

You never know.

EXTRA POINTS -- The Giants will offer the remaining game tickets for Sunday on-line.
... First choice goes to those long-suffering souls who are still on the season ticket waiting list (they should have already been notified of this blessed event which will start at 10 a.m. Tuesday).
... If there are STILL any available after that, they'll go on sale at 2 p.m.
... Price range for the pasteboards are between $120 and $155 -- yeah, that's each.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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