There has been some improvement.
Last year the Eagles finished at 5-11, and the Giants closed at 7- 9. It may have seemed unlikely at the beginning of this season, but now here we are, with the 12-4 Giants and the 11- 5 Eagles (12-5 counting playoffs) in the NFC divisional playoff game this Sunday. The way things were playing out, it seemed that the Rams would be marching in to Giants Stadium this week. However, once you say the magic words 'marching in', the Saints get very excited, and they decided to deprive the Giants of getting even with the Rams for an earlier loss, by beating them first in their wildcard matchup. The Saints had their own revenge factor going because the Rams had beaten them the very week before in their last regular season game.

No Rams, no Bucs = Eagles.
That left a Meadowlands appearance to either the Bucs or the Eagles, and Philadelphia won out in a big way, beating Tampa Bay 21-3. Oddsmakers listed Philadelphia as 5 1/2-point underdogs to the Bucs, and they are 4 point underdogs again for this game. The hyped up Eagles plan to exact revenge of their own against the Giants for two regular season losses. All the talk about the weather being an advantage for the Giants in the playoffs against a team like the Rams or Bucs has gone out the window.
The Giants do have home field advantage and are 5-2 in playoff games at the Meadowlands. The Giants have scored first in every one of these games, and have outscored their opponents 45-3 in the first quarter, and 100-29 by halftime.
If the Giants get by Philadelphia, you'll see either the New Orleans Saints or the Minnesota Vikings marching in to Giants Stadium the following week for the NFC title game. If it's the Vikings, despite the fact that we said 'marching in', the Giants will be seeking a measure of revenge for being knocked out of the playoffs by Minnesota in 1997. It was Jim Fassel's first year as head coach and his first playoff game. The Giants team blew a nine-point lead with 90 seconds left and lost that game 23-22.

Bring on the Giants!
When the Eagles won their game last week against the freezing Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their war cry was "Bring on the Giants!", a team they continually lose to. The Eagles aren't crazy (OK, maybe they are), they just feel that they are a different team than the one the Giants beat in October. They feel confident that they can break the Jim Fassel jinx. The jinx is that the Giants have won eight straight games against Philadelphia under head coach Jim Fassel. Somehow that doesn't seem to be a concern in the Eagles locker room, and after losing to the Giants, 24-7, in October, the Eagles are 7-1 with just a narrow loss to the Titans.
"We're an entirely different team now," said safety Brian Dawkins. "We were tight in those two games against the Giants. I don't know why. But we're not the same team."

Chris Warren - New addition.
One reason the Eagles aren't the same - they picked up veteran running back Chris Warren just before the end of the regular season. He was previously the backup for the man who needs no backup, Emmitt Smith in Dallas. Warren had a good game in last week's wild-card win, running for 85 yards on 22 carries against a usually tough Tampa Bay defense. Since Duce Staley was lost to a foot injury, no Eagles running back has gained more than 65 yards in a game, until Chris Warren came along.

Hugh Douglas - NFL Defensive Player of the Week.
Another reason they might not feel the same, is the defense which has been surrendering only 78 yards per game against the run since that last loss to the Giants. They have been playing tough, and defensive end Hugh Douglas was just named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Week. He had two sacks against Tampa Bay in their wildcard playoff game. He also had two tackles behind the line and forced a fumble. After the game Hugh had this to say, "We won the game, but we're not settling for this. All we know right now is we want to keep the dream alive. If we want to go any further, we have to go through Giants Stadium. I'm not ashamed to say it, we're trying to go all the way.".
This season Hugh led the club and ranked third in the conference with 15 sacks. He could be very dangerous in this upcoming game. Of the three sacks recorded by Philadelphia against Kerry Collins this year, Hugh has two. Rookie Cory Simon has the other. Corey Simon ranked second on the club and among all NFL rookies with 9½ sacks.

Donovan McNabb - Eagles Player of the Year.
That's not official, but not many people are going to argue the point. McNabb, the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, is a one man show, and has done very well for the Eagles. He's the first Eagles QB to start all 16 games since Randall Cunningham in 1990. Last week McNabb threw 24 completions on 33 attempts for 161 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran 8 times for 32 yards and had 1 TD rushing, so he was responsible for all three of the Eagles touchdowns.
This season, McNabb led NFL passers with 629 rushing yards and six TDs on 86 carries. The Eagles are 11-5 on the year without a running game, and have already won one playoff game, and it's all been on the back of Donovan McNabb.

Giants against McNabb.
Donovan McNabb acknowledges that it's been a tough road against the Giants who have sacked him six times this year, but Chris Warren has turned out to be a great addition to their offense. He says that Chris can really run the ball and it gives them an opportunity to have a balanced attack on the offensive side. They can really use that balance.
In the past the Giants have forced the Eagles into being a one dimensional team where McNabb is forced to do it all by himself. Still, the Giants have the 2nd-best defense against the run, and Chris will have his work cut out for him. Duce Staley went down with a season-ending injury in week five, but in the first game against the Giants he managed only 11 yards on seven carries. In fact, of the seven running backs the Giants have faced, who have run for more than a thousand yards this season, only Eddie George of the Titans has rushed for more than 100 yards in a game against them.
Without a running game, the Giants defense can handle McNabb. They limited him to 10 completions in 31 attempts (32.3 percent) in their second game this season.

Giants against Brian Mitchell.
Brian Mitchell better watch out for saying that his team will be going after Tiki Barber's broken left arm. That didn't go down too well when some of Tiki's teammates heard about it. It wasn't too long ago that Jaguars running back Fred Taylor said a thing or two about the Giants defense being more scheme than talent, and he didn't make his records or even finish the game. In any event, Brian should realize that Ron Dayne ran for 93 yards and a touchdown the last time he faced them, and even Joe Montgomery got in for only one play and ran for a touchdown.

