If there was ever a week that Andy Reid would pick not to be starting a rookie at middle linebacker it's probably this one. The Giants have leaned heavily on their running game the past few weeks and have had a lot of success with it. They've obviously got two capable backs and a line that's really started to open some holes for them. Of course, the Cowboys had really been running the ball well lately and Chaney, along with the rest of the Eagles D were very good against the run last Sunday.
Yesterday, Andy Reid talked about some of the challenges of starting a young guy in the middle.
"Well, listen, it will be a great challenge for him. The Giants are a good football team and they'll test the linebackers now with that run game, the way the tight end plays, the screen game and so on. They'll test your linebackers. I will tell you that Jamar did a good job. You can tell he did his homework when he stepped in for Bradley. He really didn't miss a beat as far as the calls go. Listen, he preps hard and he's one of those guys who comes in early and does all that stuff and stays late and makes sure he stays up on his game. He did have the advantage of where he was actually a middle linebacker in college and he was asked to call the defense there, so he knows the time that it takes and the preparation that it takes. I think [LB] Omar [Gaither] has been good for him too. Omar is a very intelligent guy and Omar has coached him up and Bradley has coached him up. I think he's got a pretty good feel of what he needs to do to get himself ready to go."
Chaney says he relied on Omar Gaither a lot last week for advice.
"I would say [LB Omar Gaither] and [LB Stewart Bradley]. [Gaither] has a good overall view of the game. I mean, he's really smart, so he does a good job of helping me. The last game we played on Sunday, he did a good job on the sideline, telling me what they were doing, what to expect and what to do in certain situations, so I mean [Gaither] does a great job out there."