Sunday Funday Part 1: Keys to a Giant Victory

This week Sean and I have decided to devote extra attention to the divisional match-up between the Giants and Eagles as they duke it out for first place in the rugged NFC East. The decision was made based on the fact that normally in the week leading up to a game between these two rivals, we carry on through extensive e-mail chains and taunting text messages about why each team is better than the other. And honestly, it gets to be quite ridiculous. So instead of subjecting you to reading these, lengthy, yet wildly entertaining exchanges, we decided to keep it civil and simply discuss three keys to victory for each team as they hope to gain control of the division. If you read this site regularly, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t, then you are vividly aware of Sean’s affection for all things Philly as he wears his homerism on his sleeve, so he will be speaking to the Eagles, while I, who tries to be as objective as possible so many of my loyal readers may not be aware of my love for the team that ended the 2007 Patriots’ dream season, will be covering the Giants’ facet of the conversation. Now, for your entertainment purposes, here are my thoughts on what it will take for the Giants to come out on top on Sunday and become the front-runner for the division crown.

1.    Establish the run and stick with it. For some odd reason this year, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride thinks he’s back in Houston circa 1993 because he has been dialing up an unusual amount of passing plays. The Giants have opened a disproportionate amount of games with three or more consecutive passes and it simply doesn’t make any sense. I know they have a good quarterback, but the Giants are a power running team and they seem to be getting too far away from that. When you’re playing teams like the Raiders and Chiefs, you can get away with that because those teams aren’t good enough to stop either facet of your offense, but when the better competition comes calling, you must forge an identity and the Giants have seemingly misplaced theirs. Everyone seemed to be down on Brandon Jacobs early in the season saying that he seems to have lost a step or isn’t running as hard as he used but, but the truth is he wasn’t getting the chance to establish himself. In the last two weeks he seems to have regained the burst and power that people thought he lost, but since they fell behind in those games they abandoned what was working. I can understand abandoning it against the Saints because they were down huge early, but the were within striking distance of the Cardinals all night yet Gilbride decided to put the game in Eli’s hands who was then forced to put it in his young receiver’s hands, and neither could come through. Meanwhile, Jacobs has rushed 13 times for 78 yards. If only they had kept running. Jacobs has had some of his best games against the Eagles and since the weather is beginning to worsen this would be the perfect week to reestablish their offensive identity as a power running team. If they can get Jacobs 20+ carries that means he has been effective and can then allow Ahmad Bradshaw to be the dynamic change of pace guy that he is. If the Giants get their running game going behind the best run blocking unit in the league, they will win this game.

If the Giants get the big boy Jacobs going, it's going to be tough for the Eagles to keep up. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

2.    Blitz dammit. Two weeks ago the Giants got burned by the Saints because they refused to rush more than four down lineman. After defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan said he would never let that happen again they blitzed Kurt Warner last week to better results. They must continue to blitz in order to get added pressure on Donovan McNabb this week. Their secondary, depleted by injuries, has been exposed as of late and if they are forced to stay in coverage for too long they can easily be burned. The Eagles offensive line has been lackluster at best lately and the Giants have historically had success at getting to McNabb. If they can force McNabb into quick throws and not give him time in the pocket they should be able to severely limit what the Eagles can do on offense. Since we all know that Andy Reid simply refuses to run the ball, and with Brian Westbrook likely out this week he will actually have a reason not to, the Giants will have plenty of chances to inflict damage on McNabb. Then again, even if they don’t get pressure, that doesn’t mean that McNabb even possesses the ability anymore to actually put the ball in his receivers’ hands and not in the dirt.

3.    Limit the big plays (or more simply, DeSean Jackson). In all honesty, the Eagles offense has not been very good. McNabb has been at his worst and is currently 25th in the league in completion percentage and seems to struggle to even complete the most basic of passes. The one area where he is still extremely effective however, is the deep ball. McNabb is the rare quarterback who is more accurate throwing the ball 50 yards than he is throwing it 5. His job is made a lot easier with DeSean Jackson seemingly able to beat almost every corner on speed alone. The Eagles offense is not built to grind out drives since they lack any semblance of a running game, so the only way that they have been able to score lately is through the big play, which is usually keyed by Jackson. The Eagles love to throw the ball and since Jackson is the only guy that should worry the G-Men (and don’t give me Jeremy Maclin, one big game isn’t enough to instill fear yet) they must find a way to not allow him to get behind them and beat them for a big play. If the Giants can limit Jackson’s opportunities and find ways to keep him contained, possibly bracketing him or double coverage, than the Giants should be able to come out of this game victorious. And let’s face it: the Raiders found a way to do it, so I’m pretty sure the Giants will be able to figure it out.