Interview With The Enemy: An Eagles Writer
In anticipation of the big NFC East battle this Sunday night, I exchanged questions with Andrew Kulp of the excellent Philadelphia sports blog The700Level.
To read my responses to Andrew’s Giants-related questions, click here.
1. Who were you rooting for in last week’s Giants-Cowboys game? Did you want the Cowboys to knock the Giants out of contention, or did you want the Giants to beat the Cowboys, putting the Eagles in a first place tie in a muddled NFC East?
I was rooting for the Giants just because I liked the sound of first place, but I’m not certain the win was very beneficial to the Eagles in the long term. As we all know, the Cowboys have a habit of blowing it in December, and with the Week 17 match on the horizon, the Birds still controlled their own destiny anyway. The game actually elevated the Giants back into the picture, and should they win this week, it only further complicates the race.
2. Which Giants player on each side of the ball most concerns you?
On offense, it’s still Brandon Jacobs. The Eagles defense has been much more effective against the Giants running game since Plaxico has been gone, but “limiting” would be a better word to use than “stopping.” I know he’s not having the best year, but Jacobs still managed 86 yards in their first meeting. If he is getting them in 3rd and 1 or 2 yards to go situations as opposed to 3rd and 4 or 6, the Giants are very difficult to stop.
It’s another ailing player on the defensive side of the ball. Osi Umenyiora has the ability to take over games. I’m not sure what his problem is this year, though I suspect he’s still recovering from last season’s injury. It seems to be a lot more difficult for linemen to come back from that, like Eagles offseason addition Stacy Andrews, because there’s a lot more pushing/driving that starts at their base. You don’t want to be lined up against him the day it clicks though.
3. Let’s put you in the Giants’ shoes for a second. You’re game-planning to stop the Eagles offense. Which one player,if any, do you key on?
Believe it or not, I think it has to be Donovan McNabb. First of all, there are just too many weapons on the field right now. If you stop Jackson, it’s Maclin. Stop Maclin, it’s Celek. Stop Celek, it’s Weaver. You get the idea.
Obviously they don’t want to leave DeSean Jackson running wide open down the field, but the simplest way to prevent that is by putting pressure on the quarterback. McNabb gets wild sometimes. It’s usually just a throw or two, but when he’s getting hit a bunch and the rush is constantly in his face, he can become very erratic even when he has time. When he’s comfortable back there, it’s a completely different story.
4. In the past, when these two teams played, I always tried to find where Brian Dawkins was on the field. Now that he’s gone, which defensive player should the Giants most be concerned with?
The guy you want to look for is Trent Cole, who has been by far the Eagles best performer on defense this year. His 9.0 sacks aren’t a ridiculous total, but that’s partially because he’s being dragged down by half the left tackles in the league. He’s a force.
The Eagles don’t get much of a rush from the rest of their front four though, so at the end of the day, all the Giants are going to do is put an extra body on him.
The man who is keeping the coaches up at night is Asante Samuel. He has shown a tendency to get burned by the double move, but I suppose that comes with the territory when you’re talking about a corner who has seven picks. Eli isn’t going to get away with those throws off his back foot against this secondary.
5. Is Michael Vick’s increased involvement in the offense for real, or do you expect that the Atlanta game was the most we’ll see of him?
That’s difficult to answer, so the easy part first. Vick’s involvement is for real in the sense that it’s not going away. Whether that’s two snaps or a dozen probably has more to do with situations and how successful the package is. Was last week the most we’ll see of him? If they have another opportunity like that where the game is decided, I can’t see why he wouldn’t get to play some quarterback. They’re ultimately trying to move him for picks at season’s end, so any action they can give him at this point would help in that regard.
6. Let’s get ahead of ourselves. Which team would you feel more comfortable facing in a potential playoff game: Giants or Cowboys?
Honestly, it really doesn’t matter. All three teams know each other so well, the advantages any time they play are very minimal, plus the Eagles have had success against both in December/January. Since neither team has really distinguished themselves, I would just as soon pick one out of a hat.
7. Can we get a prediction for Sunday night’s game?
The Eagles are due for a letdown along the path to the playoffs, but at the risk of sounding like a homer, I don’t think this one is it. The Giants pass rush hasn’t been the same this year, tied with four teams for 17th with 25 sacks, and as I said, the guy they need to be concerned about is #5. I doubt it will be anything like the last time though. Let’s say 30-23, Birds.
