The Giants Really, Really, Really Want To Beat Us
Posted: September 23rd, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 28 Comments »Strategy & Matchups
The Giants are a desperate team. But not in the good way, you know where they are super hungry and playing with a real edge.
The Giants are desperate to beat the Eagles. Last December’s epic comeback/collapse has left the Giants in almost stalker-ish mode. I’m willing to bet they think about us as much as they do themselves. Sunday’s game has turned into their own little Super Bowl. I don’t think obsessing on an opponent like this is healthy. It tells you that the Giants aren’t a focused, clear-thinking team.
I do understand where they’re coming from to a certain extent. They have lost 6 straight games to the Eagles. And some of those games have been painful.
2008 – December game that came shortly after Plaxico’s incident and began their downfall. To that point, the Giants looked like the best team in the NFL.
2008 – Playoff loss. Ended their season.
2009 – We blew them out 40-17.
2009 – The Giants showed up for the re-match, but lost 45-38.
2010 – We blew a lead, but came back to beat them, in large part due to Shady’s 50-yard TD run in the 4th Qtr.
2010 – The Miracle at the New Meadowlands.
These losses have been extremely unpleasant.
Let’s talk about this game.
EAGLES OFFENSE vs GIANTS DEFENSE
40, 45, 27, and 38. Those are the Eagles point totals from the last 4 games vs the Gmen. They don’t stop the Eagles. Heck, they have a hard time slowing us down. Why? Speed and matchups. The Giants love to play pressure defense. They want to blitz and attack. It works well at times, but their back seven is vulnerable because of that. If you have speedy playmakers, you can burn them for big plays.
The key is protection.
We must give Vick time to run the offense and get the ball to the playmakers. This will require good blocking by the O-line. Those guys have to handle the Giants DL. They also must slow down as many blitzers as possible. The skill players who stay in to block must do a good job. They can’t miss blocks or blow assignments.
Maybe just as important is Vick making good pre-snap reads. He must see what the Giants are doing ahead of time. That will tell him where to go with the ball and speed up his getting the ball out. With Vick coming off a concussion, we don’t want him taking a ton of hits. This is a game where he needs to play smart. Do like Asante and make some “business decisions”. Throw the ball away and don’t be afraid to run for the sidelines.
You can bet that Andy/Marty will build the gameplan around protection. That doesn’t mean we won’t throw. You have to attack the Giants in the air. That’s where they are vulnerable. The Rams mixed in some max protection last week and still had receivers open. Expect us to use lots of bunch sets. This keeps the Giants from being able to do as much bump and run. The receivers can also get chip blocks on DEs as they release.
I think crossing routes will be important. One of Mac’s TD catches last year vs NYG came on a crossing route when the DBs got mixed up and left him open. Same thing happened last week. The Rams had some WRs that looked open on crossing routes, although Bradford sent the ball elsewhere.
I’m sure we’ll try to screen the heck out of the Giants. Tuck is a smart veteran and sniffs out his fair share of screens. JPP could be vulnerable. The one thing that makes him tough is his long arms. Heck, the whole DL does a good job of that. They already have 4 pass deflections this year.
Last year the Giants did a pretty good job on Shady. He had 24 carries for 175 yards and a TD. Take away that 50 yard run and he’s down to 125 in 2 games. His ypc is good, but they kept him under control. He had 9 catches in the 2 games, but for only 42 total yards. We need to do a better job of getting him in space so he can be more of a factor.
The key matchup might be DT Rocky Bernard against C Jason Kelce and RG Kyle DeVan. Bernard gave the Rams fits. Our guys are smaller, but more athletic. It will be interesting to see how they do against a quick, powerful guy like Bernard.
I love our WRs against their DBs. We should have players open on a regular basis. Vick must get time and then must make good reads and accurate throws.
EAGLES DEFENSE vs GIANTS OFFENSE
We must control their running game. This will require a team effort. Ahmad Bradshaw has great feet and is deceptively strong. You must box him in and gang tackle. He can break tackles and make defenders miss in tight spaces. We must rally to the ball to limit his extra effort yards.
Brandon Jacobs requires team defense as well. One player can bring him down some of the time, but not always. You are best served by having multiple players hit him. It is imperative that the DL get penetration when Jacobs is in the game. He struggles when stopping/starting and running E-W. Let him attack downhill and you’re in for a long day.
The Giants OL can still run block, although they aren’t as good as in past years. We will probably be short both Juqua Parker and Darryl Tapp. That means Cole and Babin will play a lot. Phillip Hunt will get a lot of reps. You could also see Cullen Jenkins get some reps at DE. This might be a game where playing Antonio Dixon and Mike Patterson together would be wise.
The Rams had some success with using their LBs to attack upfield and be disruptive. I wonder if Juan Castillo will mix in more LBs blitzes. He’s done little of that so far. This might be the week to try more of that.
