Game Thread- Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) vs. New York Giants (0-4)- including game analysis, injury and weather reports and predictions

Sunday is here again folks, and this week the 1-3 Eagles take on the 0-4 Giants, in a divisional match-up that’s sure to excite.

Picks & Odds Giants by 3 Over/Under= 53.5 

Location/Stadium/Date & Time/Channel

East Rutherford, New Jersey
MetLife Stadium
Sunday, October 6th, 2013 1:00 PM EST Fox

Weather– 79° F/ 26° C– Cloudy/rainy, with a 18% chance of rain

Wind- 8 mph SSE
Humidity- 64%

Injury Report (not including players on IR list)

Eagles

23- Patrick Chung- FS- questionable- shoulder
91- Fletcher Cox- DE- probable- quadriceps
22- Brandon Boykin- CB- probable- shoulder

Giants

95- Shaun Rogers- DT- probable- back
99- Cullen Jenkins- DT- questionable- knee, Achilles
64- David Baas- C- out- neck
23- Corey Webster- CB- doubtful- groin
31- Aaron Ross- CB- out- back
24- Terrell Thomas- CB- probable- knee
18- Louis Murphy- WR- questionable- ankle
97- Linval Joseph- DT- out- ankle, knee
58- Mark Herzlich- LB- probable- toe
28- Jayron Hosley- CB- out- hamstring
81- Adrien Robinson- TE- out- foot

Match-ups

-Game Match-ups= Eagles’ rushing offense vs. Giants’ rushing defense In the last game between these two teams, the Eagles’ stud running-back LeSean McCoy only had 10 rushing attempts. If the Eagles want to have any success on Sunday vs. New York, they’ll need to utilize their successful rushing attack as often as possible. The Giants defensively this season rank 28th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, with an average of 122.5, while the Eagles — between McCoy, Vick, Chris Polk and Bryce Brown — lead the NFL in 1st-downs via rushing, with 38. 

-Giants’ pass offense vs. Eagles’ pass defense
The Eagles’ defense have allowed an average of 34.5 points-per-game this season, including 52 this past week vs. Eli’s brother, Peyton, and the Broncos. Philadelphia’s pass defense this season has been atrocious, to say the least. The unit ranks dead last in the NFL in total yards, 31st in passing yards, and 24th in interceptions. Below is a list of major defensive categories, and where the Eagles’ defensive unit ranks among the other NFL defenses in each category, in parenthesis.

Total Yards- 1787 (32nd)
Passing Yards- 1300 (31st)
Touchdown Passes- 9 (24th)
Net-Yards gained per pass attempt- 7.3 (27th)
Percentage of drives ending in an offensive score- 44.7% (1st)
Avg. Points Scored Against per drive- 2.4 (1st)
Avg. Starting Field Position– 29.7 (1st)

-Victor Cruz vs. Cary Williams

Cruz, the Pro Bowl # 1 wide-receiver for the Giants, on Sunday will most likely be going up against Eagles’ cornerback Cary Williams. Both players play on the right side, both have tremendous speed and both had good 2012 seasons as well. Cruz, as mentioned, made the 2012 NFC Pro Bowl roster with 86 receptions, 1092 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. On the flip side, Williams (with the Super Bowl champion Ravens) had an under-the-radar type year last season with 4 interceptions, 67 tackles, 17 pass deflections and one defensive touchdown. He also had 2 additional interceptions in the 2012-13 NFL postseason as well.

The Eagles have one of the worst, if not the worst, pass defenses in the NFL, but if Williams can at least slow down Cruz, it’ll give Philadelphia a much better chance at winning. He may not be able to totally slow down Cruz, considering the latter’s speed, but minimizing him to as little receiving yards and touchdown catches as possible will be critical, and the focal point for the Eagles’ defense in this game.

-Head-to-head team match-up

This is the first meeting between the two division rivals this year. They play their second inner-division game at Lincoln Financial Field exactly three weeks from the first match-up, on October 27th at 1 o’clock on Fox. The last time these two played each other at MetLife, the Giants destroyed the Eagles, 42-7, when QB Eli Manning threw for 208 yards and a career high 5 touchdown passes. Former Giants’ running-back Ahmad Bradshaw also chipped in, with 107 rushing yards — on just 16 attempts — and one rushing touchdown.

