| Giants
(6-9) vs Eagles (6-9)
With two games left
the Eagles needed to beat the Redskins and the Giants in order to win the NFC
East. Last week on a Saturday night in Philadelphia they took a 38-24 loss which
gave the Redskins the title. They lost their head coach a few days later.
On
Sunday night in Minnesota, the Giants went into their game with the Vikings knowing
that they had been eliminated from the playoffs. The Giants were without their
star receiver and played one of their worst games of the season. The 49-17 loss
could result in them losing their head coach as well.
Giants - Vikings
Wrap-Up
Philadelphia
Eagles
A lot has changed since we previewed
the last game between the Eagles and Giants. The Giants lost that one 27-7 in
Philadelphia and they both had 3-3 win-loss records. Nine games later they are
tied with 6-9 failing seasons. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly took his team to a
10-6 record and a division title in his first year and finished 10-6 in 2014,
second to the Cowboys at 12-4 and out of the playoffs.
Only two head coaches
whose teams made the playoffs last season were calling their own plays as Kelly
chose to do it. That didn't hold Kelly back from taking on more responsibility
and he took control of personnel decisions.
It hasn't worked out well and that, combined with player unrest, a poor record,
and after seeing two opponents clinch division titles in Philadelphia, led ownership
to have a meeting with their head coach. That also did not turn out well for Kelly
as he is now without a job
It was a bit of a surprise to many that Kelly was
fired just one game short of a full season and Pat Shurmur was named the interim
head coach. Shurmur's first head coaching experience was in Cleveland a few years
back and he was the offensive coordinator under Kelly over the past three seasons.
Before that Shurmur was part of the Eagles coaching staff from 1999 to 2008. Shurmur
will be the play caller this Sunday against the Giants. Giants
Many
feel that Tom Coughlin will be gone after this game, but I don't see that. He
hasn't lost his players and if anything they have failed him. Management made
some strong statements at the end of last season. Over the past two years fans
have seen a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator. As you
work up the ladder to try and fix the problem, the head coach and the general
manager come into view.
If the owners feel they have to make a move just to
save face, Jerry Reese is gone and Tom Coughlin is safe. If they trust their own
opinion both will get one more year to turn things around.
I should add that
anyone who thinks that Ben McAdoo will be preserved if things change hands just
because Eli Manning's numbers have improved, think again. Any quarterback would
do better with a target like Odell Beckham Jr. playing for the full year. It has
become evident the way Rashad Jennings has recently been effective that offensive
coordinator McAdoo totally botched the running game all season long helping to
get the Giants into the fix they are in now. Philadelphia
Eagles Offense
Quarterback
Sam Bradford was guided by offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur in 2010 in his successful
rookie year with the Rams. It will be interesting to see if there is a new play
calling style and if so, will it benefit his performance. Bradford has thrown
17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this year, and has been improving on that ratio
over the past six games. In week six against the Giants, Bradford threw 1 touchdown
along with a season high 3 interceptions, and the Eagles won the game handily
(27-7). Last week Bradford threw 1 touchdown, a season high
380 yards with no interceptions, and they lost to Washington by a two touchdown
margin (38-24).
If you look at those two games, DeMarco Murray was one secret
ingredient. Murray had 21 carries against the Giants for 112 yards, and strangely
just last week had 5 while still averaging over 5 yards a carry in both games.
Running backs Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles are next in total carries and Sproles
is the third leading receiver on the team. The go-to target for Bradford is Jordan
Matthews with 78 receptions for 943 yards and 6 touchdowns, and next is tight
end Zach Ertz. Now this offense has a new play caller, but to be fair, Pat Shurmur
hasn't really had much time to work with his players to implement much change.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defense
They have faded over the course
of this season as they did last. Time of possession was never much of a factor
in Chip Kelly's thought process, and this unit spends a lot of time on the field
whether their offense is successful or not. It was up to defensive coordinator
Bill Davis to make his unit work despite being on the field more than any other
defense in the league. The numbers are something like eight minutes more per game
than other defenses. Will his unit get a break this week?
