Time For Giants & Eagles To Put Up Or Shut Up
This week has been chock full of material to hype an already heated rivalry. Chirps aplenty from both sides. Fact of the matter is, although it’s only Week 6, all NFC East games are crucial in a division that’s usually a logjam of .500 teams searching for that 9th or 10th W for the title. Bragging rights aside, consecutive road wins to kick off their division schedule would be huge for the Giants. They’re 10-5 since last year’s horrendous start and are now peaking. The offensive line has surprised everyone with how sturdy they’ve been in front of a resurgent Eli, their revamped secondary leads the league in picks, JPP’s dominance has largely gone under the radar and a rookie class led by Beckham/Richburg/Williams look to be Big Blue’s best since 2007. Obviously they have an inferior record to the Eagles right now, but not many outside of Philly would argue the Giants aren’t playing like the better team.
They’ll need to keep proving it though. Despite a 4-6 record over NY’s last 10 visits, the Birds have a history of Herm Edwards, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson & a pair of playoff wins sandwiching the ’07 Super Bowl. They’re always up to deflate the Giants – but a NY victory here will most likely knot the division (with Dallas hopelessly traveling to Seattle) & show that they’re for real. Looking ahead, this is the start of what’ll be the toughest 6-game stretch of the season. After Philly, matchups against the Cowboys bookend battles with Indy (after a bye), @ Seattle and San Fran. Couldn’t have a bigger game this early in the year. If the G-Men stay responsible with the football & win the war in the trenches as they should, the scoreboard will put all the chatter to rest…at least until Week 17. I have a feeling that game will matter just a little bit more.