The Eagles' front seven must play in the Giants' backfield.


If the Eagles want to take sole possession of first place in the NFC East, it's going to require a killer instinct and a mentality that they're going to take out a Giants ream that has to be reeling right now due to some injuries and an embarrassing divisional loss to the Cowboys last week.

But more specifically, that killer's mentality must come from Sean McDermott and the defensive side of the ball.

Two starters along the Giants' offense line, center Shaun O'Hara and left tackle David Diehl, have already been ruled out for Sunday night. Diehl's potential replacement, Shawn Andrews, is having back problems and listed as questionable.

Giants fans might not know this yet, but Eagles fans know what that means. Andrews is out for this game and likely the season.

For McDermott, that has to mean one thing: blitz.

Eli Manning has shown time and time again that he will put the ball up for grabs if he gets guys in his face. That's just the type of player he is. Rather than being like his brother and hitting the deck if it becomes evident he's going to be sacked, Eli chucks the ball into the air and hopes for the best.

So if McDermott will blitz the 'A' gap to take advantage of O'Hara being on the sidelines, and allow Trent Cole to come around the edge and take on William Beatty (Andrews' likely replacement), who will be making his first NFL start, rather than dropping him into coverage, the front seven should be able to get a boatload of pressure on Manning and force turnovers.

Dimitri Patterson has shown a nose for the ball, as has safety Nate Allen, and we already know interceptions are about all that matter to Asante Samuel. With those three going for the ball and Eli more than willing to offer it up, those turnovers should lead to short fields for Vick and the offense and translate into a lot of easy points.

However, if McDermott pulls out his usual scheme and plays a soft man or just flat-out zone, Eli will torch them. If given time to find Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, it will be an absolute blood-bath. He is, after all, still a Manning.

And we haven't even brought up the idea of run-blitzing yet. Ahmad Bradshaw is currently (and very quietly) third in the league in rushing. With the way Stewart Bradley has been playing, the Giants might be able to run right up the gut even with O'Hara out.

The way to counteract that is the run blitz. Bring Quintin Mikell into the box, blitz Bradley so he doesn't have a chance to get flat-footed, tell the defensive tackles to squeeze 'A' gap while controlling 'B' gap and let Ernie Sims and Moise Fokou know they've got contain on a pitch.

If McDermott blitzes, the injuries along the line should be too much for the Giants to overcome and the Birds should send the Giants back to New York a game and a half out of first place.
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Cole draped on Manning is what the Birds need today.


It's always fun when the Eagles and Giants go at it. Most Philly fans would say that the Cowboys are the most hated rivals, but Brian Dawkins always used to say that nothing got his blood pumping like Giants week -- both of them.

The Giants, however, are a bit limp heading into this game. They won five straight games to start the year, then they lost four straight, and now they're 2-1 since then to bring them to a 7-5 record that will force them to win out and get some help if they're going to win the division.

Beating the Eagles tonight would be a good start to that as it would bring both teams to 8-5 with a series split, but the Eagles are going to be fighting just as hard to win this game and keep pace with the Cowboys and their less-than-tenuous division lead.

Let's see what it's going to take for the Eagles to keep pace, and to end the Giants' hopes in the Meadowlands tonight.


Get Pressure on Eli Manning

It's not secret that Eli has been banged up all season long. His foot has been giving him issues throwing the ball all year, and the Eagles were able to victimize him the last time these two teams met.

He's not able to plant properly which is resulting in the ball sailing over the head of his receiver and, more often than not, into the arms of a waiting defender. Asante Samuel and Quintin Demps each grabbed a pick off Eli without pressure in his face, so with some pressure I imagine he'll throw the ball much more erratic.

Eli has always had a reputation of a guy who will just throw the ball up for grabs rather than getting hit, so if the Birds can get Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Darren Howard, and the like in his face it will result in a long day for Eli and some quick points for the Eagles.


Stuff the Box With Eight Guys Every Play

This coincides a little bit with getting pressure on Eli, but this one is more about stopping the run and not fearing the Giants' receivers.

With Plaxico Burress gone, the Eagles corners aren't dwarfed by their receivers anymore. Their guys may be a bit faster, but Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel are able to stick with anyone in the league based solely on great technique, so that's not exactly worrisome.

If Sean McDermott will put eight in the box every play, the Birds should easily be able to stifle the 1-2 punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. That forces Eli to try and beat them, and then my first point comes into play.

See how this all fits together?

Off of this set McDermott can then start to employ some zone blitzes and get to Eli's hot reads before he can. Once again, should result in a long day for Eli and some quick points for the Birds.


