2009/01/09

Eagles-Giants Keys to the Game


The Eagles will travel up to New York (I mean New Jersey) to play the division rival Giants in the 2nd round of the playoffs. The Eagles were in this position two seasons ago, and were unable to stop the Saints powerful rushing attack. The Eagles will need to stop the Giants rushing attack if they want to win this game.

There are a few important keys to this game, which may be the difference between a win or loss in this game. One of the keys will be to stop the Giants rushing attack. The Giants feature two 1000 yard rushers this season, and aren’t afraid to run the ball over and over again, and dare the other team to stop them. The Giants feature a very solid offensive line, which allows Jacobs, Ward, and Bradshaw to be successful in the running game. Brandon Jacobs, the Giants feature back will pound the ball up the middle this game. The Giants know it, the Eagles know it, the Giants know the Eagles know it, it is just a matter of whether we will be able to stop it. The tackles, Patterson, Bunkley, and Laws will need to stuff the holes in the middle, and Stewart Bradley will need to come up big with a lot of tackles.

If you are able to shut down the Giants rushing attack, it makes things look good on the defensive end, because we should be able to force Eli into some 3rd and long situations. This is the situation that the Eagles defensive thrives on, because they can then get to the quarterback with some complex blitz schemes, and hopefully force Eli into throwing some interceptions. And this time, Eli does not have Plaxico Burress to throw the ball to. His safety valve will not be there, mainly because Plaxico does not know how to use a safety valve.

Another key to this game will be how the Eagles call plays. The Eagles have been successful during this late-season run, and it has mostly been due to the rushing attack. Even if the Eagles have not been able to run the ball successfully, like last week against the Vikings, they still stuck to the run. The one game Reid decided to go back to his pass-happy offense, the Eagles put up 3 points and lost to the Redskins. Brian Westbrook had 100 yards rushing in the Eagles 2nd game against the Giants, and will need to be used a lot in this game as well. Another person who Andy Reid needs to realize is on the team is Correll Buckhalter. Buckhalter has been amazing in the 2nd half of this season, and lately it seems that every time he touches the ball, he makes a big play. The Eagles have used Westbrook and Buckhalter a lot on the field together, and I hope we see that formation a lot in this game, because right now, Buckhalter is one of the best offensive playmakers on the team, no matter what position he plays.

Those are just a couple keys to what should be a very good, tough, hard fought game, as it usually is when these two teams play. The Eagles and Giants know each other well, and do not like each other, so it should be a great playoff matchup in the Meadowlands.

PREDICTION
MR. GREEN: 20-17 EAGLES
ROGET: 24-20 EAGLES

1 comment:

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