newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SAM HITCHCOCK

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

My personal appraisal of the upcoming Giants-Eagles game Sunday night is that New York will absolutely pummel Philadelphia, and through the immortal words of many Friday and Saturday night 20-somethings, here is my justification through what I like to call “BarSpeak.”

“The cover is really high and you said the bar is lame -- wait, why are we going there again?”

How is Philadelphia possibly favored in this game?! This really reminds me of going out with friends who suggest a bar or club that has a bunch of negatives, but everyone agrees to go. Logic is absent from that decision, and a good rationale is hard to find for why the Eagles are favored.

The Eagles’ fickle quarterback Michael Vick has eight turnovers through three games. (He has six interceptions and five fumbles, two of which he has lost.) In Vick’s last 13 starts, he has 17 touchdowns and 18 interceptions with a completion percentage of 58.7 percent.

Vick is averaging over 40 pass attempts per game despite Philadelphia having one of the NFL’s best running backs, LeSean McCoy. Coach Andy Reid routinely mismanages the clock, and falls head-over-heels in love with the aerial game. Unfortunately, Philadelphia’s signal caller is highly inconsistent, and as a result the offense’s DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) is 31st in the NFL.

Philadelphia’s offensive line has been bad enough that Vick has taken a lot of bruising hits over the first three games (and he is not exactly a stoutly built physical specimen either). The Eagles’ propensity to allow punishing blows to Vick will be even more evident when facing the NFL’s most feared defensive pass rush. The Eagles’ best receiver, Jeremy Maclin, is coming off a hip injury that forced him to miss Philly’s game against Arizona. Receiver DeSean Jackson is not nearly as good as people think he is, and both Giants’ wideouts, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, are far superior to Jackson, with the pair slated to play Sunday night.

The reality is the Eagles are 2-1, but their record is misleading. Philly tried to give away the game to Cleveland in Week 1, but the Browns could not capitalize on nearly a dozen opportunities to win.

In Week 2, Baltimore seemed to win the game, but then they didn’t, due to some horrendous reffing calls by the replacements – the most blatant being a Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones touchdown pass where Jones was called for a phantom pass interference. The Jones touchdown would have given Baltimore a 10-point lead and likely clinched the win, but the replacement officials gave the Eagles a second life and Philly took advantage.

Against Arizona the Eagles were exposed, as Philly allowed five sacks and were physically dominated by a very hard-hitting, athletically-imposing Arizona defense. The Eagles went 0-2 in the red zone with the biggest play coming at the end of the first half (six seconds remaining) when Vick was leveled by an exploding Kerry Rhodes off the edge. Vick coughed up the ball and James Sanders picked it up for a 93-yard touchdown to complete a 14-point swing.

“It’s alright. It has a cover of 25 dollars for all you can drink with a good tap, and it has a rooftop.”

Sounds like a fun time and it usually does not disappoint, especially if a good group of buddies are with you. The Giants’ offense has become a supernova this season, with their brightest explosion being quarterback Eli Manning.

Manning has been superb against Philly in his past five starts, completing 14 TDs and five interceptions. This season, Manning has been two different quarterbacks in his twelve quarters. In the first six, he had two TDs and three interceptions and 418 yards passing. In his next six quarters, he had 583 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. His completion percentage in Week 3 against Carolina was 77 percent, and his QBR was 93 (the highest is 100).

Manning is a quick study, and his decision-making and ability to make plays when the pocket collapses are what continue to make this offense highly flammable. Despite the heavy duress he is certain to feel at Lincoln Financial Field, Manning is always collected and plays better when the game tightens.

Against Carolina, the Giants’ offensive line dominated the trenches, and that led to running back Andre Brown’s breakout performance (Brown has 184 yards and two touchdowns in consecutive performances). Against Philadelphia, Manning will face the lethal Eagles’ pass rush and their talented defensive backs. Ball carrier Ahmad Bradshaw is set to return Sunday, and Big Blue will likely try to mix-and-match situationally Bradshaw, Brown, and David Wilson to try to change the power and pace through the inside and outside of the tackles.

A big matchup problem for Giants’ opponents this season has been an offseason acquisition, tight end Martellus Bennett, who has the athleticism and size to make him a nightmare for linebackers and defensive secondaries. Through three games he has three TDs and 15 receptions for 185 yards. Look for Bennett to be featured near the goal line against the Eagles.

“How many rum and cokes have I had? And where are the bathrooms?”

This has to go to Vick, who will be overmatched similarly to anyone attending a new social venue on the weekend. Vick has taken a beating this season, and is going against a highly-motivated and insulted Osi Umenyiora (thanks to Eagles’ running back LeSean McCoy metaphorically pouring grain alcohol into a small cut), not to mention Justin Tuck, and Jason Pierre-Paul.

Vick has not been, and will not be, patient with his progressions when the pocket is collapsing fast -- he has a 38.9 completion percentage when teams send an extra blitzer, the second-worst in the NFL against added pressure -- and fans forget that his arm strength is negated by his sidearm throwing motion, which allows defenses to tip many of his passes, sometimes resulting in picks.

The Giants’ D-line seems ready to jump all over Demetress Bell and Todd Herremains, as Philly will continue to sorely miss left tackle Jason Peters. The Eagles have conceded nine sacks this season, and the Giants’ defense loves a big stage. Linebacker Michael Boley will get an astonishing fourth interception in his fourth game in this one. McCoy will be hounded by a defensive front that gets great penetration at the line of scrimmage, and will be a nonfactor in this game.

PREDICTION: The Giants have a much better passing game, coaching, and defensive front seven. The Eagles have a better running back and secondary, but the Giants do a much better job at covering their weaknesses within their offensive and defensive scheme. The bottom line is that the Eagles are sloppy and have twelve total turnovers this season. The Giants are absolutely unbeatable on the road, and seem to play best when they are a) underdogs and b) in the national spotlight. Week 1 was a minor hiccup. This team is really good. The Eagles will get dominated, but the score will not be indicative of how completely Philly gets dismantled.

Giants 24, Eagles 10