Look at these Eagles fly!!

    It is a cold, frigid, wintry Friday afternoon in the little town of Pennsauken, NJ.  It is a town located five minutes from the Ben Franklin Bridge which leads you right into the city of Brotherly Love.  I am in my house, freezing my behind off, but what keeps me warm is the success at which the Eagles are flying through the NFL East as well as the conference.  Two more days I tell you, two more days till we play them godforsaken New York "football" Giants.
     I hear enough trash talking as it is at the college I attend called William Paterson University.  It is located about 15 minutes from New York City, of course without traffic.  I have never seen so many Jets and Giants fans in my life.  I get a sour taste in my mouth every time I take a glimpse and see a Jets or Giants jersey.  The taste is indescribable.  It is like grinding up liverwurst and brusselsprouts in a blender and dipping it in a glass of milk.  The combination is a horrible mix, making the average Eagle fan quiver at any moment in time.  All my life I have been used to seeing green; not Jets green, but Eagles green.  Okay, let me stop with all the Jets and Giants talk before I really do vomit and start talking about this upcoming game on Sunday at 1pm.
     This game between the Giants and Eagles will determine who from the NFL east will gain the best advantage in making the playoffs.  "Playoffs?!(in my Jim Mora voice)"  Yes playoffs, Jim.  I am incredibly confident that the Eagles will pull out a tough victory at the new Meadowlands stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
    There are 3 main factors in this game that the Eagles have to accomplish in order to come out with a "W."  First factor is getting after Eli Manning and putting fear in his innocent, little eyes.  The Eagles D has to get pressure from their front four first, before sending the flock of birds, in the blitz team.  The addition of Derrick Burgess will help the front four cope with the loss of Brandon Graham, who is out for the remainder of the season.  Juqua Parker has been playing at his potential these past few games, grasping his job back in week 5.  Expect Trent Cole to be double teamed, opening up a one on one match up with Juqua and whoever starts at right guard for the Giants.  The second factor will be the Eagles offensive line maintaining the blitz of the Giants defenders.  Todd Heremans, Jason Peters, King Dunlap or if Winston Justice is healthy, all have to show up Sunday afternoon.  Good blocking by these men will open up the run lanes for "Shady" McCoy and enable him to do his juking and jiving in the open field.  Running the ball on an even basis will surely make the play-action more effective as the game goes on.  This will also give time for the "big" play that has caught many teams off guard this season.  Desean Jackson will be that man.  Jeremy Maclin will be more of a possesion type reciever that will get you the key first downs in 3rd down situations.  Let's see Todd Heremans catch another TD!  The third and final factor that will be significant is the Eagles D's ability to stop the running game of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  These two have always caused trouble in the past, when they're hot.  Right now, they are on a roll!  Last week, we stopped the combo of Tashard Choice and Felix Jones.  This week's one-two punch will be even more of a challenge.   The Eagles linebacking core will have to bring their fury in putting a nose into the offensive line and getting to the running back, to block running lanes from opening up.  Ernie Sims as well as Moise Fokou have to balance their timing on when to commit and when to stay put in coverage.  With the injury of Stewart Bradley till the playoffs, Jamar Chaney has to step in as a rookie and dismiss all the stereotypes that come with it.  I think he will do a fine job and veterans, like Trent Cole or Quinten Mikell, will help boost his confidence during the latter stages of the game.      
   In the last time these two teams matched up, the Giants brought the blitz and were somewhat successful in guarding the Madden video game playing ability of Michael Vick.  Still, we came out with a victory and that's all that matters.  "We play to win the game (in my Herm Edwards voice)."  The stadium will be loud and a tough environment to play in, but I still think my Eagles will show that they are the team to beat in the NFC.  My prediction, 27-24 Eagles in a thriller.