Premiere Players

Giants

Eli Manning- QB
Victor Cruz- WR
Chris Snee- G
Jason Pierre-Paul- DE
Shaun O’Hara- C

Eagles

Michael Vick- QB
LeSean McCoy- RB
DeSean Jackson- WR
Jason Peters- T
DeMeco Ryans- ILB

Game Breakdown/Analysis: 

The Giants come in slightly as the favorites (by 3 points), yet they’ve shown no signs thus far this season, in any game, of being the favorite team to win, based on their poor play, statistics and win-loss record- which currently stands at 0-4. The Eagles aren’t doing any better, although they have a legitimate excuse, being under new head, and rookie NFL coach Chip Kelly and two new offensive and defensive coordinators in Pat Shurmur (who coached here prior; from 1999-2008 as QB coach), and Billy Davis, respectively.

New York is banged up pretty good coming into this game. They currently have, including players on the injury-reserved list, 17 injured players, compared to 8 for Philadelphia.

I foresee Shady McCoy having a big game from the get-go. Considering how poor the Giants’ rush defense is (as mentioned) so far this season, McCoy’s penchant for explosiveness, and his success vs. the Giants in his career, he should have a big game. McCoy, in 8 career regular season games vs. NY, has averaged 87 rushing-yards-per-game,  with 3 rushing TDs and a YPA (yards-per-rushing attempt) average of 5.6. The fact that he’s been able to average more than 5 yards per attempt is incredible, yet shows how good, yet consistent, McCoy can be, even with a limited amount of carries. On top of that, McCoy this year leads the NFL in rushing yards, rushing yards per-game, average-yards-per-attempt (6.0) and yet he’s 5th in rushing attempts. He hasn’t fumbled the ball once thus far this season either.

With so many Giants’ players banged up in the secondary, I expect the Eagles to devise an equal, yet successful rushing-passing attack on Sunday. Wide-receiver DeSean Jackson, in 9 career games, has 636 receiving yards on 35 catches, with 4 total touchdowns vs. New York.

Pressure

The Eagles have to apply pressure, and the right amount at the right time(s), if they want to slow down the Eli-Cruz duo. The Eagles have great success vs. Eli during his career when he’s been sacked 3 or more times. Eli is 3-4 in the regular season vs. the Eagles when he’s sacked 3 or more times. He’s also a career 3-6 at home vs. the Eagles (not including the post-season). Put the pressure on early, and prevent Manning from getting in a comfort zone and on a roll. If you’re going to apply pressure though, make sure you get to Manning, before he makes a play or eludes the pocket if/when it breaks down. The Giants this season are tied for 8th in the NFL in sacks allowed with 14 (tied with the Eagles, Raiders and Jets). If guys like Connor Barwin, Fletcher Cox and DeMeco Ryans can get to Manning, the Eagles should have a much better chance of winning.

New York is tied for dead last in the NFL this year in sacks (with Pittsburgh) with 4. Former Pro-Bowl defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck are having down years thus far, so don’t let this game be both of their breakout games. The Eagles’ o-line has to be aggressive, yet smart. Luckily for the Eagles, if the pocket does break down, Vick has the speed to elude the New York pass rush all day long.

Predictions

-Standout Star/Player of The Game Prediction
Jason Pierre-Paul, DE- New York

Paul has 3.5 sacks in 6 career games vs. Philadelphia. On top of that, he’s due for a big game, since he’s only accumulated 1 sack through 4 games thus far this season.

***Game Predictions: Giants, in a close one, 33-27***

The Giants and Eagles are both having sub-par seasons, but New York can ill-afford to lose, and go 0-5 to start the season. I think Eli and Pierre-Paul, among others, will have big games for the Giants. I expect Shady McCoy to have a breakout game, but unfortunately, I don’t think it’ll be enough to counter the Giants on Sunday, given how badly they need a win. Furthermore, I don’t think the weather — the wind and possible rain — will be a factor at all for Eli, who’s used to developing his arm strength while playing in tough, extreme windy conditions at the old Giants’ Stadium.

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