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Good morning New York Giants fans! Here are your news updates for this Monday morning.
Jason Pierre-Paul has checkup scheduled with team
Word has gotten out weeks ago of a second potential meeting between Jason Pierre-Paul and the New York Giants and it appears it will finally come this week.
Jason Pierre-Paul is scheduled for a checkup with the Giants this week.
The Giants wanted to examine Pierre-Paul's battered hand at the six-week mark of the season and the plan is for that meeting to happen in the next seven days, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, via a source informed of JPP's plans.
No official date has been set, but Rapoport reported it's unlikely to happen before Wednesday.
Monday Night Football analysis
It is one of the rare days of the year when the Giants play on Monday Night Football, against their hated rivals no less. Here are what the pundits are saying about this divisional matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
5 things for Eagles to worry about vs. Giants | NJ.com
Giants run defense: The Eagles showed in last week's win over the Saints how much much better the offense looks when the running game works. Monday they face a Giants run defense that is ranked second in the league, has allowed just 80.6 yards rushing per game and just 3.5 rushing yards per carry. If the Eagles can't run the ball they may have a harder time on offense than the Giants would without Beckham.
Giants-Eagles rivalry resumes Monday Night | Giants.com
Eli Manning will make his 12th start in the Linc, including one in the postseason. He knows the fans will be in a frenzy Monday night, and what the Giants must do to combat that.
"It’ll be loud, they’ll be fired up, they’re going to be rocking," Manning said. "We’ve got to do our job and we’ve got to go out there and play smart, handle the crowd noise, hopefully get off to a fast start and try to calm them down."
The key, Manning said, is "everybody has to understand who they’re blocking. They do a lot of twisting, the offensive line has to pass things off, running backs got to know who they’re responsible for. Everybody has to know they’re accounted for and that’s half the battle. Now you’ve got to block them. So I’ve got to do a good job of getting the ball out on time. We’ve got to do a good job blocking, and I’ve got to do a good job protecting the football."
That is a daunting task, because the Eagles are tied for second in the NFL with 13 takeaways, despite their losing record.
Even the Eagles can see the difference in this Manning.
"You can see there’s a comfort level in Eli in the whole system," said Eagles coach Chip Kelly. "Not only has he only thrown two interceptions (this season), he’s only been sacked four times. He’s getting the ball out of his hand quickly. He can recognize how people are defending their team."
And on Monday night, he can give the Giants a shot to win in Philly, to move firmly into the driver’s seat of the division, regardless of the supporting cast around him. He’ll face a dangerous Eagles squad, a club that seems to be hitting its stride. After an 0-2 start, Philly has won two of three, and a resurgent Sam Bradford (six TDs in his last three games) will aim to take advantage of a Giants secondary that’s suddenly down playmaking corner Prince Amukamara (torn pectoral).
Eagles' Fletcher Cox will draw plenty of attention from Eli Manning and Giants | Philly.com
The defensive line - with Cox, Thornton, and nose tackle Bennie Logan starting, and Curry, who also takes snaps at outside linebacker, Taylor Hart, and Beau Allen in backup roles - is the strongest unit on the team. They're good, and they work, but none has to work as much as Cox, who has played 318 snaps this season (Logan is next with 232) and is on pace to play almost 100 more than the 921 he took in 2014.
"For how big he is, he's obviously strong, but he's also explosive. If you're anchoring down for his power moves, he can beat you with his speed moves, and vice versa," said offensive tackle Dennis Kelly, who often matches up against Cox in practice. "It wasn't a surprise to us what he did on Sunday. It wasn't like, 'Oh, hey, Fletch is having a good game.' It was, 'Yep, Fletch is having a game.' "
Around the league
Marcus Mariota will receive an MRI on his left knee he injured against the Miami Dolphins. Ken Whisenhunt had a colorful way of expressing his frustration on the hit to his quarterback.
Sean Payton and Chip Kelly reportedly have some interest of becoming the next head coach of USC.
The Legion of Boom of the Seattle Seahawks talk about how their game losing play was a breakdown in communication.
Teams are in the market for tight ends as they have been making calls for Jared Cook and Vernon Davis. Could the Giants be one of those teams?