Broad Street vs. Broadway A Preview of Giants vs. Birds

New York Giants vs. The Philadelphia Eagles

Rivalry week! Gotta love Giants-Eagles, the history, the battles, the miracles! What will the story of this one be...

5 things to watch for

The Manning not named Peyton

Seriously, how does this guy have 2 Super Bowl rings? Eli Manning has probably been the biggest conundrum of a QB since his emergence into the league in 2004. I've seen him kill, I've seen him be killed. And even though older brother Peyton may go down as the best QB ever to play in the NFL, little brother Eli holds a 2-1 "jewelry collection" advantage in the Super Bowl department.  He's 6-5 at Lincoln Financial Field (including playoffs), proving that he can win here, but proves he can just as much lose here, too. Eli's smart enough to pick on the Eagles atrocious corners, but dumb enough to throw errant passes and is known for turning the ball over. The question will be: Which one will show? Which leads me into my next point....

The Green 7

A lot of the Eagles Defensive woes have come from its' pass defense or lack thereof. Eagles cornerbacks Carey Williams and Brandon Fletcher have been torched this year-and that's putting it nicely-but it's only because the Eagles pass rush is almost non-existent. The Eagles are dead last in total passing TDs allowed (13), 28th in total passing yards allowed, and 29th in total passing yards allowed per game. Although they land in the middle of the pack with 11 sacks, 9 of them came in just 2 games. My point: Can't blame it all on the CBs-just about 85% of it-but the defensive front 7 has got to put pressure on Eli if the Birds stand a chance at winning. You can't do it with Casey Matthews either. 

On the other side of the River

Meanwhile, with a depleted Eagles Offensive Line, look for the Giants Defense to stack the box and blitz Nick Foles often. They will attempt to slow down the run game and put it in the hands of Foles to beat them. Foles play has been fairly erratic so far this year, and questions have already begun by the Philly Phaithful as to why Foles looks to be regressing especially after his stellar 2013 campaign. I've mentioned before that his play has been bad, missing too many open receivers, not being decisive, mechanics. If the Giants are able to get to Foles, it may be a long night for the Birds.

A Little TE play?

The Eagles have 2 Pro Bowl caliber Tight Ends in Brent Celek and Zach Ertz that have rarely been used this season, mainly due to the lack of protection Nick Foles is getting from the rest of the offensive line. Celek and Ertz have combined for 22 receptions for 289 yards and 1 TD over 5 games. Meanwhile, Eli Manning has utilized little known TE Larry Donnell alone to the tune of 25 receptions for 236 and 4 TDs over those same 5 contests. 

Wait, what Quarterback are we playing against?

This season, the Eagles have faced 3 non Pro-Bowl Quarterbacks who were either the back up to start the season or have since lost their starting job because of poor play. The other 2 QBs share Pro-Bowl nods and have a total of 5 career playoffs victories combined. 

Stats:

Henne/Cousins/Davis: 83-133, 67.4% cmp. pct, 1,068 yards, 8 TDs. Combined record: 2-12
Luck/Kaepernick: 37-64, 57.8% cmp. pct., 390 yards, 5 TDs. Combined record: 6-4

Based on his resume, I would certainly think that Eli Manning  would be placed in that Luck and Kaepernick's category. Let's hope, for the Eagles sake, that trend continues. 

3 Musings

• Was at the gym the other day. Planet Fitness. I saw two middle aged white women sitting with an employee for close to an hour seeming to be settling on terms of a proposed membership. Honestly, how hard is it for an employee of Planet Fitness to sell a Planet Fitness gym membership? What is there to discuss? Let me take a crack at the sales pitch: "You see this gym around you? That's about it. It's only costs $10 a month which you'll forget about in 3 months after you stop showing up. Who cares, it's only $10, right? Oh, and we serve Pizza too." I know, I know. I'm hired. 

• How dumb is today's youth? Well, they never cease to disappoint. In another chapter of my book 'Social Media and the Destruction of Youth',  it was reported last week that during the Buffalo-Detroit game, a fan was using a green laser pointer to distract some Buffalo players while out on the field. Buffalo players were complaining to the refs and it ended up costing Buffalo the game. After an investigation, a culprit was found, arrested, fined, and banned from any future games. How was found you ask? He posted his doings on Twitter. 
• R.I.P. Amanda Bynes, you were a talent and....wait, she's not dead yet? Oops. 

Reason No. 4,184 on why I suck at Fantasy Football

Sticking with the defensive theme, I picked up Cincinnati's D in my one league after they were dropped during their bye week. A great pick up, I thought. At the time a top 5 Defense, plus they were playing New England who was coming off a short week and an embarrassing loss to Kansas City. What happened? Shitting the bed would be an understatement as they were manhandled by New England and I netted a -2 points. -2 points!!! How are you so bad that you get negative points? My advice to you: Don't have the Philadelphia or Cincinnati's Defense in your line up this week if you know what's good for you. 

Prediction: Giants 28, Birds 26.

The Eagles woes will haunt them in this one. I think Eli Manning will be good enough to utilize his TE and move the chains just enough to frustrate the Birds. Foles will continue to struggle and might even be pulled late due to injury or poor play. Not the way you want to go into a bye week. This will end up being a bad loss in more ways than one. Not only will it be a division loss, but the Birds and Giants will be sitting at 4-2 with the result of the Cowboys game yet to unfold. 

Last Week: 1-0 
Gotta give the kid some credit, he predicated a close score and an even more impressive flow to the game. Let's hope I'm wrong on this one. (Season: 1-1)

P.S. You want a hype up video, Philly fans? This one's pretty good and different.