Land of the Giants: Can't we start camp already?

Am I missing something?

Yes, you are most definitely missing something. I’ll list the arguments…

First, the Eagles’ strengths…

- Make fun of McNabb all you want, but the man has the 2nd lowest interception percentage in the history of the NFL. He rarely makes mistakes, and yet the Eagles year after year are among the top teams in passing yards.

- The Eagles have a running back (Brian Westbrook) that is probably the biggest threat as a receiver out of the backfield in the NFL.

- The receiving corps go 6 deep that includes a budding star in DeSean Jackson. Realistically, 4 of them could start for the Giants Week 1, and the other 2 could easily be the #3. Add to that Brent Celek, who, after sitting behind LJ Smith last year, had 19 catches in the playoffs last year when given the opportunity to start.

And the negatives for the Giants…

- The Giants entire receiving corps have a combined total of 5 career receiving TD’s (Hixon has 2, Smith has 1, and Moss, assuming he makes the team, has 2).

- The Giants WR’s have a combined total of 1,667 career receiving yards.

- The Giants RB’s are pretty much non-factors in the passing game. Derrick Ward was great in that role last year, and his production will be missed. Last year, Brandon Jacobs had 6 receptions for 36 yards. Ahmad Bradshaw had 5 for 42.

- I like Kevin Boss, but he’s not exactly a big playmaking threat. Last year, 33 catches, 384 yards, although he did score 6 TD’s.

 
I think Williamson is very much on the mark “trusting Philadelphia’s passing game by leaps and bounds over the Giants.”

I realize you’re getting Osi back, but in the 3 match-ups with Philly last year, how many sacks did the Giants have?

Do the Giants have the best D Line in football?

Yup. They sure do. They’re 10 deep, and rotate guys in and out to keep players fresh the entire game, which creates enormous matches against tired offensive lines in the second half. I’m all too familiar with that defensive philosophy. You know why? Because the Eagles have been doing it much longer – Spagnuolo learned it from Jim Johnson and brought that approach over from Philly. That said, the Eagles D Line is pretty damn good, too. We too go 10 deep. Would I trade our entire D Line for your entire D Line? In a heartbeat… But the Eagles D Line is a Top 5 NFL unit as well.

Do the Giants have the best O Line in football?

Ehhhhh, not so sure on that one. It’s an outstanding bunch, no doubt, but I could easily make a strong case for Philly’s O Line as well. They’re young, huge, athletic, and nasty.

1) Who is going to run the football when Westbrook inevitably goes down? Booker? He can’t stay on his feet on a windy day? McCoy? Westbrook clone who may or may not be able to run and catch but is he gonna be able to pick up a blitz and learn the offense? Who’s gonna punch it in at the goal line or convert a 3rd and 2? I seem to recall a failure to convert a 3rd down run in our first meeting last year that sealed the win for the Gmen.

Ah, begging for an injury… Love it . Name me one team in the NFL where you could say “What if (team’s best player) gets hurt?” and there wouldn’t be a big dropoff in production.

And by the way, you could easily insert Brandon Jacobs’ name into that same question. Here’s what that would look like…

1) Who is going to run the football when Jacobs inevitably goes down? Bradshaw? He can’t stay on his feet on a windy day? Ware, who may or may not be able to run and catch but is he gonna be able to pick up a blitz and learn the offense? Who’s gonna punch it in at the goal line or convert a 3rd and 2? I seem to recall a failure to convert a 3rd down run in our last meeting last year that sealed the win for the Eagles.

See how that works?

2) How can you be so confident in your oline? They haven’t played together, Shawn Andrews missed the entire year with numerous issues, Stacy Andrews has been injured since last season with an ACL, and Jason Peters gave up 11 sacks last year. I guess if the Eagles, or their wonderful fans, piss Peters off he’s gonna let the NFC East pass rushers run by him and kill McNabb. On a side note, if the Giants didn’t get any sacks on McNabb last year I guess Giant fans will be more than happy to see a new Eagle oline.

I think the better question is “How can we not be confident in our O Line?” Again… Big, young, athletic, and nasty. Will they maybe blow a protection or two over the course of the season that you could chalk up to a lack of continuity? Maybe. Maybe not. But the enormous boost in talent will far outweigh the potential downside.

3) How good do you really think your dline is? Last year, the Giants had 40 something sacks WITHOUT their best pass rusher for an entire season. So, if Trent Cole should go down in the preseason who the hell is gonna pick up that slack. The Eagles have not been able to get a consistent pass rush without all the crazy blitzes.

Yeah, the Giants had 42 sacks. Congrats… And I’ve said already that the Giants have the best D Line in the NFL. The Eagles had 48. And again… banking on injuries?

4) Who is the leader on that defense? Let’s face it Eagle fans, without that defense there is no way the Eagles make it to one championship game, let alone five. So, who is it? You have a new D coordinator, Dawkins is gone, Sheldon Brown wants out, the secondary will look a bit different. If Asante Samuel or Sheldon Brown miss any significant time who do you put in? Ellis Hobbs? Please do! That guy sucks!

Hmmmm, seeing a trend developing here. What if “Player X” or “Player Y” gets hurt? Is that your ENTIRE argument for the Eagles not having a good season? Possible injuries? And you’re pointing to Ellis Hobbs, our DIME BACK, as a guy that’s going to ruin the season? The Eagles might have the best secondary in the NFL… and definitely the deepest. Compliment taken.

I could continue but my post is getting rather long…so I’ll cut it off here for now.

No, no… By all means… Keep ’em going. I think you forgot “What if Donovan McNabb or DeSean Jackson gets hurt?”