Heavy Dose of the "Dream Weaver" and "Real McCoy"

It's a key to every game -- call me stubborn -- and it won't change no matter who the Eagles are playing. They must run the ball to win the game. I don't buy into the nonsense that now you pass to setup the run because it just doesn't make sense. The run will always set up the pass -- passing will do nothing more than make your team soft when it comes time to run.

Leonard Weaver has done more than enough to warrant more carries, and the rookie LeSean McCoy has been sensational when he gets the starting nod. The Eagles have something here in these two, so let's just hope that the duo of Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg realize it.

You know what will create a very long day for Eli? Watching from the sidelines as his defense gets thumped.
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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.
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I was recently discussing this very same issue on Voice America's "G. Cobb in the House" with Micah Warren as G. Cobb was unavailable for the show.

Listen Here.

On the show, Micah and I went around the NFL debating and discussing how McNabb matched up against every starting quarterback in the league. What we found was that he's still an elite quarterback, but where does he fall?

If you would like to hear a debate for every quarterback, the audio is provided. Instead, I will pick out five quarterbacks that I believe someone may be able to make an argument for as a better quarterback than McNabb, and some who will always have an argument on their behalf, even an undeserved one.

*(GS, W/L, Comp/Att Completion Percentage, Passing Yards, TD, INT, QB Rating)*

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Peyton Manning: 176 GS, 117-59, 3,839-5,960 64.4%, 45,628, 333 TD, 165 INT, 94.7

Matching up against Manning, McNabb loses significantly in every major category except interceptions. Before you assume that Peyton wins that stat anyway because of the touchdown difference, take into consideration a different stat: INT percentage. Looking at that, McNabb's is 2.1 while Manning's is 2.8.

A small victory for McNabb and not a huge loss for Manning considering that McNabb holds the NFL record for his INT percentage, which until this past year, was under two.

Arguing in McNabb's favor, the obvious counter to all the inflated stats for Manning is the fact that he's always had more talent around him than McNabb, or any other quarterback for that matter.

Marvin Harrison is Hall of Fame bound, Reggie Wayne is one of the best playing right now, Brandon Stokley and Anthony Gonzalez had/have been fantastic slot receivers and Dallas Clark is one of the better tight ends in the league.

Aside from McNabb's one season with T.O., he has never had a real No. 1 receiving threat. Even with all of that, Manning has been the more consistent of the two quarterbacks, he has the better numbers, and perhaps more importantly, he's got the ring.

Another question I ask myself is (removing age as a factor), "Would I trade McNabb for this quarterback?"

I love McNabb as a quarterback, but...

Advantage: Manning

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Philip Rivers: 48 GS, 33-15, 890-1,428 62.3%, 10,697, 78 TD, 36 INT, 92.9

Philip Rivers will win a Super Bowl for the Chargers before his time in San Diego is over, he's that good. He was always looked at as a spoiled kid playing quarterback because of his verbal altercations with fans and players alike, but ever since he played in the postseason with his ACL torn, he has earned respect from everyone in the league.

The man cares about one thing, and that's winning.

But we all know that Rivers is a good quarterback, the question is, "Is he better than Donovan McNabb?" The answer? Well, I just can't bring myself to say that he's better than McNabb. I know it's hard to guess how well a quarterback will play, but up to date he has done less than McNabb but with more talent.

Rivers has had a lot of talent around him in L.T., Antonio Gates, Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson, and Darren Sproles just to name a few. Even with that talent, he has yet to get the Chargers to a Super Bowl.

It took McNabb six years, and Rivers is heading into his sixth season, so we'll see.

But as it stands, McNabb is the better quarterback.

Advantage: McNabb

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Drew Brees: 106 GS, 55-51, 2,334-3,650 64%, 26,258, 168 TD, 99 INT, 89.4

For me, this is extremely close. Drew Brees is a very talented quarterback, there's no doubt about that. This is a guy who I could not fight against for very long in talking McNabb vs. Brees because there is such a good argument that could be made.

Brees may have had the luxury of better receivers during his time in the NFL, whether it be with the Chargers or the Saints, but the receivers he had were not that much better overall than what McNabb has had to work with.

An argument could be made that Marques Colston is a No. 1 receiver and that Lance Moore is highly underrated, but to me it appears as though Brees makes them look better than they are, rather than the other way around.

He has pinpoint accuracy and a very good arm, also the ability to lead a team. However Brees has not found a way to win. He's barely over .500 for his career and has only been as far as one NFC Championship game with the Saints in his first year.

Given Brees' pedestrian numbers as far as the win-loss part of it goes, I believe McNabb has to get the nod because of what he has been able to do and what he has been able to achieve in his career.

Quite simply, he's done more than Brees.

