Crossroads Game

Eagles at Giants is always an interesting game. This year, it is a big game.

A win would get the Eagles back to .500 and they would have time to rest and get healthy. A loss would put them two games under .500 and the scrutiny would go through the roof, turning louder than Nigel Tufnel’s guitar solo on Sex Farm Woman.

A win for the Giants would give them some hope. They almost beat the Panthers last week and played the Jags tough early in the season. A loss would drop them to 1-5 and would be pretty deflating.

Big game.

Eli is completing 72 percent of his passes. Getting pressure on him, covering his receivers and then tackling well will be quite the challenge. The Giants are averaging 25 points a game over the last three weeks. The Eagles haven’t scored more than 23 points in a game so far this year. For the Eagles to win, the defense has to shut Eli down or Carson Wentz and the offense have to finally break through and score 27, 28 or 31 points. Something like that.

The Giants have been vulnerable to the run so it will be interesting to see how Doug Pederson plays this. People have ripped on him for the lack of a balanced offense, but there are multiple things to consider. Last year the Eagles threw to score points and then ran in the second half. This year they aren’t building the lead so the run game isn’t used as much in the second half.

Pederson could once again throw to build a lead or he could focus on running the ball to build some confidence in his O-line and his RBs. There is an argument to be made for each plan of attack. Even if Pederson does throw a lot, I think he will mix in more runs early. Of course, that will only be true if the Eagles have success.

The return of Corey Clement will be interesting to watch. Does he become the feature back? Does Wendell Smallwood get that role? Some think Clement could become a guy who should get 20 touches a game. I have my doubts. I see a terrific role player, but I’m not sure he’s someone you want to feed the ball to. I would love for him to prove me wrong.

The Giants only have six sacks this year so this is a game where Carson Wentz should have good chances to throw. The Giants do blitz a lot and they will get some hits on him. If the line and other blockers can buy him time, Wentz will have the chance to make plays.

https://twitter.com/JordanRaanan/status/1050080092867702785

Vernon could be a key addition. I don’t question his ability. We just don’t know if he’ll be banged up or rusty. The Giants defense has needed him in the worst way so they have to be happy to get him back for this game.

Let’s shift back to the Eagles defense.

#Eagles ruled out S Corey Graham, DT Haloti Ngata and RB Darren Sproles for tomorrow's game vs the #Giants. No surprises there. Doug Pederson said today Sproles is close to returning.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 10, 2018

Roster Moves: #Eagles have waived DT T.Y. McGill (failed physical) and promoted S Tre Sullivan from the practice squad to the active roster. pic.twitter.com/uLeohWgCd3

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 10, 2018

Sullivan will have a chance to play in his first NFL game.

The Eagles will get Derek Barnett back. Even though Eli gets rid of the ball incredibly quickly, you want your best pass rushers on the field. With Ngata out and Barnett back, Michael Bennett could play more in the middle than usual. Pressure up the middle can still get the best of Eli.

The Eagles had all offseason to figure out what they want to do against Eli and the quick throws. Jim Schwartz says tackling well is the biggest help to stopping this offense. It will be interesting to see if there are any schematic twists. That would be really tough on a short week.

The Eagles understand the importance of this game. Now we need to see evidence of that on Thursday night. Understanding it in theory doesn’t do us any good if that doesn’t lead to gameday actions.

*****

The speculation continues.

“It’s VERY real.”@JasonLaCanfora tells @AdamSchein that Le’Veon Bell to the Philadelphia Eagles is very much a possibility. #T2S pic.twitter.com/vbBIYzWq8L

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) October 10, 2018

We’ll see.

There are a lot of angles to this. The Steelers may want certain rumors out there. The Eagles, too. And Bell’s agent certainly can work the press.

I’m sure the Eagles have at least passive interest. I still have doubts that anything happens with this.

_

Wearing and Tearing

Running Back By Committee.

That’s what RBBC means. That will be the Eagles approach this week.

Right now there just isn’t one guy you would feed the ball to over and over. Darren Sproles has only played in one game. Corey Clement has dealt with a nagging injury most of the year. Wendell Smallwood hurt his ribs last Sunday and got banged up previously. Rookie Josh Adams missed a lot of time this spring and summer.

We know RB is a wear and tear position, but sometimes we forget that. This season has been a stark reminder. Jay Ajayi is the Eagles leading rusher and best RB. He played in games with a broken back and torn ACL. Think about that for a second. Don’t ever question that dude’s toughness. Worst of all for him, this is a contract season. He was hoping for a decent payday for 2019. Now he’ll likely have to sign a 1-year prove-it deal. Ugh.

I think the Eagles have to do something at RB, but the more I think about the trade possibilities, the less they make sense. There are good players out there, but I’m not so sure teams are ready to trade them. We’re just in Week 5. Plenty of teams still have playoff hopes. Do you risk trading an asset right now?

There was an interesting rumor on Tuesday.

The #Eagles have reached out to the #Bills about a possible trade for LeSean McCoy, per source. Philly just lost RB Jay Ajayi for the season due to a torn ACL. McCoy spent the first 6 seasons of his career with the Eagles and is the franchise all-time leading rusher.

— Josh Reed (@4JoshReed) October 9, 2018

Mentioned last night the possibility of the #Eagles interest in LeSean McCoy. With a game Thursday night, timing would be difficult. Some interest, and the Eagles always look into everything. But nothing right now. https://t.co/VwG1vaqHCI

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 9, 2018

I’d be all for this move, if the price was right. Someone said the asking price was a 2nd round pick. No way I do that deal. Shady is a banged up RB and he’s on the decline. He would still help out the Eagles, but you can’t overpay for his services.

It would be fun to watch him play with Carson Wentz and behind this O-line. It would be fun to have a RB who could deliver big plays.

I wouldn’t think of this as a likely move, but it is possible. If the Eagles can’t find a key RB to get, why did they clear that cap space? There had to be a reason.

It is possible that the Vikings game made the coaches and front office feel the team needed help at another spot. Maybe there is a safety the team is going after. Maybe there is a DT they want. Tim Jernigan remains a mystery. Without him, the DL isn’t as good. The other DTs are effective role players, but no one has shown the ability to do a whole lot.

Howie Roseman and his staff are always looking for ways to improve the roster. It is possible they see a player on another team that has fallen out of favor and is now available. We didn’t hear a lot about Jay Ajayi last year before he was traded. That sort of came out of nowhere. Howie has strong relationships with agents. He knows what’s going on with players around the league.

For now, all we can do is sit, wait and speculate.

It certainly feels like the Eagles are going to make some move. We just don’t know who or what right now.

_