Giants - Eagles
1999 Game 4 - 1PM ET

Bring On Brown

Can Brown make the difference?
Without Gary Brown, the Giants have tried using a combination of rookie Sean Bennett and LeShon Johnson in the backfield.
LeShon Johnson has gained only 36 yards on 18 carries. Sean has 70 yards 18 carries which sound a bit better, but he was lucky to have one long run of 40 yards when the Redskins had the game locked up.
Even with that, after three games, the Giants running attack is the worst in the NFL with a grand total of only 168 yards on 68 carries.
That's just 56 yards a game for an average of 2.47 yards per attempt.

Gary Brown came into his own last year for the Giants, after playing for 3 different teams in 4 seasons from 1995-98. That he didn't stick with one of those teams makes his talent suspect, including the fact, that he even sat out the entire 1996 season, but somehow for the Giants he has done very well.
He powered the offense during the second half of last season, rushed for 1,063 yards and finished the year with four consecutive 100-yard games.
The Giants have four division games in the next five weeks starting Sunday against the Eagles, and they desperately need Gary Brown to be the running back he was last year.

Why no Joe?
This is a real mystery. With all the problems the Giants have been facing with the lack of a running game, Jim Fassel has been very reluctant to even try using Joe Montgomery. Joe averaged 6.2 yards per carry at Ohio State. It's true that Montgomery suffered through a a nagging hamstring injury and missed most of training camp, but he did heal up, and has been working hard.
According to Joe, "I've been working hard every day, giving them my all and doing the best that I can. Working on the scout team in practice has helped me out a lot. I've always exceeded the expectations that anybody has set for me."
As good as all that sounds, Fassel seems to have plenty of reasons to keep Joe off the field. He says the second-round draft pick is inexperienced and he needs for others to play special teams, etc.
You have to wonder if somehow Joe has put himself in some sort of Fassel doghouse, a la former Giants number 1 pick Wheatley who now plays for the Raiders..

How about Charles Way?
In 1997, Charles Way had 698 rushing yards, for a 4.6-yard average, and caught 37 passes for 304 yards.
With Gary Brown not playing, Way is the leading career rusher on the team and the leading receiver among the backs.
He is also an excellent blocker, and that's why in 1998 the Giants tried to find someone to run behind him. When they finally settled on letting Gary Brown play game after game, they found a winning combination.
The problem this year, is that no one is up to Gary Brown's level when it comes to taking the ball up the middle, and nobody is up to Way's level when it comes to blocking.
When you give Charles Way the ball, you're stuck, because there is no Charles Way to block for Charles Way.

No running game, no passing game.
Last week, against the Patriots, the Giants managed only 57 rushing yards in 26 attempts, and did not have a run of more than nine yards. Without the running game working, the Giants couldn't mix things up, and there was far too much pressure on Kent Graham to make things work in the air.
They even had to draw on Kent to make things work on the ground. Without a power back, this guy gets called on for quarterback sneaks in just about every crucial short-yardage situation.
After Kent converted one QB sneak against New England, the Patriots wised up and were ready for him on the second. Even though he was stopped that time, the plan was to do it again for a third time, except that guard Ron Stone jumped offsides and forced the Giants to punt instead.
One surprising (disappointing) stat for the Giants running game, is that only Charles Way has more rushing first downs than Graham, leading him 3 to 2.

No Running game no Pete Mitchell
Everyone says the Giants should be using Pete Mitchell more.
The ESPN announcers were saying it during the Patriots game last week. Pete Mitchell has 3 catches for 30 yards so far. When you see Kent Graham throw to Mitchell, and watch the TE take off, it looks like a winning combo, and you want to see more of it.
On the Internet, it's all over the Giants fans message boards - "throw to Pete Mitchell". My friends are chanting it. I'm even saying it, but why doesn't it happen?
Well, without a well balanced attack, the defense gets an edge.
The offense is not able to set anything up to free Pete Mitchell down the middle, so without the running game, it just won't happen.

More about last week.
Kent Graham was 16 of 25 for 149 yards, and would have had more completions except that the Patriots did a great job of covering the receivers, thanks to their "edge".
When Graham did have time to throw, often there was no one open for very long. You might recall that there were a few balls swatted away right from the receivers hands by the hustling Patriots.
The Giants are questioning themselves after that New England loss, and true, it seemed that when the offensive line created a seam, the running back didn't hit it. When he did, there was no daylight for very long. When the receivers managed to break free, the pocket caved in on Graham and he had to take off. Things were tough.

On review, Fassel said that the running game made mistakes in "blocking, timing, and reads" against the Patriots.
"I'll evaluate everything that we're doing because we're making too many mistakes out on the field. It's not any one person or any one group, it's all of us. It's a hard thing to attack because it's not always the same guy, or the same situation, or in the same part of the game..."

