The Eagles-Giants matchup during the regular season is one that is characterized as a vicious dogfight. Now, with these two teams playing to advance in the NFL wild card round, tensions are even higher, so much so that the Giants are already talking trash and firing back at Trent Cole for criticizing Eli Manning.The closing quote by Kareem McKenzie in the Manning article is priceless--he tries to justify Eli's record as a quaterback this season as the means of them getting into the playoffs when, in reality, he was almost the reason that the Giants missed them. Case in point, the entire offensive play-calling in the Giants win over the stumbling Redskins relied soley on Tiki Barber putting up a career day...and they still almost lost!
If it weren't for the fact that the NFC has been deficient in playoff-caliber teams these past few years, with this past season being the prime example, they would have had no shot of getting in period. No team with an 8-8 record got into the playoffs in AFC. This Giants team sputters on passing downs, despite having viable weapons of Plaxico Burress, Jeremy Shocker, and Barber, who is 5th in the NFL in total yards from the line of scrimmage.
The Giants cannot expect the same performance out of Barber against the Eagles. The mean, green defense has sured up its tackling during this five game winning streak, and held Barber under 100 yards rushing, not once, but twice this season.
I clearly have a bias towards the Eagles, but they are the hottest team in the NFC right now. Every player on this team is playing at a competitive level that I have never seen before. Even the back-ups held their own against a potent Atlanta offense even before Michael Vick was pulled from the game. I know this playoff run can end this Sunday, the next, or even Super Bowl Sunday (Th football gods would have to be pretty generous). But there is some intangible that has fired up this team that has them playing like they are. Unlike last year, they could not join together due to the T.O. fiasco.
But you hear it from all the players that they believed in themselves when others did not. They treated each game like a playoff game. They have stayed hungry each week, emphasizing after each and every game that "they have not accomplished anything yet." I don't see that in this Giants team that has continually bickered in the locker room after bitter defeats, questioned its coach, and relied on a bust of a first round draft pick. They are falling apart and on the ropes when the Eagles are coming together and playing their best football.
It is said that when an animal is trapped and cornered, it is the most dangerous. The momentum that has carried the Eagles into the playoffs, however, is more than capable of crushing this Giants animal in its corner, and moving on to divisional round and beyond.