Giants also are not the same team.
The Eagles may feel that they're not the same team that faced the Giants last time out, but in some respects, the same holds true for the Giants. Jason Sehorn wasn't in that second game, still recovering from his injury against Dallas the week before. The Giants passing game has been very good against the Eagles, but it has improved in that it has become more reliable, and can be counted on being there from week to week. The Giants have put it all together and have outscored their past 5 opponents 115-62.
The Eagles did beat the Giants in special teams. Last game the Giants let Brian Mitchell return 3 punts for 57 yards, and he also had 4 kickoff returns for 76 yards. Brandon Whiting also returned a kickoff 17 yards. The Giants are much better in that area now.
The Eagles have been good against other teams as well with their special teams unit. They began on average, at the 32-yard line, ranking 2nd in the league in 'average drive starts after kickoffs'. They also ranked 4th in the league in 'opponent's drive starts inside the 20'.

Giants running game.
Tiki Barber will bring whatever he has to the game, but he's trying to shake off two injuries. He practiced with a cast on his broken left arm Thursday and coach Jim Fassel is a little concerned about Barber's ability to field punts. Amani Toomer or Ike Hilliard might do that instead. Joe Montgomery should be activated for this game, but the Giants would like to see Ron Dayne step up. His stats weren't bad for a rookie first year. He had 770 yards on 228 carries, for a 3.4 yard average, but his carries and yards were down with every game in December, and he closed out the regular season with consecutive games of 20, 19, and 3 yards rushing. That's only 42 yards on 22 carries in the last three games.
Head coach Jim Fassel says, "I have a lot of confidence in Ron. He's going to have to carry a bigger load, no question about it. We're going to have to be prepared (if Barber is hurting). We've got to get him back in a groove. He hasn't been in one the last few weeks, but he's shown me that he can do it. I have no qualms that going into the playoffs, he's going to show me something. He's going to show everybody why he was here."

Giants passing game.
If Kerry Collins seemed like he was in a daze in some games earlier this year, he's shown nothing but poise and confidence, even in the face of some aggressive tough pass rushing the last few months. Now he just needs someone to throw to. Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard are the top wide receivers, but running back Tiki Barber has been a nice go-to for some quick dump offs, and he's hurting. Joe Jurevicius has been out since a Dec. 10 game against the Steelers. He practiced this week on a limited basis but his chances of returning for this game from a torn left MCL are slim. Rookie Ron Dixon has a lot of talent, but not much experience.
Tight end Pete Mitchell must have a sign on him that says "Do not use" as far as we can figure out. Giants fans may have to wait until he appears on an X-Files show to find out what all the mystery is about. The big question of the season is, "Why don't they throw to Pete Mitchell?" If it could be said in less words, the t-shirts would have outsold "Thunder and Lightning".

Giants 33 - Eagles 18, some Game 1 Highlights.
Giants open at 2-0 for the first time under head coach Jim Fassel.
Kerry Collins passes for 220 yards and 2 TDs.
Tiki Barber has another great game, 96 yards on 11 carries, and 1 TD.
Giants held the Eagles to just 56 yards rushing.
Giants time of possession was a high 38:44.
Fassel is 7-0 lifetime as a head coach against Philadelphia.

Giants 24 - Eagles 7,some Game 2 Highlights.
Giants held the Eagles to just 72 yards rushing.
Giants time of possession was an amazing 43:41.
Giants allowed the Eagles only eight 1st downs.
Giants allowed the Eagles just 1 of 11 - 3rd down conversions.
Ron Dayne ran for 93 yards and a TD.
Amani Toomer and Joe Montgomery also scored TDs.
Tiki Barber had 52 yards rushing and another 71 yards receiving.
Coach Jim Fassel is 8-0 vs the Eagles.
Giants possession time of 43:41 was the most by them since Nov. 20, 1983, when they held the ball for 45:43, also against the Eagles.

Giants last 8 wins over the Eagles in summary - Eight Straight Real Blue Streak.

Notes
Eagles 245 points allowed this season were the fewest in the NFC.
Giants 246 points allowed this season were second-fewest in the NFC.

Eagles are 17th in total offense, 15th in rushing, 20th in passing.
Eagles are tied for 10th in total defense, 20th against the rush, 7th against the pass.

Giants are 13th in total offense, 11th in rushing, 13th in passing.
Giants are 5th in total defense, 2nd against the rush, 16th against the pass.

Eagles pass defense is ranked 3rd in the NFC.
Giants defense ranked 1st in the conference against the run and 2nd overall.
Giants defense allowed the fewest rushing first downs in the NFC (62).
Giants defense allowed 3.2 yards per carry, the best in the conference.

Giants have held the opposition to less than 100 yards rushing in 6 straight games.
Giants are making their 25th postseason appearance, 2nd to the Cowboys (26) in NFL history.

Injuries:
GIANTS: QUESTIONABLE: WR Joe Jurevicius (knee). PROBABLE: RB Tiki Barber (forearm/toe) .
Eagles: OUT: RB Stanley Pritchett (leg). QUESTIONABLE: RB Darnell Autry (ankle); WR Charles Johnson (ankle). PROBABLE: CB Jason Bostic (hamstring); S Tim Hauck (calf); TE Chad Lewis (neck); S Damon Moore (knee); DT Corey Simon (ribs).

For those very organized fans.
If you use a Palm Pilot and want to keep the Giants schedule, and actually, the whole NFL schedule on it, there is a free download available here at PFL.

Last Game review, Giants 28, Jaguars 25

Stop in and visit "Mike's Keys to the Internet" at  www.myhost.com/miked

Website by Mike