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Giants - Eagles
1999 Game 7 - 1PM ET

Eagles can Fly

A long winding road
Last month, much like Dorothy following the yellow brick road, the Eagles took the turnpike into Giants Stadium, coming in with no wins and 3 losses.
They played with their hearts and minds and yes, with courage that day causing 5 Giants turnovers, but it wasn't enough and they lost the game 16-15. However, the Giants played sort of a Dorothy role in this semi-analogy, and the Eagles left the Meadowlands with so much confidence, they went on to beat both Dallas and Chicago.
After those 2 wins, the Eagles lost a close one to the Dolphins when a Norm Johnson 42 yard field goal attempt went wide right with 52 seconds left. So here they are again, and one thing is for sure, win or lose against the Giants this week, the Eagles will end up with an extra dose of confidence by games end.

The Eagles and Kent Graham
The Eagles lead the NFL in takeaways with 19, and they're 2nd in interceptions with 14. Three of those interception came against Kent Graham, and it's a matter of fact that the slant play with which the Eagles picked off 2 passes against the Giants is still in the playbook.
Kent Graham talked about it, saying that it would be used, but only under the right circumstances, and that he would be extra cautious before throwing it.
"We called the same play against Dallas and they played it the same way the Eagles did," Graham said. "So, I pulled it down and ran the ball and everybody booed. They were yelling, 'Throw the ball!' No thanks. Been there, done that.".
The Eagles intercepted him three times in that game, nearly cost him his starting job and left him with a concussion. Graham is fully recovered from the concussion, mostly recovered from the quarterback controversy, and is ready to face the Eagles again.
"I feel comfortable," said Graham. "I feel I'm starting to get into my mode where I was last year. This is why this week is so important to me personally, I want to keep that going, especially going into the bye week. I've just gotta be smart with the ball ... and not get a concussion; that'll help too."
Then Kent turned serious again, "I feel more confident going into this Eagles game, but when you take a beating like we did last time against them, and how I played, obviously you have that in the back of your mind, and you want to overcome that.".
Graham went on to say that he has a healthy respect for the Eagles defense, but feels he and his offense are playing at a higher level than a month ago, thanks to a last-minute drive for a win against the Cowboys and then a 31-point explosion against the Saints.

Eagles are no Saints
Don't look for the Giants to score 31 points against the Eagles this week. In their worst beating of this year, the Eagles gave up 26 points.
Their last 4 games have been decided by 4 points or less, and they've lost three of their games this season by a grand total of five points.
In fact, they almost continued their win streak against the Dolphins last week. Miami controlled the ball for 36 minutes in that game, and still you couldn't count the Eagles out. On the final drive QB Doug Pederson overthrew a pass to a wide open Charles Johnson for what could have been the game winning touchdown. After that, there was a missed 42 yard field goal in their attempt to tie it up for overtime.

Like the Giants, the Eagles have had trouble getting points on the board. The Eagles offense went 18 straight quarters without a touchdown earlier this season, and now has a 6 quarters no TD streak going. Last week's Eagles TD was scored by the defense, when Brian Dawkins returned an interception 67 yards.
Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid said that Doug Pederson will start Sunday against the Giants. Many Eagles fans would like to see rookie QB Donovan McNabb get a shot, especially after that overthrown pass by Pederson last week. He was 13 completions on 25 passes for just 108 yards with one interception.
Andy Reid wants to bring McNabb along slowly, and says, "I've got to go on what my expertise is. I can't let outside influences be an influence on this decision. I'm going to do this when I think it's right. I want to make sure Donovan McNabb grows, as hard as that is. I'm looking at the big picture."
That may make sense, but Andy will be under a lot of pressure to make some changes.

