Approach to the Game – Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants, August 31, 1997: The Giants do not match up well with the Eagles both offensively or defensively. Moreover, key players such as OC Brian Williams (eye), CB Phillippi Sparks (hepatitis), CB Conrad Hamilton (knee), and HB Rodney Hampton (knee) will miss the game. Thus, the Giants will need a superb all-around effort from their offense, defense, and special teams on Sunday in order to defeat the Eagles. This is an important game for the Giants, not only in the win-loss column, but for the sake of team confidence and morale. It’s important to begin the Jim Fassel era with a bang. The last thing the Giants need is another close defeat.
Giants on Offense: There are a couple of conflicting strategies the Giants can employ here, both with its own negative. The Giants have formally adopted the “West Coast” offensive philosophy which is primarily based on quick, timing throws to running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers rather than the power running game which the Giants have traditionally employed for most of the past two decades. Pass first, run second. Get the ball to the backs and let them do some damage with the ball after the catch. The onus is the receivers to get open quickly and then for the quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly. Timing is key. If the receivers are well-covered, the whole timing of the play can be thrown off. This is where the problem lies with the Eagles. First, the Eagle defenders are very familiar with defending the West Coast Offense (WCO) because they practice against it everyday against their own offense. Second, the Eagles have excellent cover cornerbacks (Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor) and, most importantly, excellent cover linebackers (Darrin Smith and William Thomas). In fact, there may not be a better cover-linebacking duo in the league. Thus, the Giant receivers, backs, and tight ends will be hard pressed to get open quickly.
Believe it or not, the more prudent strategy for the Giants would probably be to attempt to run the football more. The Eagles are very light on defense and against most teams, they have problems stopping the power running game. However, in the past, the Eagles have loaded up against the run when they played the Giants because they did not fear Dave Brown or his receivers — they probably still don’t. The real key for the Giants on offense may be Brown’s ability to recognize what type of defense the Eagles are in and check off if necessary. In other words, will there be eight men in the box? If not, run; if so, pass. Don’t be surprised to see a lot of audibles.
Of course nothing will matter much if the Giants can’t effectively block Eagle defenders. This is the second year that RT Scott Gragg and RG Ron Stone have played together and they should be better. Fortunately, Gragg will not be facing DE William Fuller (who signed with San Diego), but Stone will have his hands full with DT Andy Harmon — he needs to win that battle for the Giants to succeed on offense. The real sore spots may be center and left tackle. Jerry Reynolds is healthy once again and replaces rookie Derek Engler in the pivot. However, Reynolds has only played center for about three weeks of his entire life and hasn’t had a lot of work next to Stone and Bishop. LT Roman Oben has been progressing nicely in the preseason, but faces a real tough test in Giant-killer Mike Mamula. This game may turn out to be a very rough learning experience for Oben.
As for game tactics, look for the Giants to employ Tiki Barber on screens and draws quite a bit. Charles Way should carry the ball in short yardage situations and is also a dangerous receiver after the catch. Of all the wide receivers, Ike Hilliard matches up with long-striders Vincent and Taylor the best because of his general foot quickness…the Giants should run Hilliard on a lot of routes that require sharp cuts. Is this the game where the Giant tight ends finally come out of the closet? Most importantly, will Dave Brown be able to show the League the progress he has made this summer, or will he revert back to form? There will be a lot of pressure on Brown from the fans on Sunday.
Giants on Defense: The Eagles must be salivating at the thought of playing the Giants right now due to the injuries to Sparks and Hamilton. These injuries have forced the Giants to juggle their line-up and CB Jason Sehorn now finds himself in unfamiliar territory on the left side of the Giants’ defense. Just as importantly, the Eagles like to run multiple WR sets and will undoubtably run even more now with Sparks and Hamilton out. CB Robert Massey was signed this week and he’s a decent player, but there is no way he can learn the Giant system or develop a feel for his teammates in such a short time. If we were the Eagles, we’d run 3-WR or 4-WR sets the entire game.
However, the Giants had better not focus too much on the pass or Ricky Watters will kill them again. Honestly, in order focus on the pass, it may very well first be necessary to shut down Watters. The onus will be on the front seven on defense to do so. The Giants will want to blitz and rush the passer aggressively, but as the Giants found out against the Packers last Friday, WCO’s can easily burn the blitz with timely screen passes and draws — and Philly loves to run both. A more conservative game plan may be more prudent this week, especially with the injuries in the secondary. We’d run more zone coverage than the Giants have been utilizing in the preseason and we wouldn’t blitz more than one linebacker or defensive back at a time. In particular, the Giants need to keep an eye on the explosive tight end, Jason Dunn. Sam Garnes and Corey Miller will most likely have the responsibility to keep him in check. The Eagles will also have a big height advantage when WR Irving Fryar lines up against Thomas Randolph. Fryar is a physical player; Randolph is not. Both the safeties and cornerbacks will need to tackle well — a weak area at times with Sehorn, Randolph, and Wooten. Eagle FB Kevin Turner is a good pass receiver and reserve HB Charlie Gardner can be explosive.
Who really needs to step it up on Sunday will be the front four of Strahan, Harris, Hamilton, and Bratzke. These guys have to shut down the running lanes and get after the passer — the latter has been a real sore spot in the preseason. Eagle RT Richard Cooper is out so Strahan needs to come up with a big game. Unfortunately, OC Steve Everitt is a good one in the middle and Harris and Hamilton may struggle to get past him. Chad Bratzke really must get his butt in gear as well. The Eagles’ situation at left tackle is also very shaky and Chad needs to take advantage of this. QB Ty Detmer just ate the Giants’ coverage up last year — pass defense begins with the pass rush.
Giants on Special Teams: This area may decide the game. First and foremost, the Giants need to do a much, much better job of covering kick-offs and punts. The last thing the Giants need is to give the Eagles an easy score or superb field position. Secondly, Thomas Lewis needs to do a better job of protecting the ball on kick returns and Amani Toomer must be more aggressive in running up the field on punt returns. Third, Brad Daluiso had an excellent preseason, but he still needs to prove he can make the pressure kick when the game counts. If the Giants are to win on Sunday, they must beat the Eagles in the special teams department.