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Giants (6-3) vs Eagles (6-3)
If you failed to
turn on the Eagles-Redskins game last Monday night, you picked the wrong game
to miss out on. Michael Vick was the star of the show playing quarterback in every
sense of the word. He led the Eagles to an NFL history making 59-28 victory over
the Redskins.
The Giants had their meltdown the day before as their NFL top-rated
defense gave up five pass plays of 40 yards or more to the Cowboys. Heavily favored
going into the game, they ended up with a disappointing 33-20 loss. The Giants
hope to break their tendency to have second-half season collapses when they go
up against the Eagles on Sunday. Philadelphia
Eagles.
They reeled off six straight wins at the end
of last season before being crushed in the final game 24-0 at Dallas. That gave
the Cowboys the Division title and the Eagles a wild card shot against the very
same team on the following Saturday. They lost that one at Dallas too 34-14. Not
being able to win the big games when it counts had them thinking overhaul and
that's what they did. Their six-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Donovan McNabb,
was traded to Washington and he led his new team to a 17-12 victory
over the Eagles in his first return match against them. Starting quarterback Michael
Vick was the starter for that game and he left in the first quarter with chest
and rib injuries. Kevin Kolb took over but fell short of overcoming the 14-0 deficit.
In their second meeting in Washington, the Redskins weren't so lucky as Vick was
unleashed on them for the entire game and played like a mad dog gone wild. Eagles
Offense.
OK, here's the rundown on the
quarterback the Redskins couldn't rundown. Michael Vick became
the first player in NFL history with at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing,
4 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns in a game. On the ground Vick was
the team leader averaging 10 yards a scramble for an 80 yard total and two touchdowns.
Running back Jerome Harrison was right behind him averaging 9.9 a carry for 109
yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. The Eagles rank first in the NFC, rushing
151.1 yards per game. Receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are deep threats
and Vick used them well last week. Together they have 66 catches for 1,187 yards
and 12 touchdowns. Eagles
Defense.
Overshadowed a bit by the offensive
output, they may have to jump up and say, "Hey look at me. We were in that
game too.", and they certainly were. It wasn't record breaking, but they
held the Redskins to zero third down conversions and intercepted Donovan McNabb
three times, returning one for a touchdown. They'll be eager to face a Giant offensive
line that is hurting in a number of areas. Just as the Eagles offense has improved
their running game, their defense has improved from 27th to 12th in the league
against the run. Cornerback Dimitri Patterson had two interceptions and returned
one for a touchdown on Monday. He'll have his eyes on Hakeem Nicks with safety
Nate Allen lending a hand. Giants
Offense.
Eli Manning is playing good football
and he is tied for the league lead with 19 touchdowns. Hakeem Nicks is a nice
target who is tied for the lead with his nine touchdown catches, but the second-year
receiver can't afford to make costly mistakes like he did last week. It resulted
in an interception and 7 points for the Cowboys when the Giants were driving for
their own touchdown. Manning needs his whole cast of characters, including the
replacement offensive line players, to play at their best in this game. To take
pressure off his linemen, which hopefully includes former Eagle Shawn Andrews
being healthy enough to play, he needs running backs Brandon Jacobs to explode
and Ahmad Bradshaw to dance his dance without fumbles. Giants
Defense.
First hearing about or watching
the Monday night game, they had to be wondering if the Eagles offense was that
good or the Redskins defense was that bad. Hopefully after breaking down the game
film they know that answer and if it leans heavily in the Eagles favor, they have
a plan to combat that. They also had their own performance to review as well,
as they were taken in on a number of big plays by the Cowboys just the day before.
Guess who also reviewed that particular piece of tape coming into this game? So
all the secrets are out and new ones will have to be invented on both sides. Last
week Jon Kitna got rid of the ball quickly and hit the Giants with screen passes.
Communication wasn't the best in the secondary and safeties Kenny Phillips and
Antrel Rolle will be targeted again this week with similar plays they had flubbed
on. Best to worst.
The
best record is held by the 7-2 Jets and 7-2 Patriots in the AFC and the 7-2 Falcons
in the NFC. All are favored to win their games this Sunday. The 1-8 Bills in the
AFC have finally won a game but still hold the worst record in that Conference.
The worst record in the NFC belongs to the 1-8 Panthers. Neither is favored to
win their games. NFC
East.
They couldn't have picked a better game to show so far ahead
of time on Sunday night then a Giants Eagles matchup that will decide first place
in the NFC East division. The flex schedule was there to fall back on but this
game is a keeper. The Eagles are favored to win over the Giants. On Sunday afternoon
at 1pm, the Cowboys (2-7) host Detroit (2-7) and are favored to win. At the same
time they play, Washington (4-5) is at Tennessee (5-4) with the Titans favored
to win.
Check
out.
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Notes.
Giants Tom Coughlin in seven seasons with the Giants has a 41-15 record in the
first halves of seasons But Giants Tom Coughlin in six second halves,including
last week has a 20-29 record. Giants
have a four-game losing streak to Philadelphia including one first-round playoff
game. Giants Shawn Andrews was a first-round
pick by Philadelphia in 2004.
Andrews made two Pro Bowls with the Eagles and
has been replacing David Diehl at tackle. Giants
will be in first place in the NFC East if they beat the Eagles. Eagles
last week became the first road team in the 91-year history of the NFL to take
a 28-0 lead in the opening period. They had 425 yards of total offense by halftime.
Eagles Michael Vick hasn't
thrown an interception or lost a fumble this season. Eagles
are 4-0 this season in games that Michael Vick has started and finished. Eagles
Michael Vick has been sacked 15 times in his six games. Eagles
on turnover ratio are plus 12. Giants are minus 5. Eagles
last time being able to beat the Giants in five straight games dates back to 1990-92. Eagles
will be in first place in the NFC East if they beat the Giants.
Next
Games
Nov
28 - Jaguars at Giants
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