The Giants running game - who's up this week?
This week it's LeShon Johnson. For the Cardinals in 1996, Leshon rushed for 634 yards on 141 carries. This guy has raw talent that can't be tamed. It seems he can't wait to run, he breaks some and then gets stopped for no gains. The problem is he tries to power his way through, but picks the wrong spots. Last week against the Saints LeShon ran for only 36 yards on 18 carries. Fassel says, "He missed some reads.".
Leshon says, "I have to know when to use my speed and when not to use it. I feel like I've gotten a lot better, but once I get it down, I'll be the back I want to be."
Johnson and Bennett weren't able to make the running game work very well before Gary Brown returned to action in Week 4. So we might expect to see Tiki Barber in there to get things going if the running game stalls this Sunday.

The Defense
The Giants really need their defense on the field, and they were pretty banged up after last week's game. LB Jessie Armstead, who had said he might not practice this week, was back on the field with his bruised ribs. You just can't stop that guy, and he will be starting this Sunday. Luke Petitgout will also play. The Giants will be starting Sanders, 5-8 and 185 pounds, who has never started an NFL game.

Watch out for
Brian Dawkins, who had a 67-yard INT return for a TD in Miami last week.
Bobby Taylor, who returned one 18 yards for a score in the first Giants game. Dawkins said the Eagles felt they should have won that first game.
He also says, "We feel we have a great chance of winning this game."
Also watch to see what Jason Sehorn does with the ball if he gets his hands on one this game. In the first game, he lateraled and the ball ended up in the end zone, recovered by Phillippi Sparks who was tackled by Charles Johnson for a safety.

NOTES

Eagles
Rank 30th in total offense, averaging only 209.7 yards per game.
RB Duce Staley ranks sixth in the NFL, and has 505 yards.
Duce Staley and Emmitt Smith are the only 1,000-yard rushers from last season who are on pace to reach that mark this season.
Tight ends Luther Broughton and Jed Weaver have 21 receptions. - Last year the Eagles tight ends caught just 23 passes all season.

Defense is now being run by new coordinator Jim Johnson.
Have forced 19 turnovers. Last year, total was an NFL-low 17.
Have totaled 14 interceptions. - Last year, total was 9.

Giants
Lifetime are 70-58-2 against the Eagles, but in Philadelphia, Eagles are 33-30-1 Have forced 12 turnovers, with 10 interceptions.
Have 17 sacks, with 9 1/2 split between linebacker Jesse Armstead and defensive end Michael Strahan.
Rank 27th in the NFL in total offense, but are only one-half game behind Washington and Dallas in the NFC East.
Have allowed just 11.8 points per game in 6 games, excluding the Redskins blowout.
Amani Toomer has 37 receptions for 470 yards, which puts him on pace for an 80-catch, 1,000-yard season.
Jim Fassel is 5-0 vs. Eagles.

Streaks
Longest Giants Winning Streak 9 games - 1938-42.
Longest Eagles Winning Streak 11 games -1975-81.

Giants - Eagles first game - Recap

Next week
The Giants have a bye week.
The Eagles are at Carolina on Sunday, Nov 7 at 1 PM.

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

Previous Stories
Obscene Gestures click here
Keeping it Simple click here
Quarterback Respect click here
Bring On Brown click here
Focus on Defense click here
Will the offense please take the field? click here
Opening Day at Last click here
The Last Preseason Game click here
Subway Series click here
Who are these Jaguars anyway? click here
We don't need no stinkin' Running Backs!! click here

1999 NFC EAST - Week 7
Team W L T PCT PF PA Home Away AFC NFC DIV Streak
UP Dallas 4 2 0 .667 158 95 3-0 1-2 0-0 4-2 3-2 W1
UP Washington 4 2 0 .667 194 166 1-1 3-1 1-0 3-2 2-2 L1
UP NY Giants 4 3 0 .571 115 121 3-1 1-2 0-1 4-2 2-2 W2
Arizona 2 4 0 .333 82 129 1-2 1-2 0-1 2-3 2-2 L1
UP Philadelphia 2 5 0 .286 90 128 1-2 1-3 0-2 2-3 1-2 L1

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