Week 2 Preview
Meet the Giants
The New York Giants are
coming off a season in which they went 11-5 and won the NFC East for the first
time since 2000, the year of their Super Bowl loss to the Ravens. Last year, the
Giants proved they were a force to be reckoned with, beating the Eagles twice.
Granted this was after the 2005 Eagles had fallen apart and were forced to use
Mike McMahon at QB, but these were still very impressive wins for the Giants.
The Giants’ 11-5 season in
2005 came as a bit of surprise since the team was a combined 10-22 in the
previous two seasons. 2005 was a career year for running back Tiki Barber, who racked up a career-high 2,390 all-purpose
yards and escaped his tendency to fumble. While quarterback Eli Manning had a
great start to his campaign (14 TD – 5 Int in the first
half), his performance tailed off towards the end of the year (10 TD – 12 Int in the second half) and culminated in an ugly 23-0 loss
to the Carolina Panthers on wild card weekend. There is no doubt that the
Giants are entering this year with a chip on their collective shoulder to prove
to themselves and the rest of the league that 2005 was for real and they have
arrived.
The Giants are led by
third-year coach Tom Coughlin. Over the years, Coughlin has developed a
reputation as a tough, hardnosed coach who may not be well-liked by his players
but delivers results. Before taking the Giants’ coaching job in 2004, Coughlin
was the Eagles’ wide receivers coach, but he is best known for leading the most
successful expansion team in NFL history, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Under
Coughlin’s leadership, the Jags went to the AFC Championship game in only their
second year of existence. Coughlin would eventually be fired in favor of Jack
Del Rio in 2002. After a year off in 2003, he returned to coaching when the
Giants made him an offer.
Moving on to this year, the
Giants lost 26-21 on Sunday night to the Indianapolis Colts in the game hyped
as “The Manning Bowl,” since Eli faced his brother Peyton. In what is certain
to be a very tight race in the NFC East, there is no doubt the Giants will come
out firing to avoid a 0-2 start.
The Giants did not make too
many moves in the off-season, but they did make one significant addition on
defense by picking up disgruntled Redskins linebacker LaVar
Arrington. Arrington will definitely help the Giants on stopping the run which
has been shaky for them in recent years. There is concern over the age of DE
Michael Strahan, who will turn 35 in November. As a
result, the Giants drafted DE Mathias Kiwanuga out of
On offense, the Giants have the maturing Eli
Manning and proven veteran Tiki Barber. The real
strength for the Giants is their wide receivers. As he proved in Week 1, Plaxico Burress is a master at
ball control and making the tough catches. Along with Burress
is Amani Toomer
and Sinorice Moss; both of which are very talented
with great speed and hands. The area that is suspect for the Giants is their
offensive line, which has been inconsistent. As with most teams, the offensive
line controls the destiny of the team. Manning is a pure pocket passer and will
need good protection if he is to be effective.
The Giants are 2-1 all-time at Lincoln Financial
Field. They won the last meeting at the Linc by a
score of 26-23, in a game decided in overtime by a Jay Feely field goal.
What to watch for on Sunday
In what is otherwise an easy month of September
for the Eagles, this is by far their toughest opponent. The Eagles had
themselves an easy win against the Texans in what was a true team effort. The
Eagles will have to get pressure on Eli Manning and capitalize on Giants
mistakes for the Birds to start 2-0. The Giants will have to do the same if
they want to beat the Eagles. This is a game that could go in anybody’s favor.
When the Eagles have the ball
One thing I believe every Eagles fan can agree on
about last week is the effectiveness of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook.
McNabb was able to spread the ball around nicely and include new addition Donte Stallworth as the deep
threat that the Eagles have lacked since the middle of last year. Westbrook had
several great runs, thanks in large part to the blocking of FB Thomas Tapeh and a stellar job by the offensive line. The Eagles
will have to spread the ball around again this week to catch an aggressive
Giants defense off guard. With Umenyiora and Strahan on the ends, offensive tackles Jon Runyan and William (Tra) Thomas
will have their hands full. Giving McNabb time to throw and creating holes for
Westbrook will lead to points for the Eagles. The Giants also have a
hard-hitting linebacking corps with LaVar Arrington and former Eagle Carlos Emmons. Making big plays
is crucial for the Eagles.
When the Giants have the ball
Last week the Eagles did a phenomenal job
stopping the run. However, the Eagles were not facing Tiki
Barber. Barber is one of the more consistent running backs in the NFL and is
really important to the Giants offensive production. Barber will also be a huge
test for how solid the Eagles linebackers are. Matt McCoy had himself a good
game in Week 1 with a team-high 8 tackles. Tiki Barber
will come from all directions, so the Eagles defensive line, as well as McCoy,
Jeremiah Trotter, and Dhani Jones will have to be on
their toes and make the tackles. The Eagles will also have to get pressure on
Manning. Like his brother Peyton, Eli crumbles under pressure, and he’s only in
his second full season as the starter, he will make more mistakes that are
likely to result in either turnovers or incomplete passes. The loss of Lito Sheppard for 4-6 weeks definitely hurts the Eagles’
secondary with the trio of receivers (Burress-Toomer-Moss)
that the Giants have. Roderick Hood is slated to start in Lito’s
place the next few weeks. Hood is capable of playing the position, but how
effectively remains the question. The Giants’ offensive line is very
inconsistent and the Eagles’ D-Line will have to get pressure to help the
linebackers and the secondary against a strong Giants offense.
Special Teams
Reno Mahe is still
listed as questionable for the Eagles. At the time of this report, Andy Reid
had not said anything about
Prediction: Eagles 21, Giants 20