The Giants passing game is hard to read right now. Eli has 2 targets, Hakeems Nicks and Mario Manningham. 33 of 62 passes have been thrown to them. The rest of the team…just 29. Nicks has 19, MM has 14. Next up is Bradshaw with 7. The Eagles have 4 players in double figures. There’s no shame in an unbalanced passing attack, but there can be problems. Manningham is battling the after-effects of a concussion and it doesn’t sound like he’s going to play. That leave Nicks.
The matchup of the game will be Nicks vs Asomugha. They play on the same side most of the time. Nnamdi will have more passes come his way on Sunday than he did in the month of September last year. Eli has to throw that way. He’s go no choice. Brandon Stokely, Victor Cruz, and the newly signed Michael Clayton aren’t guys that you feed the ball to. Quick note for Nicks…Asomugha ain’t Dimitri Patterson.
Eli is taking sacks more than ever this year. He still will force the ball into coverage. We must catch it when he throws it our way. You want to make him pay and you want him to get down on himself. Eli can be his own worst enemy.
Trent Cole vs LT William Beatty should heavily favor us. The Giants will give Beatty help. That means Babin and Hunt must win some battles at RT. I think Jenkins can beat Snee on some pass plays. Snee is a very good run blocker, but can be sloppy in pass pro at times.
The Giants ran screens on a few 3rd/long situations last week. We must guard against that. Bradshaw has the ability to run in traffic and then bounce out for a big play. Gotta be smart on 3rd/long and not let them burn us.
So how will the new LB look do? Total mystery. Both Chaney and Fokou had terrific games vs the Giants last December. That will give the guys some confidence. The LBs must get off blocks. They must tackle well. I’m really curious to see if Matthews comes alive playing on the outside. He’s got less thinking to do there. He was a wild man at Oregon, but has been anything but that as an Eagle. He needs to play with confidence and emotion. Maybe the move will help him. There are no guarantees. We just have to wait and see how things go.
STs
Neither team is great at kicking or coverage. Whoever makes a play / avoids mistakes will have the advantage.
It will be interesting to see how they kick to DeSean. Will they do it? Are they scared of him?
MISC / INTANGIBLES
It feels good to have the guys playing at The Linc. I’m sick of domes. We get outdoor football.
I’ve already talked about the streak and the mindset the Giants have. We’ll see how that goes.
The whole Steve Smith situation and Twitter feud between Osi/Shady…who knows what to make of that stuff. Osi isn’t playing. Smith is our #4 WR. This stuff won’t affect either coach. I’m just not sure if it will mean a whole lot to the players during the game. There will be some verbal jousting, but this is Eagles/Giants. There always is.
We do have one benefit in that the Giants are coming off a Monday night game and going on the road. Teams under those circumstances don’t do all that well. The fact it is a short trip might lessen some of the impact.
We’re coming off a tough loss. I expect Big Red to have the team focused and hungry.
Really?
Well played, sir.
For those unaware, DE Justin Tuck said the comeback loss last year “will be with me for the rest of my life”.
Ouch.
And check out these comments from C David Baas, who signed as a free agent after starting his career in SF. He’s new to the rivalry.
“You know, ever since I’ve got here I’ve heard about the Eagles, Eagles, you know what I mean?” Baas said on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. “I’m looking forward to playing the Eagles and giving them all we’ve got.”
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giants/crushing_loss_still_lingers_5F2ycRdGbMB71YlWyOamUP#ixzz1YnNPsR00
There’s really no excuse whatsoever to give up more than 2 offensive TDs, at most, to this NYG offense in their current state and knowing the talent the Eagles have on their defense. Hell, they shouldn’t give up more than a single fluky touchdown to this offense on Sunday.
This is such a no-brainer from a scheme standpoint: your CBs will shut down their passing attack in one-on-one man coverage because aside from Nicks, their WRs are scrubs, and consequently you can play 8 men in the box on nearly every down. If I see both safeties deep in this game for some nontrivial portion of the snaps I will know for sure that Juan Castillo is incompetent.
I also want to see more Phillip Hunt and possibly Brian Rolle. With Parker and Tapp both injured, I find absolutely no excuse palatable to keep Phillip Hunt off the field in this game. At the very least, I need to see him rotating consistently with Babin and Cole on 3rd downs.
There’s really no excuse whatsoever to give up more than 2 offensive TDs, at most, to this NYG offense in their current state and knowing the talent the Eagles have on their defense. Hell, they shouldn’t give up more than a single fluky touchdown to this offense on Sunday.
This is such a no-brainer from a scheme standpoint: your CBs will shut down their passing attack in one-on-one man coverage because aside from Nicks, their WRs are scrubs, and consequently you can play 8 men in the box on nearly every down. If I see both safeties deep in this game for some nontrivial portion of the snaps I will know for sure that Juan Castillo is incompetent.
I also want to see more Phillip Hunt and possibly Brian Rolle. With Parker and Tapp both injured, I find absolutely no excuse palatable to keep Phillip Hunt off the field in this game. At the very least, I need to see him rotating consistently with Babin and Cole on 3rd downs.
