Eagles Wake-Up Call: Giants Scouting Report
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. (Photo: USA Today Sports)
The Eagles swept the Giants last season, but they faced two different teams as they won the first game by 27 points and the second by eight. Which squad will Philadelphia see Monday night?
According to Chip Kelly, the answer is neither because of New York’s new defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, and Eli Manning’s familiarity with the offense in year two.
“It’s just an entirely new coordinator,” Kelly said. “It’s just like when [former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin] Gilbride left and [Giants offensive coordinator Ben] McAdoo came in: the offensive system has changed and the defensive system has changed. So it’s new players, different — some new faces back there. Landon Collins is there, a couple different guys playing different spots that they didn’t have before, and I think it’s a totally different system than they were in before.”
To get a better feel for what the Eagles will face this week, we asked several players and coaches about their next opponent. Here’s what they said, plus tables detailing where the Giants rank in the NFL in points per game, yards per carry, passer rating and turnovers on both sides of the ball.
OFFENSE
| PTS/G | YPC | RATE | GIVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26.4 (7) | 3.6 (T-29) | 100.2 (9) | 3 (T-2) |
Kelly on their pass protection: “They’re doing a good job of keeping him clean. I think it’s a product of the offense, too. Eli is doing a great job of getting the ball out of his hands quick. He’s got some receivers that can uncover quickly. I think sometimes it’s easier said than done where the quarterback has just got to get the ball out of his hands; well, the receivers have got to get open, too, and they’ve got a very talented bunch of receivers. They do a good job of spreading you out.”
Bill Davis on Manning: “You know where he’s ranked in the NFL in getting the ball out of his hands? Third. So once again, it’s a high-efficiency, quick ball-out-of-the-quarterback’s-hand offense. And again, they have only had, I think, four sacks maybe and two interceptions, so Eli not only makes a quick read and gets it out of his hands, if there is any pressure, he throws it away. He’s not taking the sack and he’s not throwing the interception. He would rather take the intentional grounding and just eat the incomplete and play another down, and I think that’s why their offense is pretty efficient.”
Davis on Odell Beckham Jr.: “He can stop and restart as fast as anyone, and that is always a challenge. Then when he does catch the ball, he’s a great open field runner. He is a very talented runner, and so he’s getting a lot of yards after the catch, and you’ve got to contain that part of it, as well as him turning you around with his moves. And then his hands are some of the best in the league and he’s getting better as they go. We’ll have our hands full with him for a while.”
Bennie Logan on their run game: “It’s an inside zone running team. They just try to move you out the way. They want to body you and create holes for the running back. The deep balls really come on you when they establish the run and they get the play-action going.”
Nolan Carroll on their passing game: “They’re similar to New Orleans. They’ll want to hurry up, spread the field and look for Beckham and [Rueben] Randle.”
DEFENSE
| PTS/G | YPC | RATE | TAKE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21.8 (14) | 3.5 (T-1) | 91.4 (14) | 7 (T-15) |
Kelly on their blitzes: “They’re great at disguising it where you think it’s coming over here and then it comes over there. It’s such a Jim Johnson influence for him, but I think he’s still doing a lot of those similar things, and it’s part of us being able to recognize it. With any blitz like that, you can take advantage of it if you’re geared into it and see it and are ready. But you may think it’s coming from this side and then it comes from here and you’re not ready for it. But he does a great job with it, and it’s been a staple in the defense that he’s running now in New York.”
Davis on Spagnuolo’s tendencies: “I think four-man rush zones are really what they do more on first and second down. Then, I think he’s got some Jim Johnson pressures. Those Jim Johnson pressures that a lot of the guys that were under him use are really dynamic pressures.”
Pat Shurmur on their success against the run: “The defensive tackles are big, sturdy players. And when you look at their defense, I think this is probably textbook-team defense when it comes to stopping the run. They are very gap-sound. A lot of times they give you a two-safety presentation in the back end, which immediately says, everybody else says, ‘Well, they are easy to run the ball against because it’s two safeties.’
“Well, then it’s seven and a half or sometimes eight in the box depending how the safeties play it. And then I think their team, their linebackers are really good at their run fits. So what appears to be an open gap, they get down in quickly.”
Lane Johnson on the Eagles’ adjustments and Giants’ defensive line: “We got even more different stuff coming this week, different screens. I expect the Giants to try to do what the Redskins or Cowboys did [with slants and stunts]. Me and Jason Peters did a lot of jump-setting on the defensive ends. When I did that on the jet sweep against the Redskins — as soon as they saw me open my hips and jump — they were taught to come inside. I expect the Giants to do the same thing this week.”
Josh Huff on their secondary: “They’re pretty much a zone team, but they’ll throw in a little bit of man. Their defense is different from last year; they fly around a lot more. We really got to make sure we end the play with the ball.”
WHAT YOU MISSED
T-Mac took a look at how Sam Bradford is growing into a leadership role.
An All-22 analysis of why the Eagles’ run game was better against the Saints.
Video: Have the Eagles solved their early-season problems?
Chip Kelly made short work of the latest college coaching rumors at yesterday’s press conference.
“He does a good job of running the show.” A look at Eli Manning’s red-hot start to the season.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
After five games, Byron Maxwell’s shaky start is in the rear view as he continues to improve, says Reuben Frank.
Maxwell arrived here with such a reputation. Super Bowl champ. Member of the Legion of Boom. Shutdown corner.
But it’s important to remember that Maxwell had only 17 career NFL starts under his belt when he joined the Eagles, and he had never played in a scheme like Davis’.
He wasn’t going to be a Pro Bowler overnight.
And that’s why [Billy] Davis is confident Maxwell will continue to improve.
Through plenty of early-season injuries, the Eagles’ ailing players have sucked it up and played on, writes Marcus Hayes.
If the Eagles continue to play relatively proficient football, beginning Monday night when the Giants visit, it will be because they are cornered and desperate, fighting with nothing to lose.
“That’s just how this team is,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “Us being 1-3, it was a vital time of the season. Still is, with the Giants on Monday.”
Left tackle Jason Peters and Johnson each implied that had the Eagles been, say, 3-1, instead of 1-3, they might have missed Sunday’s game. Both believed the team could not afford their absence.
COMING UP
Chip Kelly will speak to the media at 10:50 a.m.