Eagles vs. Giants: Breaking Down Philadelphia's Game Plan

Sunday’s tilt against the New York Giants may be meaningless as far as the standings are concerned, but the Philadelphia Eagles certainly are not approaching it from that standpoint. A testy Chip Kelly addressed the media on Monday, and the head coach could not have been clearer that there was no talk of resting starters or making any other changes just for the sake of it. Via PhiladelphiaEagles.com:

“Let's get that straight. We're going to win the football game. There's no, ‘Hey, let's go see what we can do.’ Our job is to go up and play the New York Giants and we're going to do everything we can to beat the New York Giants.”

That’s all well and good, but the elephant in the room—beside the fact that the Eagles are playing their final game of the season on Sunday—is the fact that Kelly’s team hasn’t won in three straight weeks. Obviously, they need to do something different.

Pinpointing what, exactly, might not be easy.

Let’s face it, Mark Sanchez has a penchant for untimely turnovers, and game plans such as last week’s at Washington where he was asked to throw 50 times only exacerbate the problem. Of course, this is the NFL in 2014, so playing “hide the quarterback” isn’t often a recipe for success, either.

Yet that’s exactly what the Eagles should try, at least to a degree. There are three very talented running backs on the roster, including LeSean McCoy—recently named to his third Pro Bowl—so why not pound the rock right down the Giants’ throats?

PLAYER	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
LeSean McCoy	22	149	6.8	0
Darren Sproles	5	39	5.6	1
Nick Foles	2	5	2.5	0

It worked in their last meeting. McCoy and Darren Sproles combined to rush 29 times for 188 yards—a 6.5 average—and a touchdown in Philly’s 27-0 victory over New York back in Week 6, and that was behind an offensive line still reeling from injuries to left guard Evan Mathis and center Jason Kelce.

Granted, the Giants didn’t employ the best strategy themselves. Whereas other defenses were overloading the box at that point in the season, giving McCoy and company little room to work, the Giants basically dared the Eagles to run the football, and run they did.

	ATT/GM	YDS/GM	YDS/ATT	TD
Stats	24.4	133.2	4.9	10
Rank	18th	30th	32nd	t-23rd

It’s not as if the Giants have had much success halting the ground attack at any point this season, either. New York’s run defense is ranked 30th in total yards and dead last in yards per attempt, so it’s a clear weakness.

Add in a healthy dose of third-string running back Chris Polk for good measure, and the Eagles could run the ball 40 times against the Giants with ease.

It beats having Sanchez drop back over and over again. Sure, he’s posted respectable numbers against porous defenses like New York’s, but again, the turnovers have been a backbreaker. If Kelly is serious about winning this game on Sunday, he won’t put it on the shoulders of his backup quarterback, because simply put, that hasn’t been working for the better part of a month now.

Do Play “Hide the Cornerback,” Though

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Bradley Fletcher might become a sympathetic figure anywhere besides Philadelphia. If we’re being honest about it, the Eagles know exactly what they have in the sixth-year cornerback, and the fact that he’s been positioned one-on-one against wide receivers such as Jordy Nelson, Dez Bryant and DeSean Jackson in recent weeks isn’t really Fletcher’s fault.

It’s also not Fletcher’s fault it took until the second half in Week 16 for the coaching staff to make a change at cornerback, finally plugging Nolan Carroll into the lineup as the season was circling the drain.

And why is that? The simple truth of the matter is the Eagles apparently don’t have a lot of faith in Carroll or Brandon Boykin to do that job, either. There’s no mystery with Carroll—he, like Fletcher, was picked off the free-agent scrap heap. In Boykin’s case, the team feels his size (5’10”) is a detriment.

Of course, the coaches’ lack of confidence in those players is all the more reason why they shouldn’t be left on an island against some of the most talented receivers in the game, which this week happens to be Odell Beckham Jr.

GM	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Wk 14 @ TEN	11	130	11.8	1
Wk 15 vs. WAS	12	143	11.9	3
Wk 16 @ STL	8	148	18.5	2

Despite missing the first four games of the season, and getting off to a somewhat quiet start in the next three, Beckham has quickly risen to the level of likely Rookie of the Year. The 12th overall pick in the 2014 draft hasn’t been held to under 90 yards receiving in the last seven weeks, and his numbers over the last three games are particularly insane—31 receptions, 421 yards and six touchdowns.

Is it any wonder the Giants are riding a three-game winning streak?

Defensive coordinator Bill Davis was cagey about who would start at corner on Sunday when asked at his Tuesday press conference, via PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Then again, it probably doesn’t matter. Beckham is playing at an elite level right now, and based on the club’s handling of the situation, the Birds don’t have anybody who can cover him.

Double-teaming Beckham on every play probably isn’t quite realistic, but double-teaming him on every play probably isn’t a bad idea. That means linebackers cutting the underneath routes, safety help shaded to side or even plenty of straight bracket coverage.

	YDS/GM	TD	20+/40+	RATING
Stats	253.9	29	66/16	92.9
Rank	25th	29th	32nd	23rd

Because trotting out Fletcher or whoever else and letting Beckham post a buck-fifty on them is a surefire way to lose this final game, which is okay if Philadelphia is only playing for draft positioning.

Yet Kelly was adamant that’s not the case. With that in mind, it’s time to do something about this coverage issue, and actually take away an opponent’s biggest threat.

Then the Eagles will have all the time in the world figuring out how to replace Fletcher, who, mercifully, will be a free agent at season’s end.