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Giants
(7-5) vs Philadelphia (8-4)
Last Sunday
the Eagles came away with a big 34-7 win over Atlanta.
That gave them a three game streak heading for a matchup with
the Giants in the last meeting these to teams will have in the
current stadium.
On Sunday
night, the Giants beat Dallas with the help of Domenik Hixon's
79-yard punt return for a touchdown. That put them up 14 points
with just over five minutes to play and led to a final score of
31-24. Philadelphia
Eagles
They must like
what Andy Reid is doing, because this past week they signed him
up for three more years. What has he done for this team? Well,
despite the local fans being dissatisfied with zero Super Bowl
rings, he has brought them 115 wins since 1999 and except for
that first year, has had them in the postseason in seven of the
nine seasons since. Right now he has the Eagles tied for the NFC
East lead with an 8-4 record and going full steam attempting to
knock the Giants back and to qualify once again for post season
play, and that's where it all starts. Eagles
Offense.
They unleashed
Michael Vick on Atlanta last week, and he was as effective as
he has been thus far this season. There must be something in Atlanta
that really brings out the beast in him because in that game Vick
threw one touchdown pass and ran for another. Up to now, it seems
they would call him in from the sidelines and you would see an
offense that had been on the move be suddenly interrupted in it's
pace. Donovan McNabb doesn't seem to need a quarterback coffee
break, and even without running back Brian Westbrook, out again
for this game, he keeps the offense moving just fine. It helps
that tight end Brent Celek leads the team with 56 receptions for
617 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Giants will have to do much better
against an offense that killed them last time out with big plays.
Eagles
Defense.
They are really
mixing it up this year, but not because of some super designed
scheme. They have been hit with a number of injuries to their
starters. You think the Giants have it bad because they lost Antonio
Pierce for the season, but they've changed their middle linebacker
four times in the last five games. The secondary has been giving
up big pass plays, 17 pass plays of 20 or more yards in those
same five games. They won three of them anyway against Chicago,
Washington, and Atlanta playing without five offensive starters,
including quarterback Matt Ryan. It will help the defense to have
cornerback Joselio Hanson returning from a four game suspension
this week. Giants
Offense.
How important
is the quarterback to the team? Well, not a tough question, but
it sure is interesting how the current quarterback passer ratings
in the NFC East exactly parallel the team standings. Tony Romo
is 96.3, Donovan McNabb is 94.7, Eli Manning is 89.2 and Jason
Campbell is 87.7. The complicated quarterback rating is made up
of a formula that weighs the completion percentage, yards per
attempt, percentage of touchdown passes, and interceptions. Passing
is just one part of an offense that involves a running game and
of a team that includes a full defense and special teams unit.
And yet after 12 games you have those stats, and you kind of feel
that regardless of what Brandon Jacobs and his helpers do this
week, if Eli Manning doesn't bring it even better than the opposition,
they'll lose. Giants
Defense.
You read what
we said in the last paragraph but don't dismiss the power of the
defense, for they are directly responsible for the Donovan McNabb's
passer rating in a negative fashion. Unfortunately wide receivers
DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are tough to cover and the Giants
gave up a lot of completions and yardage last week to Dallas.
Tony Romo completed 41 of 55 passes for 382 yards for 3 touchdowns.
Last time against the Eagles running game, the defense was effective
except for two single plays that each went for touchdowns and
totaled 107 yards (41 and 66). Giant
Concerns.
The Giants were
overwhelmed by the Eagles last time out, giving up big plays.
Domenik Hixon fumbled the second-half kickoff, they let McNabb
toss 3 touchdown passes, and Eli Manning, with 2 interceptions,
was incomplete on 11 of 16 passes he threw for 10 yards or more.
NFC
East.
On Sunday
in the 4PM game timeslots, San Diego (9-3) plays at Dallas (8-4)
and the Redskins (3-9) play at Oakland (4-8). The matchups are
all close and no team is favored to win this week by any decisive
margin. From
thirty two to sixteen to nine to seven to five to four to three
to two.
No two teams have
gone this far into an NFL season and remained undefeated. The
(12-0) Colts and Saints both play at 1PM on Sunday. It will be
New Orleans at Atlanta (6-6) and Broncos (8-4) at Colts. Both
undefeated teams are favored to win. 
Check
out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put
together.
There are some items you certainly haven't seen
elsewhere, and each sale helps out our site. Notes.
Giants
Steve Smith needs 5 receptions to break Amani Toomer's single-season
club record of 82. Giants
right guard Chris Snee has started 76 straight games but is listed
as questionable. Giants
defensive end Justin Tuck is listed as probable with a stiff neck,
but is expected to play. Giants,
in 8 of 12 games this season, have let the opponent's leading
receiver be a tight end. Giants
pass defense gives up about 44 percent of their total yardage
to opposing tight ends. Eagles
Donovan McNabb has won 10 of his past 14 starts playing against
the Giants. Eagles have
had 8 touchdown drives of two or less plays this season. Eagles
have won the last three games against the Giants (including the
NFC Divisional Playoff Game). Eagles
last sweep of the Giants was in the 2004 season and led to their
one Super Bowl appearance with Andy Reid. Eagles
are 25-12 in NFC East games in November and December since 2000.
Next
Game
Dec.
21 Giants at Washington at 8:30PM*.
Giants
Tickets - Buy
or Sell 1100+
Tickets (as
of 12/12)
Next Home Game
Dec. 27 Carolina at Giants at 1:00PM*.
Giants
Tickets - Buy
or Sell 860+
Tickets (as
of 12/12)
*Time
subject to change
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