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The New York Giants vs. the Philadelphia Eagles has always been a great rivalry.

In 2013 both teams are pretty bad, in fact the two teams defenses rank 31 & 32 in the league; yet the Philadelphia Eagles fans once again approach their team as one of the best in the NFL.   While this fan base is starved for a winner, you would hope for an ounce of reality.

While the Giants passing defensive rank isn’t embarrassing at #20, the Eagles come in 10 slots later at #30.    Offensively the Birds running back(McCoy) is purely their best weapon and he clearly ranks at the top in this league.   Something to note, when the Eagles played the Chargers, believe it or not the Bolts held McCoy to 53 yards rushing, but he destroyed them with 115 receiving yards. The guy is a beast.

The media quotes are funny and should be noted:

Philadelphia homer and ESPN analysis, Sal Paolantonio who abandoned his New York roots long ago says that the Eagles will beat the Giants by double digits.  If they hand the ball to McCoy, throw the ball to McCoy and use a two tight end set with their rookie tight end the Eagles will beat the Giants handily.

– Best Team in the NFC – Mike Missanelli

– Chip Kelly is the sole innovator of a new type of offense in the NFL and no one can keep up with it. -Adam Caplan

– Smartest coach in the country – John Clark

– The running game is a head of everyone and far from being stopped – G Cobb

– Trent Cole can whip ant TE in football & the Eagles are a 11 & 5 team – John Clark 

Reality: Chip’s attempt at running 100 offensive plays can not and will not be done.   Chip Kelly is a fine coach, but will need to adapt to a bigger, faster game that also runs at a slower pace.  In the NFL things tend to return to normal after a time of trial and error.

ie: Run and Shoot, Wild Cat, K Gun & the Pistol

The broader historical trend has remained largely unchanged: Teams average around 64-65 plays per game in 2012, just as they did in the early ’90s.  Since 2000, the league leader in average plays per game has fallen between 68-69 plays per game.  – Brian Billick

The Giants are in a bit of disarray everyone can admit; however, there a ton of talented football players & pro bowlers on the New York Giants.   A Giant team with Manning, Cruz and Nicks should be able to put their team in position to score 17 to 20 points by themselves.

I hope that the boys in blue feel the need to come out and play because they have been pushed in a corner and disrespected.  It does not happen often under the vanilla offensive of Kevin Gilbride; however, I hope he feels the urgency and pulls out all the stops.

  • Offensive line: Eagles
  • Running Backs: Eagles
  • Wide Receivers: Giants
  • Tight Ends: Push
  • Quarterback: Giants
  • Defensive line: Giants
  • Linebackers: Eagles
  • Safeties: Giants
  • Corner backs: Giants
  • D Ends/Edge Rushers: Eagles
  • Specials: Push

The Eagles offensive line is their strength but there quarterback(Vick) is average at best. When the Eagles lose its by the hand of Michael Vick.  His big time play making years are long gone.  The Giants need pressure him all game.

While Eli Manning is having his worst year as a pro, it’s understandable when you are playing with one of the worst offensive lines in all of football. Being conservative against a bad defense and an injury prone quarterback should not be in the gameplan for the New York Giants on Sunday.

Craig J. Santucci | Senior Editor NY Giants Rush

@CraigSantucci