Archive for September, 2011

There’s really not much to say, and yet there’s so, so much to say all at the same time. The Eagles for the second straight week lost a winnable game, except this time they weren’t the better team. The Giants snapped their six-game winless streak against the Eagles with an exclamation point, outclassing the Eagles in their home opener, 29-16. Eli Manning, who had looked shaky at best coming into the game, finished the day completing 16 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Not bad for a guy facing a team with a supposed “shut down” pass [...]

Posting on the fly here today from NFL Films in Mt. Laurel. Today’s inactives for the Eagles are Jarrett, Marsh, Tapp, Watkins, Vandervelde, Justice and Parker. No real surprises there. For the Giants: Scott, Petrus, Brewer, Clayton, Amukamara, Umenyiora, and Manningham are all inactive. Enjoy the game.

Where to listen on radio: 94 WIP/XM 112 (Away), XM 91 (Home) Time: 1:00 p.m. EST Site: Lincoln Financial Field Where to watch on TV: FOX Announcers: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa Kenny Albert is whatever. He’s just a voice. Not good, not bad. Johnston doesn’t particularly do anything for me, but he’s a solid color guy. Siragusa, waddling behind the goal posts, however, is dreadful. Not only does he chime in with useless information, he compounds his sucktitude with failed attempts at humor. Turn down the television sets for this one and crank up Merrill and Mike. [...]

Editor’s note: Staff writer Steve Fini breaks down the Eagles defensive matchups against the Giants offense. The Eagles have a statistically top-five defensive line. They’re going up against a Giants offensive line that over the offseason lost some veterans. Many consider their line to be considerably weaker. Defensive ends Trent Cole and Jason Babin, along with tackle Cullen Jenkins, are getting to the quarterback. That’s a great sign because defensive coordinator Juan Castillo has decided to take blitzing almost completely out of his game plan. As is the case whenever these teams meet, the Eagles pass rush will be key [...]

Editor’s note: Staff writer Steve Fini sizes up the Eagles offense versus the Giants defense. Giants defensive line vs. Eagles offensive line The key here will be the Eagles offensive line. The Giants don’t have the dominating defense they once did. Injuries have played a huge role. Their defensive line, however, is still a force. Jason Pierre-Paul, their outstanding young defensive end, is an athletic freak. If you remember, the Eagles drafted Brandon Graham instead of him two years ago. He could end up making the Eagles pay for that decision. While Jason Peters did an excellent job against the [...]

In this article, ESPN’s Michah Adams writes that Vince Young has been one of the best quarterbacks in football over the last three years…according to Total QBR. What the Hell is Total QBR, you ask? Good question. It’s a new quarterback rating statistic recently created by ESPN to not-so-subtly inject its protruding nose even further into football. Because at ESPN they don’t just cover sports, they are sports–or something. Here’s the scoop, according to Adams: Total QBR is a quarterback rating that takes into account all of a quarterback’s contributions (passing, rushing, sacks, fumbles, penalties) to his team’s scoring and [...]

Editor’s Note: To help fans prepare for tomorrow’s big game with the Giants I turned to Andrew Ilnicki, editor of GMenHQ, for some help. Here’s five questions I had for Andrew and what he had to say. I also stole the title of this segment from Andrew. He’s a pretty smart guy. He just roots for the wrong team. 1. The Giants have sustained an incredible number of injuries early this season, but which one has had the greatest impact on the team? Cornerback Terrell Thomas has been the biggest loss to the team. He was the best corner we [...]

Giants’ defensive tackle Osi Umenyiora has been official ruled out of Sunday’s game between the Eagles and Giants at Lincoln Financial Field. The 29-year-old former All-Pro defensive end is thought to be near a return to action, but will miss at least one more week. The Giants still employ two extremely dangerous defensive ends, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul, but Umenyiora’s return would have provided a boost for a defense that is sure to have it’s hands full on Sunday. Also of note, Giants’ wide receiver Mario Manningham again missed practice Friday. The former University of Michigan standout suffered a [...]

Okay, boys and girls – we’re back again for another week of NFL football and the illegal (in most states) activity that corresponds with it!   So far this season, my documented picks are 1-0-1, and that Week 1 PUSH still really chaps my ass.   If you followed me last week, you rode Michael Vick and Tony Gonzalez all the way to a 66 (!) point total and easily cashed on your bet of OVER 49.5. As we all know, Michael Vick status for Week 3 against the Giants has been in limbo for much of the week.   Yesterday was the [...]

Editor’s Note: Staff writer Steve Fini checks in with his weekly look at five players who will play big roles on Sunday night. Hakeem Nicks (WR/Giants) – For the third straight week the Eagles are facing a very different type of passing game. The Rams employ an attack similar to the spread college system–no huddle, very short, quick passes. The Rams’ offense, at its best, moves the ball down the field with a high volume of completions. In week two, they faced a pro-style system that is reliant on the play action pass and speedy receivers to open up a [...]

All aboard the Eagles’ bandwagon–at least for one week, anyway. ESPN’s eight “experts” (yes–even Merril Hoge) have each picked the Eagles to win their home opener against the Giants.Link is here. Four of five CBSsportsilne.com’s experts have taken the Eagles–Mike Freeman is the only dissenting opinion. You can view that here. SI’s Peter King takes the Eagles, 26-23, predicting that Steve Smith will provide the difference-making touchdown late–just to rub a little extra salt in the wound. Poetic, but probably unlikely, is King’s prediction. You can view the rest of his picks here. So what does this all mean? Absolutely [...]

Michael Vick’s status for Sunday’s game still remains in question, but indications are that Vick, who participated in Wednesday’s team walk-through session Wednesday morning, will likely be available. While most bookmakers have yet to open the game to the public, those that have, such as Stations, have installed the Eagles as a seven-point favorite. While the Eagles will be favored regardless of who is under center, I expect the line to inch up to 7.5 if/when Vick is announced as ready to go on Sunday.