I tend to agree. Becausde of circumstances, there is simply a lack of NFL talent at WR for the giants. Hell, the TEs are borderline. Who are you throwing to?
I’m hoping for some 0 coverage Sunday. Let’s plug those interior gaps in the wide 9 with safety blitzes all day.
There’s really no excuse whatsoever to give up more than 2 offensive TDs, at most, to this NYG offense in their current state and knowing the talent the Eagles have on their defense. Hell, they shouldn’t give up more than a single fluky touchdown to this offense on Sunday.
This is such a no-brainer from a scheme standpoint: your CBs will shut down their passing attack in one-on-one man coverage because aside from Nicks, their WRs are scrubs, and consequently you can play 8 men in the box on nearly every down. If I see both safeties deep in this game for some nontrivial portion of the snaps I will know for sure that Juan Castillo is incompetent.
I also want to see more Phillip Hunt and possibly Brian Rolle. With Parker and Tapp both injured, I find absolutely no excuse palatable to keep Phillip Hunt off the field in this game. At the very least, I need to see him rotating consistently with Babin and Cole on 3rd downs.
Tommy, what do you think of trying to use a power run game against them?
It seems that the Giants will want to keep their safeties back because of the speed of Jackson, Maclin, et al. leaving only the 7 base players in the box. Plus, Benard may have played well last week, but they are thin at DT and their MLB does not do well getting off of blocks.
Say what you will about Kelce but the man can get to the LB pretty quickly.
Attack the middle with success and those safeties have to get closer to the LOS. Those quick ends that want to rush Vick will have to play in control as they worry about the run.
Should open up things in the passing game and slow down the rushers giving Vick more time.
Thoughts?
My Prediction:
Kelce makes Greg Jones wish he was back in college.
One thing that I have come to realize about playing the G men that I think most of the Giants fans reciprocate:
I HATE the Giants. Hate them intensely and relish beating them. However, as a team, I respect them. I cannot say the same for the ridiculous cowboys or redskins, because I do not fear them or respect those teams. However, with the Giants, you have to respect a team that plays as smash mouth as they do and stay true to their roots. The redskins and the cowboys are jokes as far as franchises go. They are usually weak minded, behavior problem ridden groups of individuals. With the Giants–although we have owned them for the last few years–are a worthy foe.
Well said.
I do respect the Giants team and organization. The Mara family has done some great things for the NFL. Plus, Kate Mara is very hot.
Skins and Boys I’m not so keen on anymore. Landry is one of my heroes and Joe Gibbs is a genius, but they’re long gone.
Wow, I didn’t know you had such a man crush on Laron Landry. DJax would not approve of this.
There is only one true Landry. Tom Landry. Guys like Greg Landry and LaRon Landry are impostors sent from alien worlds to confuse us. Don’t fall for it.
Let’s not forget the great Landry Clarke of the Dillon Panthers.
Kate also has a cute younger sister (born in 85 so not jailbait) named Rooney. She is also an actress. IMDB her.
I have similar feelings.
Dallas: Respect team, despise organization, most hated rival
Washington: Don’t respect either team or organization, least hated rival
Giants: Medium level of hate in terms of rivalry, do respect the team, but dislike organization (not despise like other two) because of the perceived closeness to the league office which BountyBowl likes to harp on…
I despise the Giants, but I will admit to respecting their ownership and especially their GM, Jerry Reese. Each year when the draft wraps up, I look at their haul and go, “Seriously?! They got like 7 guys that were on my Eagles short-list!”
Probably should say something about our LBs and SS covring their TE.
What te? However it is possible that no name giants te could be household name after this Sunday’s game
It might be okay. I heard their TE is playing DT for the Vikings this week… or something like that.
Bad weather is good for the underdog, bad for the favorite. It’s gonna be a pretty muddy track at the Linc Sunday. I’d prefer fast and dry.
Good point. Clean field favors the fast team. Hopefully it won’t be too sloppy.
clear eyes, full hearts
Tommy – great article, as always…
The Giants stopped being able to contend with us when Spags left, right? Since then their D just hasn’t been the same. Spags, like his mentor Johnson, knew how to get pressure and still cover his ass…the Giants haven’t been able to do that since…
I think Spags won them a SB, not Coughlin, and since they have just been an over-disciplined under-talented team, no?
sitko
Interesting take. The Giants have been major underachievers since Spags left. As injured as they are, I don’t think we’ll call this group underachievers unless they are really awful. Doesn’t seem likely to happen.
I don’t know, the Giants have a great starting rotation and play well behind them. They are tough to get runs on.
Oh, wait, you meant the Football Giants. Boy, that was embarrassing. I really wish you would be more explicit.
I know these are two very different teams from last year, but I’m still a little nervous. We very easily could have lost both games to the Giants last year. We absolutely deserved to loose one of the games.
Unrelated: I’ve almost reached my breaking point with the term “New York FOOTBALL Giants.” It’s been over 50 years, no one is expecting to hear about Willie Mays when someone says NY Giants.
Funny.
I don’t mind that, but the phrase is pretty pointless.