Time to Pull Out All the Stops

Eagles / Giants Game Preview

One of the perils of writing something the night before, but waiting to post it until the next day, is that by the time you go live, someone else might have "stolen" your idea.  And so it is today, when I was beaten to the punch by not one, but two Philly columnists (of the compensated variety) who argued that it is time for the Eagles to shift to a more high-risk, high-reward strategic mindset.

And so it goes.

If I were feeling more peevish about the whole thing, I might consider flipping my argument around and suggesting that what the Eagles really need to do is trot out a conservative, ball-control offense and a bend-but-don't-break defense that gives Garcia a chance to win this thing in the fourth quarter.  But, well, I don't think that's the case and, besides, that's sort of been done too.

So let's instead just reorganize things a bit and play another round of the Should/Will Game.  Here we go:

The Giants SHOULD pretend Eli Manning is a rookie who needs to be protected.  That would mean calling either running plays or screens to Tiki/Jacobs on 75 percent of their first-half plays.

The Giants WILL realize that Shockey and Burress would flip out with that gameplan.  Meaning Eli will throw far more often than he should, and Coughlin will repeat the mistake made by both the Panthers and the Redskins.  When in doubt against the Eagles, just run the ball.

The Eagles SHOULD flip their defensive ends this game.  Trent Cole seems to have worn down as the season has progressed, but let's see what the kid can do against the decrepit Bob Whitfield, who is filling in for the injured LT Luke Petitgout.  Best case scenario, Cole picks up three sacks and terrorizes Manning.  Second-best, the Giants have to commit Shockey and Tiki to help on Cole, taking those two explosive weapons out of the offense on some plays.

The Eagles WILL keep things as they are.  But Juqua Thomas will have a nice day playing on the right side as he takes some of Darren Howard's snaps. 

The Giants SHOULD focus on taking away the Eagles' big plays.  At the expense of letting Brian Westbrook have a huge (though non-fatal) afternoon, the Giants should play soft in the secondary and try to take away the quick strikes that have been such an important part of the Eagles offense this year.

The Giants WILL make stopping Brian Westbrook their number one priority.  This will open up the deep passing attack for the Eagles, particularly since the likely absence of Eagles' killer Michael Strahan will cause the Giants to blitz more often to bring pressure, leaving an already weak secondary exposed.

The Eagles SHOULD start Brodrick Bunkley.  I don't know why Darwin Walker can't play the run (injuries, lack of talent, lack of discipline), all I know is that he can't. 

The Eagles WILL start Darwin Walker.  And the Giants will run right at him.  And Walker will again put up no more than token resistance.  And Rayburn and Bunkley will eventually replace him.  And we'll again wonder why the Eagles defense is so bad on opponents' first drives. 

Finally, the Giants SHOULD win this game.  They're at home and the Eagles have no answer to the kind of sustained rushing attack the Giants can bring.

But the Eagles WILL win.  Because our coaches are better, our quarterback is much more clutch, and because you should never, ever, anger Mr. Trotter.

Eagles - 27
Giants - 24