Hustle Play of the Game

You know what stuck out to me as I review my Tivo recording of the first half? This hidden gem on what was a broken play for the Eagles D: the run blitz that back-fired into Tiki Barber's longest run of the game, putting the ball deep into Eagles territory.

Let me set the stage: Eagles winning 10-7 and have taken the momentum from the Giants. Eli & Co muster up a reply...Shockey has his signature play of the year (getting belted by OG after making a catch, losing his helmet and still flailing forward for the first down)...and the Giants are moving the ball effectively, ball on the Eagles side of mid-field...

-- This sets up my hidden hustle play of the game....those few plays that will often be forgotten but which have an undeniable impact on the outcome...so get to it already, why is a broken run-blitz that resulted in a huge gain for the Giants one of the plays of the game: because it is not the Giants who were ultimately the most affected by the play. In my humble opinion, the Eagles were, and it was made possible by the hustle of cornerbacks Rod Hood and Lito Sheppard, who would eventually knock Tiki out of bounds. You see, Tiki looked like he was on his way to matching an earlier game-breaking run by Westbrook--that is taking one "to the house" from mid-field. The Eagles run blitzed SS Sean Considine from the corner, but Giants FB Jim Finn picked it up, turned SS Sean Considine to the outside, and the footrace was on. Tiki put a good juke on FS Brian Dawkins and the only folks between a 14-10 Giants lead were CBs Rod Hood and Lito Sheppard. The problem, Hood was on the far-sideline and had gotten blocked by the WR. He was beat on the play--Tiki raced past him, but Hood kept hustling, and by doing so, drew the attention of the only other Giants player downfield -- WR Plaxico Burress. Burress moved to cut off Hood -- he did knock Rod out of bounds behind the play -- but Burress left his man Sheppard to get that block....turns out if Burress had stayed with Lito, Tiki probably would've out-raced Hood to the endzone...instead, Burress got a relatively meaningless block on Hood, freeing Lito to shoulder Tiki out at the 4 yard line...

SO WHY IS THAT HUGE? The Eagles D held, forcing a Jay Feely FG to knot the game at 10-10 with about 4 minutes or so left in the first half...The Eagles promptly responded and marched down to score a TD before the half. However, IF the Giants had 4 more points, the game very well could have played out a whole lot differently than it did.

The Life of Brian

Absolutely no question about it, my Brian Dawkins Player of the Game award goes to the other Brian... RB Brian Westbrook. On a day when a lot of national writers were poised to talk about another great game by Tiki Barber improbably extending the Giants season, Brian said oh no-no....

He outdueled Tiki, rushing for 141 yards and a TD, (Tiki turned in his best performance against the Eagles in a while, gaining 137 yards) and just kicked much ass in general. Oh by the way, his 49 yard touchdown scamper (pictured courtesy AP) set an Eagles post-season record. Finally, when the Eagles need to move the ball into field goal range to attempt the game-winner, who did they turn to? ...um...no guesses are necessary...Marty dialed up a great run/pass mix but the off-right-tackle runs by Westbrook totally demoralized the Giants defenders...

My other stars:
**** Jon Dorenbos, Koy Detmer and David Akers....provided a sterling example to Romo and the Cowboys about HOW ITS DONE...snap, hold, kick - GOOOOOOOOOOOOD! After watching the Cowgirls dork up the win Saturday night, Head Coach Andy Reid's decision to re-sign our long-time holder looks better and better...Akers appeared comfortable all night long...I said early that if Koy helps us makes 1 FG this post-season it'd be worth it...hell, he not only did that, he helped WIN THE FRIGGIN' GAME?

*** Sheldon Brown - Sheldon has been maligned by a lot of folks lately...but I tell you what, homey came to play on Sunday. He scooped up the first and only turnover of the day (Garcia and O got a FG out of it), snagging an INT over the middle in the 2nd qtr. It was a great momentum changer for the Eagles as we finally shifted field position after the Giants played nearly the entire first quarter in our territory (though they only scored 7 pts)....Moreover on a day in which we lost our Pro Bowl CB Lito Sheppard to injury (later in the game), SB stepped up and helped lead the secondary....is he perfect...maybe not, but we need him more than ever now.

** Jeff Garcia - ok, so 17/31 for 151 and 1 TD is fairly pedestrian statistic-wise...but I tell ya what. He made the key plays when he had to, and he didn't turn the ball over. That bears repeating...the Eagles played secure football today, and didn't give the Giants any cheapo scores.

* The Coaches - I don't usually take this space to acknowledge the coaches, and some might disagree because the passing game wasn't exactly sparkling yesterday...but you know what that was a problem of EXECUTION, not necessarily play-calling. The reason I put the coaches here: the way they maintained an even keel when the game started out tilted in the Giants favor (field position-wise)...I mean the Giants played almost the entire first quarter on the Eagles side of the 50, but Jim Johnson kept dialing up just the right calls to stymie Manning and a Giants offense that opened up the game like gang-busters...The team weathered the early storm (something I think the coaches assisted with) and made the adjustments necessary to take advantage of what opportunities the Giants WERE giving us....

Eagles Chances - All Comes Down to What I.F.

I was going to post a "no-matter-what-happens-its-been-a-good-ride" themed post, and I thought, nah, screw that...that too downbeat, too gloomy...I have faith that the Eagles are going to take of business today against the NY Giants for one simple reason: their WHAT I.F.? is tilted more towards the team that went 9-1 and less towards the impostors that floundered about at 1-5....

Perhaps I need to explain my I.F. of the equation:
The I stands for Intensity. By intensity I am referring to the heart, effort, and passion that typified the Eagles' play during their early and late win streaks. The Eagles were a team fired-up (especially late), one that didn't quit, played each down hard, and good things happened. The D turned up the intensity later in the season, and we witnessed improved tackling, in instances the gang-green tackling of old, and a bit of the spit-fire and swagger that carried prior Eagles teams to NFC Championship games.....

The F stands for Focus. And focus for this team means execution, each man doing his job secure in knowing that his teammates will do theirs. For the offense, its wide receivers and tight ends making catches -- no more easy drops because they were looking to run after making the catch, etc...for Garcia, it means quick reads, taking the Defense gives him and doing a generally excellent job protecting the ball, for the coaches it means realizing that we've got a damn good running back in Westbrook, a hidden force with Buck and an offensive line that will maul other teams in the run game if you give them half a chance. For the defense, focus means linemen getting off the ball, maintaining gap control, shedding blocks instead of getting velcro'd to opposition players; its linebackers not over-pursuing and Trot not having to worry about making up for OLBs; and for the DBs its become about play-making...with the front seven doing its job a whole helluva lot better down the stretch, we've seen guys like Lito and Dawk ball-hawkin' it....interceptions, fumbles, sacks....the boys in the secondary been doing it ALL....

So that's why I like the Eagles chances today...winning has become not only a matter of when, but I.F. as well.