He sounds like one mystified head coach, and the Giants have their problems, but the Patriots did play very well against them last week.
They made a lot of those bad things happen to the Giants, and I suspect that New England is not a 3-0 team this season just by accident.

The quarterback situation.
The Giants need more on offense. Of course, after some losses, impatient fans and reporters are starting to ask for a change at quarterback position. For the fantasy football fans out there who question Fassel on leaving Kent Graham in there, I'd like to offer the following.
Look at how Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison replied to this question where the topic was "Developing a rapport with the quarterback."

Q: Is there a kind of unspoken communication at times between you and Peyton, where maybe you just look at him before the snap and understand exactly what he wants you to do?

A: Oh, no question we have that kind of thing.
When you work day in and day out with a quarterback, it's natural for that kind of "sixth sense" to develop.
I think most good receivers have that kind of feel with the quarterback. Maybe he'll call something in the huddle and, when you get to the line of scrimmage, you look at the defense and know that certain play isn't going to work. Lots of times we will just make eye contact and we'll both know what we have to do.
That sort of ESP has meant a lot of big plays for us. It's something you can't coach. It just happens.

This week, the Eagles.
The Eagles are 0-3, and haven't scored a touchdown since the first game. In fact, all three of the Eagles TDs this season came in the first quarter of that opening game against the Cardinals, and two of them were set up by turnovers deep in Cards' territory.
They have scored a total of just five points in their last two games and are coming off a 26-0 loss in Buffalo where they managed just 22 yards rushing.

They haven't scored a touchdown in their last 11 quarters, or 35 straight possessions.
They don't have a point in the third and fourth quarters.
The Eagles are next to last in the league in points, first downs, total yards, passing yards and third-down efficiency.
The Eagles rank 30th in the NFL overall in offense, just nudging out the expansion team Cleveland Browns.
The defense is weak against the run. The Bills gained 191 yards on the ground last week, and the Bucs gained 156 yards the previous week.
They have lost 18 consecutive games on the road.
One plus is that the Eagle passing defense ranks fourth in the NFC.

The Eagles have ex-Packer backup, Doug Pederson as their main quarterback. They plan to slowly break in their talented rookie quarterback Donovan McNabb, but fear that he'll be shell shocked for life with the kind of protection they can offer him. They have given up 15 sacks in these first three games.
Eagles head coach Andy Reid has used McNabb in the second half of each of the last two games so the rookie can watch, learn and then play. McNabb is 10-for-22 for 60 yards. Together the quarterbacks have committed seven turnovers.
Pederson has a passer rating of 57.7, including 0.0 in fourth quarters. Kent Graham is 85.2 overall and 102.3 in fourth quarters.
The Giants have converted only 21.1 percent of third downs; the Eagles are even worse at 19.0.

Wait, there's more
The Eagles will be starting their third different right tackle in four games because of injuries. He's ex-Giant reserve player Lonnie Palelei, who the Giants signed for depth last year after he was cut by the Jets.
Lonnie has to go up against "a very hungry for sacks" Michael Strahan who put pressure on Drew Bledsoe last week but couldn't get to him.
Strahan has been mostly double teamed and is sackless so far this season, and is tired of the reporters asking him "what's wrong?".
The Eagles free agent addition, Torrance Small has had only one catch to date and may be replaced.
Jason Sehorn got his feet wet last week and is anxious to expand his role this game.

Jim Fassel is 4-0 against the Eagles, including his very first game as Giants head coach in 1997. The Giants swept the Eagles in 1998, with a 20-0 victory at Giants Stadium on Nov 22 and a 20-10 win in Philadelphia on December 27.
The shutout was the Giants' first since November 18, 1990, while the Eagles became the first team to be blanked three times in a season since 1942.
The Eagles will start rookie Cecil Martin at fullback because of a neck injury to Kevin Turner.
Philadelphia has 244 yards on the ground to date, while the Giants have only 168 yards.

With combined team records of 1-5, some of the players have dubbed this game the "Loser Bowl', but if the Giants win, they will be at 2-2 with a healthy Gary Brown and Jason Sehorn ready to take on the rest of the season.

Next week
The Giants play at Arizona on Oct 10 at 4 PM.
The Eagles play Dallas at home at 1 pm.

Click on the Team Giants logo to be informed of all Giants game previews and reviews.

1999 NFC EAST - Week 3
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Away	AFC	NFC	DIV	Streak
Dallas	2	0	0	1.000	65	42	1-0	1-0	0-0	2-0	1-0	W2
Washington	2	1	0	.667	112	82	0-1	2-0	1-0	1-1	1-1	W2
Arizona	1	2	0	.333	51	67	0-1	1-1	0-1	1-1	1-0	L2
NY Giants	1	2	0	.333	52	79	0-1	1-1	0-1	1-1	0-1	L2
Philadelphia	0	3	0	.000	29	70	0-2	0-1	0-1	0-2	0-1	L3