First I will let you know I am a life long eagles fan and season ticket holder. With that said I keep my bias out of bets because following your heart in sports will leave your pocket empty. Easiest way to do that is just not to bet on games the team you like are in, which is what I do mostly, but its the playoffs so lets be serious.
Onto the analysis. Philly is definitely going to rush the ball in this game. Andy learned in the hard way in the 1st match up and positively 2nd matchup in the season that rushing the ball against the giants is a must. The Giants have a pass rush that can cause problems for the best of O-lines. Philly's O-line didn't look great last week but then again that was against the D line of the Vikings which isn't too bad with Jared Allen at end and the Williams brothers in the middle (only 1 last week). Andy stayed away from the run in the first game with Westbrook only having 13 rush attempts for 26 yards. Andy stressed the run in the 2nd matchup giving the ball to Westbrook 33 times for 131. This will be a continued theme in the third match up. Also Buckhalter has been getting stronger as the season progresses. On the topic of multiple running backs i will continue on to one of the best running backs by committee in the league.
Jacobs+Ward=Scary Good. These three compliment each other real well and have cause philly problems in the past. In the first matchup they torched the eagles. In the second matchup philly was more disciplined and held the combo to a moderate 91 yards. I think the giants will be pushing the run as their passing attack has lost its big play presense with my man Plex (a.k.a. Chedder Bob) shooting himself in the leg. Jacobs is a beast that almost always breaks the first tackle. Ward bring a speed presense and decent hands to make moves out of the backfield for a change of pace. A positive for Philly is that Jacobs has been banged up and only played in 3 of the last 6 games. Down side is he has had three weeks to rest his injuries since he last played. He still wont be at 100%.
In terms of the passing game I actually like the Eagles more right now. As I said with Chedder Bob shooting himself in the leg the Giants definitely lost some pop in their passing game. Hixon has stepped up as he could but his talent level is just no where near the level of Plex. Eli is a question mark if he is going to perform like he did in the playoffs last year or continue his play as of late (under 200 yards passing past 4 weeks).
The Eagles have speed in Curtis and Jackson. With big catch playmaker Baskett (max 3 balls thrown to him a game). I along with every other philly fan I know like Celek more than L.J. Smith. Celek proved a lot last week coming up with some big receptions in an intense playoff game. Look for more of Celek this week. McNabb will throw some balls in the ground as usual but seems to be more elusive (big benefit against Giants) and overall game has improved towards the end of the season. Ball security is always a question with McNabb.
Defenses are pretty solid on both sides:
Up front I give the advantage to NY but not by much. Osi can take over a game if he is able to beat his man. Tra Thomas will have to use his experience against Osi because Osi is too quick against the aging Thomas. The Eagles like to rotate tons of ends for constant speed. Patterson and Bunkley are both much improved this season and have become a good tandum blocking up the middle.
Linebackers there is no question the Giants are better. Much more experience and Pierce can give you internal bleeding if he has a straight on tackle. The eagles have speed at their linebackers and will rely on Jim Johnson coming up with the right blitzing schemes to neutralize the opponent.
Secondary goes to the Eagles. Probowlers Samuel and Dawkins with a great cover man in Brown and the high energy Mikell. Not too mention they have an ex probowler in Shepperd coming off the bench. Plex always took advatage of Sheldon Brown and had his way all game. Him being out is once again a big plus to this match up. The Giants secondary is defintely defense but philly has that advatage.
In terms of the coaches I think both coaches are marshmellows and I have no idea how either of them could ever get anyone pumped about anything. The defensive coordinators are great with Jim Johnson being an old school guy with new school blitzes and Steve Spagnola being one of the hottest commodities out there and surely will be a head coach next season.
Overall I am really looking forward to this game. It should be a battle in all aspects of the game. I don't really see anyone taking off this game and pounding the other team. This is why I like the points, that happens to fall on the eagles. Either team can win this game and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest bit. The blowout by one side or a high scoring affair would.