They are ranked
29th in run defense and up against the Giants who have showed much more improvement
in that area since they last faced off. In the last six weeks they are allowing
more than 400 yards in every game. Fletcher Cox leads the team with 9.5 sacks
and he doesn't let up. Cox had one against Eli Manning in the first meeting and
now four in the last three weeks. In that first game Odell Beckham Jr. caught
7 out of 8 passes for 61 yards and one touchdown. Byron Maxwell is their top corner,
but he will be out with a shoulder injury and Jaylen Watkins is questionable with
a shin injury. Giants offense
Odell Beckham Jr. has learned that he shouldn't
put himself above the team, and the Giants have learned that they are not much
of a passing team without Beckham. The results were disastrous last week and the
Giants can only hope that the Vikings will continue to show that they really were
'that good' and that the Giants were just overwhelmed by a superior team destined
to win the Super Bowl. Without Beckham Eli Manning had no one to throw to, was
pressured and sacked four times, and for all his efforts he ended up with one
touchdown and three interceptions. Dwayne Harris had an opportunity to shine,
but he wasn't able to bring it on playing hurt. Harris is listed as questionable
for this game.
Rashad Jennings has been coming on strong since he's been allowed
to be the workhorse with more carries. It took the Giants way too long to figure
out that shuffling four running backs in and out may not be the best plan. In
their first meeting with the Eagles, Manning, with his one scrambling run for
12 yards, ended up being the second leading rusher in the game. Andre Williams
and Shane Vereen combined for only 6 yards on 9 carries. Jennings did much better,
averaging 4.8 yards a carry 13 times for 63 yards. He also caught three passes
for 20 yards, but it wasn't all good as Jennings fumbled the ball away after one
of those catches to kill a drive on the Eagles side of the field. Giants
defense
The return of Jason Pierre-Paul
gave this defense a boost over the past seven games. Unfortunately he's missed
a bit of practice with an ankle injury and
is listed as questionable. Pierre-Paul wasn't
around for that first Eagles game and even
if he plays he might not be as effective as he could be. With Pierre-Paul
on the field defensive end Robert Ayers has
been able to make things happen. Quarterback pressure has improved and Ayers now
has a career high 8.5 sacks and could make trouble for Jason Peters.
As we
said before, DeMarco Murray had his best game against the Giants and Ryan Mathews
was right there with him. Middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley wasn't in the mix
earlier in the season, but he has two sacks and three forced fumbles. Brinkley
experience is a real plus and he's a good run stopper. Unfortunately safeties
Craig Dahl and Cooper Taylor are out for this game, and the Giants are thin at
that position. Overall
How
much does this last game matter to either team? Many of the Giants and Eagles
players are wondering if they will be returning next season. The Eagles already
lost their head coach and rumors are strong on the Giants side that Tom Coughlin
will be gone. The overall attitude advantage has to go with the home team playing
in familiar surroundings, in front of some family and friends and the fans who
supported them. The actual ability to get the job done, is of course another matter.
The Giants certainly will produce better on the field with Odell Beckham Jr. back.
The Eagles are in a bit of a turmoil after losing their head coach. You have to
go with the Giants on this one. NFC
East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Redskins (8-7)
at Cowboys (4-11)
Sunday at 1:00pm Eagles (6-9) at Giants (6-9)
The Giants
and Cowboys are favored to win in these games.
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Notes.
Giants
Tom Coughlin has led his team to three division titles and two Super Bowl victories.
Giants
last win over the Eagles in MetLife Stadium was Andy Reid’s final game as their
head coach. Eagles Chip Kelly left the
team with one division title, a 26-21 record and he was 0-1 in the playoffs. Eagles
have given up a franchise-record 34 touchdown passes with one game still remaining.
Eagles will lead the NFL in defensive snaps for the third straight season Eagles
defense has been on the field for 1,067 snaps so far this season, an average of
71.1 per game. Eagles are 4-1 against
the Giants playing in MetLife Stadium
Next Game
Next Year.
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