I let it get to me, even though I tried not to let it. I was trying to protect myself from getting hurt — now I’m just giving it all.

That Jackson would be willing to admit to not trying his hardest is hardly surprising. This is a player whose premature celebrations have cost him  a touchdown not once, but twice. He’s also a player who, a season ago, was called for a 50-yard taunting penalty. Obviously, it’s easy to hate Jackson as a Giants fan, but I have to believe that even Eagles’ supporters have a tough time rooting for a guy with Jackson’s attitude and track record, despite his obvious talent.

Later on in the interview, Jackson went on to say that he felt “happy to finally get that contract. I felt with what I had done for the team, I deserved it.”

Contrast that with the following:

“Whenever the contract comes, it comes. I’m not going to be sitting back, waiting for it, thinking about it, because then I won’t be focused on football. When that time comes, we’ll cross that bridge.”

That quote came from Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz. Last year, Cruz set the Giants’ franchise record with 1,536 receiving yards while making $405,000. This year, he’s slated to make just slightly more than that. For comparison’s sake, Jackson had a career-low 961 receiving yards while being paid $555,000 in 2011.

Prima dona wide receivers are nothing new to the NFL, and particularly not to the NFC East. But it’s hard to argue that one of the things that makes the Giants so successful is the lack of egos among their star players. Eli Manning and Justin Tuck set the tone for the team on offense and defense, respectively, and one could hardly imagine a better mentor than either. The one muddy contract situation the Giants have had over the past few years was that of Osi Umenyiora, but even in his least happy year he racked up 9 sacks in 9 games last season, and added 3 1/2 more in the Giants run to the Super Bowl.

I don’t want to overstate the gulf between the Giants and their NFC East rivals. Clearly, not everyone on the roster is going to be happy at all times, and winning keeps a lot of those situations from becoming magnified. But still, it’s hard not to consider the extent to which that winning is due to having a team of stable leaders like Tuck and Cruz versus headaches like Jackson and Dez Bryant. Whatever personal issues the Giants players have with each other or with management, they never seem to affect the team between the lines. In this division and in this city, that’s rare.

Now I was totally blindsided by Jerry Jones moving up to the 6th pick to get LSU CB Morris Claiborne for his new and improved Cowboys secondary. In my defense this is Jerry Jones, the most unpredictable Owner/General Manager in the NFL. Claiborne is a 6″ tall cover corner. The only knock on him is that he is a reluctant tackler enabling WR like Victor Cruz and Desean Jackson to potentially get a lot of yards after catch (YAC).

I had the Giants picking Boise State RB Doug Martin but in this trade happy Draft (so far 9 trades in the First Round), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded into the 31st spot and grabbed Martin. This left the Giants with the next best RB on their board which was Virginia Tech RB David Wilson. The difference between Martin and Wilson is quite simply this, Martin is a consistent back where as Wilson is an explosive back that can break a big play at any given time in a game.

All in all I am now officially against Mock Drafts because with the new Rookie pay scale, trades are free flowing and teams in the upper half of the draft are no longer concern if “we can afford to pay this player”.

This year probably wont be any different. Andy Reid is still one of the top 10 coaches in the league, he just needs to adjust a bit more and break from the game plan if the run is working.  Their keys to 2012 are, have a positive turnover ratio and keep Vick upright  in the pocket. He took a lot of punishment last year. While some of it was due to his running, he seemed to take more hard hits behind the line of scrimmage as opposed to down the field. And if DeSean Jackson can stay focused and Vick can get him the ball enough to keep him happy, combined with Macklin, Celek and the late season emergence of Riley Cooper, look out.  McCoy is extremely dangerous out of the backfield both running and catching the ball. And with good defensive ends and a very good secondary all they need is some solid play from their LB’s and their wide 9 defense could be dominating against a pass happy NFL. Barring them believing the press clipping and shooting themselves in the foot again, the Eagles will be in the hunt for the division title.

The defending Superbowl Champion N.Y. Giants will only be better this year and will be in the hunt for the division title with the Eagles. They have the best Coach and QB in the division. Their receiving Duo of Cruz and Nicks is top notch, and could be the best in the league. Even with the loss of Kareem McKenzie they will still have a good offensive line and have already shored it up with the addition of Locklear and they will get their 2011 draft pick James Brewer back.

Their defense is already better with the emergence of JPP and the return of Terrell Thomas. Keith Rivers could be the answer at LB if he can stay healthy and live up to his pre draft potential. The only real question mark is at the RB position. Where will the replacement for Jacobs come from. It will probably be a combination of what they have and possibly someone from the draft. A legit run at the division is well within reach.

