Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Eagles hope to repeat history vs. Giants
Eagles hope for repeat performance of last year’s ‘Black Out’ game vs. Giants
PHILADELPHIA >> To be what they want to be, the Eagles have to play the way they used to play here when they take on the New York Giants Monday night (8:30, Channel 17, ESPN, WIP 610-AM, WBCB 1490-AM).
Last year the Eagles arrived in a 27-0 drubbing of the Giants on Sunday night, segued it into a Thursday night massacre of the Dallas Cowboys a month later and were ready to show the Seattle Seahawks a fun time when reality set in.
The Eagles haven’t been dominant since, their 2-3 record this year a testament to wholesale roster change and blending several new starters together, including quarterback Sam Bradford.
Last week the Eagles used Chip Kelly’s bumpy start in 2013 and Bradford’s shower room pep talk as their save the season rallying cry.
Against the Giants (3-2), who lead the NFC East, the theme is something along the lines of we’ve done this before. Which reminds us, have we used the déjà vu reference yet?
“Last year when we played them we came out the way you want a team to come out,” said Jordan Matthews, who leads the Eagles in receiving. “A championship-caliber team was the way we came out last year. It was a very physical game but we had the right mindset. We played fast, the defense was playing on point and the offense, we were clicking. That’s the way we’ve got to come out this Monday night.”
This isn’t the same Giants team embarrassed here last year. The defense and special teams have been rebuilt, although the Giants really could use a healthy Jason Pierre-Paul, the pass rusher who lost part of a hand in a fireworks mishap. The new coordinator is Steve Spagnuolo, the architect of the unit that throttled Tom Brady and the then-perfect New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
Moreover the Giants offensive line has stabilized for Eli Manning, who looks like he has a firm grasp of Ben McA-
doo’s scheme. Manning has thrown 10 touchdown passes against just two interceptions for a 100.2 rating. He’s intrigued by the changes the Eagles made in the back end with cornerbacks Byron Maxwell and Nolan Carroll, and safety Walter Thurmond.
“It looks like their secondary is playing well,” Manning said. “They play a good bit of man coverage. They trust their defensive backs outside at the corner positions to play man. Obviously they went out in the offseason and signed some guys to help that and have a lot of confidence in them. We’ve got to do a good job of beating press coverage, beating man coverage and winning our individual matchups.”
The Giants’ run defense is greatly improved. The pass defense is an issue, the unit ranking last in the league. The loss of Prince Amukamara to injury this week won’t help.
The health of Beckham also could be an issue.
Beckham, targeted 21 times, caught 12 passes for 185 yards and a score against the Eagles last season.
Against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, Beckham had seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown before feeling a grab in the hamstring. He returned to the game and drew enough defenders on the game-winning drive to give Manning a good look at tight end Larry Donnell, who, twisting and leaning and stretching, turned the triumphant touchdown grab into a Beckham-type creation.
The Eagles expect Beckham to play. They also expect to enter this game with confidence having won three of their four meetings with the Giants since Chip Kelly stepped in as head coach.
The quiet swagger only begins with Fletcher Cox, the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after registering three sacks and forcing two fumbles.
“I get up for every game,” Cox said. “I’m always juiced up. But on Monday night, the whole world is going to be watching, so I’ll be really juiced up.”
The Eagles are wearing their all-black uniforms, just as they did in the romp over the Giants last year.
Lincoln Financial Field was shaking that night.
“It’s going to be loud,” Manning said. “They’re going to be fired up. Prime time on Monday night, it should be a great atmosphere. Our communication has got to be great and we’ve got to be good with our snap count and everybody on the same page and getting in and out of the huddle quickly just because it will be loud.”
For the Eagles – particularly the defense – it’s a matter of playing to the sellout crowd.
Trust linebacker Brandon Graham, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, when he says he and his teammates really don’t want to come up short Monday.
“If we win, man it’s going to be so loud,” Graham said. “And if we lose, boy there’s going to be so many boos. The loudest boos you ever heard. We’re just going to go out there and have fun. We’re going to play our game and hopefully we’re going to come out victorious this week.”