Onto the analysis. Philly is definitely going to rush the ball in this game. Andy learned in the hard way in the 1st match up and positively 2nd matchup in the season that rushing the ball against the giants is a must. The Giants have a pass rush that can cause problems for the best of O-lines. Philly's O-line didn't look great last week but then again that was against the D line of the Vikings which isn't too bad with Jared Allen at end and the Williams brothers in the middle (only 1 last week). Andy stayed away from the run in the first game with Westbrook only having 13 rush attempts for 26 yards. Andy stressed the run in the 2nd matchup giving the ball to Westbrook 33 times for 131. This will be a continued theme in the third match up. Also Buckhalter has been getting stronger as the season progresses. On the topic of multiple running backs i will continue on to one of the best running backs by committee in the league.
Jacobs+Ward=Scary Good. These three compliment each other real well and have cause philly problems in the past. In the first matchup they torched the eagles. In the second matchup philly was more disciplined and held the combo to a moderate 91 yards. I think the giants will be pushing the run as their passing attack has lost its big play presense with my man Plex (a.k.a. Chedder Bob) shooting himself in the leg. Jacobs is a beast that almost always breaks the first tackle. Ward bring a speed presense and decent hands to make moves out of the backfield for a change of pace. A positive for Philly is that Jacobs has been banged up and only played in 3 of the last 6 games. Down side is he has had three weeks to rest his injuries since he last played. He still wont be at 100%.
In terms of the passing game I actually like the Eagles more right now. As I said with Chedder Bob shooting himself in the leg the Giants definitely lost some pop in their passing game. Hixon has stepped up as he could but his talent level is just no where near the level of Plex. Eli is a question mark if he is going to perform like he did in the playoffs last year or continue his play as of late (under 200 yards passing past 4 weeks).
The Eagles have speed in Curtis and Jackson. With big catch playmaker Baskett (max 3 balls thrown to him a game). I along with every other philly fan I know like Celek more than L.J. Smith. Celek proved a lot last week coming up with some big receptions in an intense playoff game. Look for more of Celek this week. McNabb will throw some balls in the ground as usual but seems to be more elusive (big benefit against Giants) and overall game has improved towards the end of the season. Ball security is always a question with McNabb.
Defenses are pretty solid on both sides:
Up front I give the advantage to NY but not by much. Osi can take over a game if he is able to beat his man. Tra Thomas will have to use his experience against Osi because Osi is too quick against the aging Thomas. The Eagles like to rotate tons of ends for constant speed. Patterson and Bunkley are both much improved this season and have become a good tandum blocking up the middle.
Linebackers there is no question the Giants are better. Much more experience and Pierce can give you internal bleeding if he has a straight on tackle. The eagles have speed at their linebackers and will rely on Jim Johnson coming up with the right blitzing schemes to neutralize the opponent.
Secondary goes to the Eagles. Probowlers Samuel and Dawkins with a great cover man in Brown and the high energy Mikell. Not too mention they have an ex probowler in Shepperd coming off the bench. Plex always took advatage of Sheldon Brown and had his way all game. Him being out is once again a big plus to this match up. The Giants secondary is defintely defense but philly has that advatage.
In terms of the coaches I think both coaches are marshmellows and I have no idea how either of them could ever get anyone pumped about anything. The defensive coordinators are great with Jim Johnson being an old school guy with new school blitzes and Steve Spagnola being one of the hottest commodities out there and surely will be a head coach next season.
Overall I am really looking forward to this game. It should be a battle in all aspects of the game. I don't really see anyone taking off this game and pounding the other team. This is why I like the points, that happens to fall on the eagles. Either team can win this game and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest bit. The blowout by one side or a high scoring affair would.
It looked like Philly could not adjust to the vikes stacking the line and should have been able to shred the vikes pitiful pass defense. The giants should be well rested and win by 10.