Last year at this time all we heard about was Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. 9 months later all we heard were excuses about why the Cowboys had imploded. Bottom line has been and still is, they are a soft team. Romo is a good QB but seems to fold under the pressure of the big game. They have a good front 7 on defense, but after that it is just a ton of questions. The running game as well as the receiving corp were extremely unpredictable and mostly ineffective. They did have some big plays, but they were inconsistent. The secondary will still be weak and get burned on a regular basis. They still could be a 9-7 team, but with the Giants and Eagles being in double digit wins I believe  Dallas will come up short of the playoffs.

The Washington Redskins will be better than they have been in recent years. With the probable drafting of RG3 they will have an immediate improvement on offense. Unfortunately after Santana Moss and Roy Helu on offense and Brian Orakpo on defense, there is not much else to speak of. Shanahan will probably have this team over achieve in the first part of the season, but  they will come back to earth again down the road. The Redskins will not be much better than 7-9.

Overall, this performance was pretty typical of the Giants in recent years. A game in the second half of the season, one that could have playoff implications, against the Eagles generally means the Giants will make no effort to win. They play with no sense of urgency. In fact, they seem to give the impression that they don’t even want to play. The only difference here is this is not week 16, where the Giants are out of chances to turn things around after two consecutive losses. There is still time to save the season and hold onto playoff hopes. See that? I found a pro already. Now let’s break this one down.

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Just like last week against the 49ers, they had us all on the edge of our seats, anticipating another miraculous fourth quarter comeback from Eli Manning and company, and once again, they came up just short. The 17-10 loss to the Eagles means the Giants dropped to 6-4 and 1-2 in division games. They’re now second in the NFC East behind Dallas.

A few observations from the game:

-One of the first things my father taught me about football was that it starts and ends at the line of scrimmage, and tonight’s game against the Eagles showed me how right he was. The Giants offensive and defensive lines alike were outmanned by the Eagles throughout the game. Eli Manning was given very little time to throw and had to scramble most of the night. Brandon Jacobs and DJ Ware had few holes with which to work. And the defensive line got next to no pressure on Vince Young, giving him time to throw and get comfortable. Frankly, I was amazed they even managed the one sack they did get.

Chris Canty did play a good game though.

-Speaking of the defensive line, I have to admit that I was looking forward to see Osi Umenyiora get to suit up against Philadelphia. He traditionally plays well against them (who can forget his glorious six sack game back in 2007?) so to see him as a non-factor all evening was a bit of a disappointment.

-One more thing about the defensive line- has anyone else noticed that almost all of their pressure seems to come from the outside? When they’re effective at getting to the quarterback it’s not that a big deal but if they miss, it leaves the middle open, allowing opposing quaterbacks to either step up and throw or scramble for some yardage. That was definitely evident tonight, especially with Umenyiora being shutdown by the left tackle all game.

-Congratulations to Prince Amukamara on his first career interception! It had be a big confidence-booster for a rookie to get his first pick less than seven minute into his NFL career. I was overall pretty pleased with Amukamara’s first game and it benefits the Giants to have another cornerback in rotation.

-Mark Herzlich was decent overall in his first career start at linebacker. He had a few spectacular plays against the run but his pass coverage needs some work.

-Actually, that statement about Herzlich applies to all the Giants linebackers. Just look at how Kiwanuka got smoked on Steve Smith’s touchdown. As they did last week, the Giants did a great job of shutting down the run but the linebackers kept leaving guys open. That’s the one area where they really miss Michael Boley.

-The poor play of the offensive line was partially to blame for the poor run game, but how much do the Giants miss Ahmad Bradshaw?

-The Giants now have a defensive takeaway in 23 straight games, dating back to last season.

-I guess Jake Ballard is human after all. He had three pretty significant drops that could’ve been difference-makers. But it’s hard to complain after what he’s done for them at tight end this year and he came back and had a big catch after leaving the game to get his elbow examined. (Thankfully the x-rays came back negative.)

-On the bright side, I think it’s become more evident each week that Victor Cruz is the real deal and not just a fluke. He still needs a little work when it comes to dropping passes but he’s been extremely clutch for New York all season and helped the Giants set up another potential comeback. New York’s depth at wide receiver is astonishing.

-While we’re on the topic of Cruz, am I the only one who gets nervous when I see him returning punts over Aaron Ross? I just keep thinking about how Domenik Hixon’s back-to-back season ending injuries came from returning punts and I’d hate to see the Giants lose Cruz that way too.

-When DeSean Jackson negated his own 50 yard reception by taunting defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, I found myself wondering how he can expect the Eagles to pay him the big bucks when he keeps pulling stunts like that.

-The Giants continue to struggle on third downs. Once again, they had trouble converting third downs on offense and the defense gave up six third downs on the Eagles game-winning drive. That’s one problem that definitely needs addressing.

