Some of the key measurables for this Eagles offense suggest things are going very well. Their 220 points rank fourth in the NFL. Quarterback Donovan McNabb has been largely consistent from game to game, if not necessarily from quarter to quarter within each game. Brian Westbrook is just rounding into shape after missing a couple of games with injury, and wide receiver Kevin Curtis is clearly improving after missing six games with the sports hernia injury. Yet, as all parties agree, there are parts of the offense the Eagles must improve if they hope to beat the best of the best teams in the NFL.
When the very best of the best teams in the NFL comes to town on Sunday night, the Eagles offense is going to very much be on the spot. And if you believe the overall premise that Andy Reid has preached for years as the head coach here, the real areas on which to focus are the offensive line and the quarterback, McNabb. First, the offensive line. There are definitely questions about this group, especially considering the sporadic running attack the Eagles have had throughout the year. But in the big picture, they have kept the quarterback remarkably upright in eight games. McNabb has thrown 288 passes and has been sacked 13 times, a very good ratio for an offensive philosophy that emphasizes the throw game. On Sunday night, of course, the Eagles face a Giants defense molded in the vision created by Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. Steve Spagnuolo coached with the Eagles for eight seasons before taking the opportunity to become New York's defensive coordinator last year, and his masterful X's and O's strategy keyed the Giants' Super Bowl victory in February. Spagnuolo, like Johnson, believes in pressure. Take away the big plays. Win the battle at the line of scrimmage by playing "downhill" defense and make quarterbacks move off their spot and throw into coverage or hold the ball too long. Despite losing star ends Michael Strahan (retirement) and Osi Umenyiora (injury), the Giants lead the NFL with 30 quarterback sacks en route to a 7-1 record and a lead in the NFC East.
McNabb knows full well how lethal the Giants are when they rush the passer. He has faced this team for nine seasons and has had some of his most memorable – and most unpleasant – moments against the Giants. At the top of mind is the two losses from a year ago – the 12-sack embarrassment at Giants Stadium in a nationally-televised loss in September and then a dagger-to-the-playoff-hopes loss at Lincoln Financial Field in December. In both games, the Giants effectively bottled up what the Eagles wanted to do offensively. The first game isn't a fair gauge, because the Eagles played without left tackle Tra Thomas, running back Brian Westbrook and tight end L.J. Smith. McNabb never had a chance. In the second game, though, the Eagles opened with a marvelous touchdown drive and then the Giants snuffed out McNabb and Company. by dominating the line of scrimmage, taking away McNabb's downfield options and swarming the Eagles' backfield until late in the game when McNabb led a desperation drive that ended on David Akers' 57-yard field goal attempt that clanged off the right upright in a 16-13 loss. Since that loss, the teams have had different perspectives. New York went on to win the Super Bowl. The Eagles played out the string with three straight wins late in December and used those three games as reason to believe the team was better in 2007 than the record indicated.
Halfway through this season, both teams are contenders. The Giants have rolled with seven wins – five at home – are playing with extreme confidence. The Eagles have reeled off three victories in a row and are starting to understand how good they can be when everything comes together.the onus is on the offensive line and McNabb to make it all work for the offense. Look, we know the Giants are really, really good up front. Justin Tuck is one of the rare players who is a great pass rusher both at tackle and at end. The Giants have depth and are physical and come at teams in waves. Spagnuolo orders a variety of blitzes and his defense plays with an uncommon togetherness and confidence.
The Giants are not a perfect defense. we've seen the Browns have success. San Francisco moved the ball up and down the field before quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan threw the ball all over the yard and the Giants secured a victory. The Giants have holes. Every scheme has holes. In the days between now and Sunday, the coaches will prepare a game plan and the players will practice what they intend to execute on Sunday night. The chess match is on. The Eagles offense, which has done so many good things, still has a lot of areas in which it can improve. That is the truly exciting part of the offense. There are flaws and we can all see them, but the Eagles are moving the football well and they're scoring points and they have Westbrook and Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown back in the lineup and they are improving every week.
Considering how they started the first five weeks of the season, the Eagles are in tremendous position, two games above .500 with four winnable games outside of the division remaining, and two of their four NFC East games at home. They are relatively healthy, and are starting to come together and become the team so many folks expected them to be in the preseason. Getting the early lead and keeping the lead early will be a key to finishing this season strong. The Eagles built a 14-0 lead against Washington earlier this season, only to watch as the Redskins erased it and never looked back. That game could cost the Eagles big time. So, too, could that loss at Chicago. Nevertheless, I do feel like they're moving in the right direction. After allowing Seattle to score on their opening drive Sunday, an embarrassed and enraged defense forced the Seahawks to punt 11 consecutive times. And after sputtering for the first couple of series - a troubling trend these days - the offense got it together and moved the football. Yes, we all would've preferred touchdowns to those four field goals they got, but against the Seahawks it didn't matter. Against the Giants, it could be another story. This is a winable game by all means but the Eagles are going to have to play better than they have so far this year. This could be the game that defines the Eagles for this year.
Who should we watch this week?
- Eagles RT Jon Runyan vs. Giants DE Justin Tuck
- Eagles CB Asante Samuel vs. Giants WR Plaxico Burress
- Eagles run defense vs. Giants running game
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