The stakes are huge. If the Giants win on Sunday night vs the Eagles, they control their fate.
Let’s go through the buy and sell for the Gmen..
Bullish:
1) The Giants got their mojo back last weekend.
2) Boley, Canty, Goff, Sintim, Ross make the uptick meaningful.
3) The Giants have been competitive at home all season.
4) Hey, the Giants have won 2 out of 3 after the bye.
5) Dismiss the Denver travel loss on a short week.
6) Snee and Johnson are practicing. The Giants are full strength excepting IR.
7) Jacobs ran with more purpose than at any time this season…
8) and that means Jacobs will have a strong voice for the team to rally around come Sunday night
9) Ross and Rouse are providing some serviceable relief at Safety
Bearish:
1) Dallas was the only credible win in the last 7 games. They were jacked on emotion and needed Flozell to keep them jacked for 4 Q’s.
2) Wade Phillips isn’t coaching the Eagles.
3) The Giants are still vulnerable at safety and Brent Celek/Maclin&Jackson will dissect the pass defense again.
3a) Rouse? Ross? Andy- Are you kiddin’ me? The Giants gave up 390 yards to the Boys!
4) 0-3 vs Philadelphia in the last 3 meetings.
5) In their last 4 meetings combined, the Giants DL has 1 sack vs the Eagles.
6) Asante Samuel is good for an INT vs Manning.
7) Gilbride still s*cks. What he said about the running game is scary. Hellpppp!
8) Sheridan made some adjustments, but the Eagles will still remain one step ahead of him.
9) Big plays by Jacobs (pass) and Hixon (punt return) covered up what could easily have been a loss.
Keys:
1) PRESSURE McNabb
2) PRESSURE McNabb
3) PRESSURE McNabb
The Pick:
We called for a competitive game vs Dallas and were correct. This game has another 1 point spread (Giants by 1 this time), so essentially it is pick’em. Tell me if the Giants are able to pressure McNabb (without blitzing 7 or 8 men on every play) and I’ll tell you whether they win or not. The Giants have not been able to get to McNabb with Sheridan OR Spagnoulo in ’08 and ’09 with any consistency. I have no pick. The Eagles have given up 2 or 3 sacks per game the last 5 games. The Giants will need that AND consistent pressure. Despite what PHL did to the Giants 7 weeks ago on the ground, PHL does not have a running game. They need to pass the ball to be effective. So this is why the pass rush is critical. The Giants defense has always flowed from dominant play at the line of scrimmage. Kiwanuka, Tuck, Umenyiora, Cofield, Robbins, Bernard, Tollefson, Canty.. these are the men who hold the Giants’ fate this weekend.
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