The Big Blue Are in the House: Eagles vs. Giants Week 8 Game Preview

It is quite intriguing that we are already in the 8th week of the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles’ season. It always seems that the offseason requires an eternity of patience, and when football finally arrives, it escapes so quickly. Nevertheless, the Eagles’ 8th game will be a significant one, as they attempt to knock off the division-leading New York Giants for respect and, more importantly, a spot atop the NFC East. The Birds have come out victorious in four of their six games (one of the sevenweeks thus far was the team’s Bye Week), but they remain a club without a true identity, as they’ve defeated mostly weak opponents and lost to a dismal team in the Raiders. They have displayed potential and explosiveness, however, and have the talent to compete with the “Big Blue” Giants, who are 5-2 overall but have been handed their pair of losses over the past two weeks. Especially with the Eagles’ fellow city baseball team–the Phillies–hosting another New York team in the Yankees in Game 4 of the World Series, there should be plenty of excitement and thrilling tension in tomorrow afternoon’s matchup.

Week 8 Opponent: New York Giants

2008 Record: 12-4

Last Meeting Between Teams: 2008 Divisional Playoffs: PHI-23 NYG-11 (Regular Season: Week 10, 2008: PHI-20 NYG-14)

Evaluation: Despite the Giants stealing the NFC East’s spotlight from the Eagles over the last few years, Philadelphia has had the upper hand when the two combatants meet. Last season, when New York ran away with the division title, the Eagles were still able to capture one of the two contests in which the teams faced each other, and put 31 points on the board in the other. They also crushed the Giants’ Super Bowl run with a win over the team in the divisional round of the postseason. In the offseason, the Giants rid of their top WR Plaxico Burress after he was sentenced to prison time for illegal weapon possession, and replaced him with several previous backups and rookie draftee Hakeem Nicks. Their offense has been run smoothly without Burress, and the Giants continue to appear a solid football team. However, they have recently taken a stumble, dropping their last pair of games because of clumsy mistakes and inconsistent defensive performances. With a smart game plan, the Eagles can definitely come out of Sunday’s matchup as the winner.

Key Matchups:

• MLB Will Witherspoon (PHI) vs. RB Brandon Jacobs (NYG): Last week, Witherspoon (who was then a new trade acquisition from the Rams) posted astounding statistics, racking among the team’s leading tacklers, and also recording an interception, sack, and forced fumble. He appeared to be the perfect option at the Middle Linebacker position for the Birds, who struggled to maintain a constant starter at the spot because of injuries. Tomorrow, he will be expected to contain Giants’ starting runner Brandon Jacobs, who is a powerful and bruising rusher known for fearful and strong efforts. Thus far in the year, Jacobs has compiled 464 hard-earned yards, and will perhaps bring out the true ability of Witherspoon to play the MLB spot with the physicality it requires.
• RB Brian Westbrook/LeSean McCoy (PHI) vs. MLB Antonio Pierce (NYG): With the Eagles’ starting Running Back role yet to be decided for Sunday with Westbrook recovering from a concussion, Philly’s rookie LeSean McCoy might get the call. No matter who steps in, though, Antonio Pierce of the Giants will be a key defender to watch in this Week 8 showdown. He has long been the emotional and physical leader of the typically-excellent New York defense, and–to most people–arguably sparked the Raiders to play better in Week 6 versus the Eagles when he said they were no better than a scrimmage opponent. For the Birds to succeed on the offensive side of the ball by running, they will need to dodge the versatility and strength of Pierce, or at least find away to keep him away from whomever takes the majority of hand-offs.
• OT Winston Justice (PHI) vs. DE Justin Tuck (NYG): The last time Justice started against the Giants, he allowed a horrid 6 sacks to his blocking assignment. Fortunately, that was 2 seasons ago, and since then, Justice has developed into a quality leader on the line in place of the injured Shawn Andrews. Tuck has been an aggressive pursuer of Quarterbacks all year as one of the Giants’ starting DEs, and has already notched 3.5 sacks as a solid contributor to the defensive unit as a whole. His speed and body frame may be the biggest problem for Justice, who has tended to need blocking assistance against fast and determined linemen. This player battle might have significant effects on the game, as it holds up the strong side of the Eagles’ offensive line that needs to give it’s QB–Donovan McNabb–time to throw the ball accurately.
• CB Sheldon Brown (PHI) vs. WR Steve Smith (NYG): In order to keep the Giant offense under wraps, an important player to focus on will be New York’s leading receiver–Smith. The 3rd-year player has produced enough this season to officially become one of the franchise’s potential stars, and has already grabbed 45 receptions for 594 yards and 4 touchdowns in seven games. Sheldon Brown will be responsible for covering Smith, and will need to keep him out of the offensive picture for the rival teams. When Eli Manning is pressured constantly, he tends to force throws and often toss interceptions or even mishandle the snap, and that could prove extremely beneficial for the Birds in the matchup.

What to Watch For…

• The Eagles have struggled taking advantage of good starting field position this year, and it might be necessary for them to finally capitalize off of this mistake in order to win versus the Giants. If/when they are able to force an unproductive offensive drive or create a turnover and have decent or great positioning to begin their drive on the field, then be sure to take notice and evaluate if they are able to indeed make use of the advantages. In a game of this magnitude with a sure high amount of intensity and passion, the Birds will need to get good offensive starting points and score off of them.
• Although an opposing Punter isn’t usually a point of interest for fans, Giants’ longtime player Jeff Feagles deserves some respect. Of course, there is never a lot of room for respect when it comes to rival players, but the 43-year-old New Yorker is a former Eagle, and has been one of the league’s most consistent kickers for a remarkable 21 seasons, and is still playing strong. The true reason to keep an eye on him though is the fact that he is a beast at placing punts within opponents’ 20-yard line, so the Birds will have to perform wisely on special teams against him.
• The Giants will be without one of their starting Cornerbacks in Aaron Ross, who is to be held out of tomorrow’s game with a hamstring injury, and might have trouble keeping up with their typically consistent pace of secondary play. As seen in previous games, both DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin have proven to be dangerous starting wideouts for the Eagles, and it will be interesting to see how the New York Giants attempt to keep a grasp on the situation. 2nd-year backup Terrell Thomas is expected to start in place of Ross, and hasn’t had too much experience thus far in his brief career.

Injury Report (Eagles):

RB Brian Westbrook (concussion, twisted ankle) Questionable

WR DeSean Jackson (sprained ankle) Probable

WR Jeremy Maclin (foot pain) Probable

WR Kevin Curtis (surgery; sprained knee) Out

OT Jason Peters (knee contusion, sprained ankle) Probable

OG Max Jean-Gilles (strained shoulder) Probable

OG Nick Cole (knee pain) Probable

OG Todd Herremans (surgery; foot stress fracture) Probable

DE Chris Clemons (illness, sore elbow) Questionable

DE Darren Howard (strained calf muscle) Probable

DE Victor Abiamiri (sprained knee) Out

OLB Akeem Jordan (hip pain) Probable

CB Dimitri Patterson (strained quad muscle) Out

FS Macho Harris (sprained ankle) Questionable

P Sav Rocca (back pain) Probable

Projected Team Lineups:

Now that we have summarized and previewed tomorrow’s Eagles-Giants rivalry Week 8 face off, sit back and prepare for what should be an awesome Sunday in Philadelphia!