Keys to the Game: Eagles vs. New York Giants

Get to Eli and win, or watch him as he beats you.


The Eagles are heading into their second game of a three-game stretch that many, myself included, believe will tell the story of the Eagles' entire 2009 season.

They won the first game of this stretch last week against the Washington Redskins, but that's a game that this Eagles team is expected to win. The 'Skins are reeling this season as their head coach has been humiliated by an incompetent owner, and their players are dropping left and right.

That said, it was still a good win for the Eagles to get as anything can happen in a game against a division opponent.

The fact of the matter is that these next two games are far more important than the first for the simple fact that they are against much better teams. And with the loss to the Raiders, the Eagles cannot afford to drop another game. The NFC East, and NFC overall, is too competitive to be dropping games against divisional or conference opponents.

Now with that said, let's see what the Eagles must do to take this must-win game against the Giants.

Pressure Eli Manning With the Front Four

The qualifier to this, of course, is "with the front four." Getting any kind of pressure on Eli would most likely result in the throwing of a few ducks for the Eagles' ballhawk corners, but it could also mean that Kevin Boss has a big day catching balls across the middle.

Instead, if the front four can get into Manning's face without the help of the blitz, it will clog the rest of the field for the passing game. Eli will have trouble getting the ball through the lanes and it could turn into a big day for the Eagles defense.

Of course, that's how every game would go in a perfect world. So realistically it's going to take some blitzing to get to Eli, especially with the line that the Giants have put together.

However, if the defensive tackle rotation of Mike Patterson, Brodrick Bunkley, Antonio Dixon, and Trevor Laws can cause problems inside, it will allow for a lot of one-on-ones for the defensive ends. Which, in turn, would also slow down the bruising inside-style running of Brandon Jacobs.

Take Advantage of the Giants' Weak Secondary

Ever since Kenny Phillips went down for the season, the Giants have struggled defending the pass. In fact, the last two weeks, the passing attacks of the Saints and Cardinals have taken advantage of the Giants weak secondary and rode the passing attack to wins.

The Saints and Cardinals both have prolific passing attacks, but the Eagles offense can be just as explosive as either New Orleans or Arizona. The big drawback for the Eagles will be the loss of Brian Westbrook who, most likely, will not play. He has a way of dominating the Giants going all the way back to 2003 with his miraculous punt return to win the game in the final 1:30.

While the Eagles should be able to pass on this secondary, they shouldn't continuously try for the big play. Instead, they should dink and dunk down the field using slants, digs, combacks, etc. to move methodically down the field and keep the Giants offense off of it.

Use the Wildcat Effectively

Up to this point, the Eagles have not used the Wildcat as effectively as they could. In fact, it's been fairly useless so far, but if the birds want to take this game against Big Blue they're going to have to find a way to succeed in the Wildcat.

In order to do that they'll have to be creative. They must pass out of the Wildcat, use it to get the offense going, and make sure they're not predictable once they get into the formation.

Therefore, when we see the Wildcat, I want to see Vick running it instead of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, or even LeSean McCoy. The point of the Wildcat is to outnumber the defense by making sure that the player taking the snap is a dual-threat to either run or pass. With anyone other than Vick, the defense knows it will be a run.

The point is that Vick was not brought in to watch from the sideline, so use him while you've got him. However, make sure you're using him properly. Let him hurl the ball downfield once or twice and you'll demand the respect of the defense.

Continue to use it how they're using it and they'll quickly turn into a laughingstock, if they haven't already.