The offense:  Michael Vick appears to be out for the game tomorrow night, as does WR Jeremy Maclin.  In steps Vince Young who has thrown a total of one pass this season, and that was intercepted.  Which Vince Young do you get?  The one that can break open a game at any moment with his strength and speed?  The one that doesn’t go down so easy when hit?  Or the depressed, once great, washed up, indecisive Qb that was shipped out of Tennessee?  I believe the Giants will see both Vince Young and Mike Kafka tomorrow night if Vick indeed is inactive.  That leaves LeSean McCoy as the main weapon for the Eagles, and he is a formidable one.  On a team with Vick, DeSean Jackson, Maclin, Avant, and Celek, McCoy has managed to rush for 900 yards and 10 TD’s.  The Eagles LEAD the league in rushing averaging over 170 yards per game.  The Eagles are 3rd in total yards, but only 11th in scoring with a Net Point Differential of only 17. (more…)

We have landed at the halfway point of the 2011 season. Every team in the NFL have played out their first 8 games. Only two teams have played into the second half of a 16 game schedule, the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. The second half is upon us and the playoff brackets are beginning to take shape.

The NFC East has always been a competitive division, in and of itself and outside of the conference/division. The first impressions that many had of the NFC East have been blown out of the water. Regardless of record, any team in this conference is capable, at any time, of making the opposition sorry for mistaking a losing record for terminal weakness. We’ve got the grades and projections for the remainder of the season right here. Welcome to the NFC EAST Midseason Report Card! Check it out!
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What do you get when you cross an Eagle with a Jackass? Why, DeSean Jackson, of course. Andy Reid will more than likely be bald after the offseason and lockout come to a close. Having to sit back and listen to the inordinately immature remarks that continue to emanate from his juvenile players can only leave him pulling every single strand of hair out of his head. The latest bird to tweet his feathers off is none other than DeSean Jackson.

With Jackson, it really isn’t a matter of if he will flap his gums. It is a matter of when. DeSean has been quite taken with himself since last season and has been quite vocal about it. Alas, like many Eagles, he just doesn’t know when to keep his beak shut.
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The Eagles love to go deep with DeSean Jackson and who wouldn’t? He may be the fastest man in football and certainly one of the most exciting. The one difference between these two football teams may be #10.

Phillips and Grant have been stalwarts in the Giants’ secondary this season but now is when the rubber meets the road. The 2 safeties have very little room for error and must perform at a very high level. No missed tackles, bad pursuit angles or morphing into a greyhound chasing the rabbit. I am not suggesting they must assume all the responsibility in curtailing the Eagles’ designs for big plays but Phillips and Grant cannot hand out any gifts. This is a time when one or both can be the impact player(s) that teams need in this type of contest.

So what is to be done to lessen Jackson’s impact on the upcoming game? The Giants must be in position to hit and hit often. Safeties, linebackers, linemen and corners must harass Jackson at every opportunity. They cannot allow free releases from the line, and when DeSean makes a catch he must be crushed. He is allusive and fast which only heightens the challenge, but for the Giants to prevail they must neutralize Mr. Jackson. Jackson must be a marked man.

This may be the biggest challenge the Giants’ safeties will have faced all year and certainly the most critical.  Not only must they maintain depth in relation to Jackson but they also need to support a running attack that victimized the G-Men last time out. Their mantra must be “stay alert and do not get fooled”. This is not an exercise for the faint of heart and at 6’1″ and 6’2″ over 200 lbs., respectively, I don’t think they are shrinking violets. I do hope they did their homework.

The Giants have some weapons of their own. Their ability to provide pressure with a 4 man pass rush is perhaps their greatest asset for that allows 7 in coverage and the ability to double DeSean.  Pressuring Michael Vick into quick throws and using confusing defenses will go far in mitigating the big play ability of Jackson. But without stellar safety play, all will be for naught.

The stage is set. The gun is loaded and the trigger cocked. Kenny Phillips and Deon Grant are the two formidable and physical objects capable of disarming the dangerous Eagles’ vertical offense. On a gun the safety is activated by a simple push of the thumb. Giants’ safeties need to be activated by Perry Fewell with the same ease and effectiveness.

Two weeks ago I wrote an article about the “New York Giants And The Roman Numeral V.” Five has been a recurring number throughout the Giants’ season and this week is no exception. The Philadelphia Eagles have won five straight games against the G-Men. They have also won their last 5 consecutive games. Big Blue looks to end these streaks on Sunday.

By now, most readers know that Steve Smith is out for the season. After being sidelined with a pectoral injury for four weeks, Smith returned back to action against the Minnesota Vikings. He was targeted 3 times but only caught 1 pass for 12 yards. The Giants have gone 2-2 in his absence. Being down a Pro Bowl receiver certainly doesn’t help matters much for a team that has had to grapple with injuries all year long. Can they pull out their biggest win of the season without Steve Smith? Let’s crunch some numbers and find out.
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