Advantage: McNabb

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Tom Brady: 111 GS, 87-24, 2,301-3,653 63%, 26,446, 197 TD, 86 INT, 92.9

Not even the homerism that I try so hard to fight will allow me to put McNabb over Brady in this case. Brady and McNabb have really been in the same boat for their entire careers as far as the talent surrounding them.

Brady, outside of his one year with Moss, has never had a real No. 1 receiver, but I will say that he has just a bit more than what McNabb has had. For instance, who wouldn't take Troy Brown and David Patten over James Thrash and Todd Pinkston?

Even with the lack of talent surrounding him for most of his career, Brady has found a way to win. Three Super Bowl rings tells the tale as opposed to McNabb's zero. The other X-factor may be the coaching that Brady has had in New England.

Andy Reid is a great coach, the best in franchise history and one of the best in NFL history. If he wins a Super Bowl, he'll be compared to John Madden. Unfortunately, it's always appeared that the McNabb-Reid duo has always been one half-notch behind the Brady-Belichik duo.

I guess that's all it takes.

Advantage: Brady

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Jay Cutler: 37 GS, 17-20, 762-1,220 62.5%, 9,024, 54 TD, 37 INT, 87.1

This may not be fair considering Cutler's short time in the NFL. But even during his short time he has shown that he has the arm and the leadership to make a difference for his team.

This comparison is looking more at potential than anything else, but I believe it's a valid one because it would look like Cutler is about to unleash that potential all over the NFC North and the entire NFL.

No, Cutler has not accomplished what McNabb has accomplished, but give him time. He is a top-five quarterback in this league and will be for at least the next eight-ten years or so.

Advantage: McNabb

These next few quarterbacks are guys who will sometimes be compared to McNabb, or placed above McNabb. Honestly, it leaves me dumbfounded when I see it.

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Kurt Warner: 101 GS, 57-44, 2,327-3,557 65.4%, 28,591, 182 TD, 114, 93.8

For all the talk that McNabb is injury prone, Warner is much worse. Since 1998, he has only finished three seasons. In addition, he has seen two seasons of only seven games, and one season of only two games.

Warner also has a very simple key to success: great receivers.

The only times he's been successful is when he has not one, but two great receivers. In St. Louis he had Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, and now in Arizona he has Larry Fitzgerald, arguably the best receiver in the game, and Anquan Boldin, who isn't too shabby.

In fact, between his years without great receivers, and even during some years where he did have the receivers (2002-2006) he amassed 27 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. That's not one season, that's five.

Yes, Warner has a Super Bowl ring. But who really believes that was all Warner and not the help of an all-around great team?

The numbers speak for themselves. Hall of Fame, top-of-the-line quarterbacks can go through funks and hit ruts. McNabb had a two-game rut this year, it happens. But a five year slump is not a slump at all. It's the mark of a quarterback who can play only when he has a great supporting cast.

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Eli Manning: 71 GS, 42-29, 1,276-2,284 56%, 14,623, 98 TD, 78 INT, 76.1

Even after looking at the numbers, there are some who will yell and scream that Eli even holds a candle to McNabb. The reality is that he is nowhere close. The numbers speak for themselves.

Yes, he has a Super Bowl ring. But, just like Warner, does anyone believe that they would not have won that Super Bowl without Eli? If Eli went down and gave way to David Carr, they would still have won that Super Bowl because of their offensive and defensive lines.

I hear the questions. "Well then, what about his game-winning touchdown pass?" What about it? Plax was wide open. David Carr could have made that throw. I could have made that throw. Your lovely little old grandmother could have made that throw.

Plax did a great job on that play, the offensive and defensive lines were some of the best in the last decade, and that's why they won that Super Bowl. Eli was just another player on that team.

Had they not won that Super Bowl, this would not even be a discussion.

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Tony Romo: 39 GS, 27-12, 831-1,307 63.6%, 10,562, 81 TD, 46 INT, 94.7

In all honesty, Romo may be the most talented quarterback on this list. Yes, even above Warner. Warner is a very good quarterback, but Romo seems to show these flashes of brilliance that would fool people into thinking he's a great quarterback when in reality, he's average at best when the game is on the line.

I'll always remember Brian Dawkins' quote about players who only show flashes of talent, "It just means they're not working hard enough."

I don't know if this is the case with Romo, but he does seem to hyped into the stardom that goes along with being an NFL quarterback, rather than actually enjoying being an NFL quarterback.

Someone get Carrie Underwood on the phone, maybe she's looking to sling some dirt.

One last comparison:

Donovan McNabb: 128 GS, 82-45-1, 2,534-4,303 59%, 29,320, 194 TD, 90 INT, 85.9

vs.

Kevin Kolb: 0 GS, 0-0, 17-34 50%, 144, 0 TD, 4 INT, 21.8

Advantage: Kevin Kolb

Just Kidding, Philly.

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