PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

November 22, 2018 at 1:34 am.

PLAYER NOTES

–DE Kerry Wynn (concussion) is in the league protocol, his status for Sunday uncertain.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Edge rusher Olivier Vernon. Vernon is coming off his worst game as a Giant last week, a game in which he failed to dent the stat sheet. But this week, he gets a favorable matchup against left tackle Jason Peters, who suffered a torn biceps in the first meeting between these two teams. Vernon was clearly steamed after his poor showing last week against the Bucs and is sure to be seething after looking so ineffective. If he can’t make hay against Peters, who since suffering that injury has allowed 10 pressures in his last four games, then that won’t bode well for the Giants’ highest paid defender.

GAME PLAN: On offense, the Giants are likely to stick with their basic game plan from the last two weeks. After all, it’s been working, so why change it up?

But the thing to watch is the Giants’ passing game, which has the chance to really put some huge numbers on the board this week. The Eagles secondary has been decimated by injuries, with no one member of that unit having been on the field in a starting role for more than two weeks. And while no one will mistake Eli Manning for Drew Brees, the fact remains that the Saints and Cowboys have lit up the Eagles secondary, combining for 643 yards over two games through the air.

With that kind of production, just think what Manning and receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard might be able to record when the final buzzer sounds Sunday.

Defensively, the Giants will want to challenge quarterback Carson Wentz to beat them through the air. The Eagles offensive line has allowed 74 quarterback hits so far, third most in the NFL through Week 11). Add to that the fact that the Eagles do not have a solid running game to help take some of the pressure off the passing game, and you have a situation where opposing defenses have been able to blanket what receiving threats the Eagles do have.

Speaking of the Eagles receiving threats, they have yet to figure out how to fit Golden Tate, acquired via trade from the Lions, into their offense. In two games played, Tate has just seven receptions for 67 yards and no touchdowns as he continues to feel his way around the Eagles offense.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH

–Giants SS Landon Collins vs. Eagles TE Zach Ertz. Ertz is not only QB Carson Wentz’s favorite target, he’s probably one of the Eagles’ most dangerous. Last week, the Saints seemed to come up with the magic formula to keep Ertz from single-handedly wrecking the game, a strategy that included bracketing the tight end and deploying a safety to help keep him away from the linebackers. Given the struggles the Giants linebackers have had in coverage the last couple of weeks, putting Collins on Ertz and having him ensure that the tight end doesn’t get behind him could be a key step toward minimizing the damage he’s capable of doing.

–Giants interior OL (LG Will Hernandez, C Spencer Pulley and RG Jamon Brown) vs. Eagles DT Fletcher Cox. The last time Cox met the Giants, he simply destroyed the interior offensive line, particularly right guard Patrick Omameh, then the starter. In that Week 7 contest, Cox recorded six total pressures including a sack. But this time around, he’ll be facing a revamped Giants interior that has Brown at right guard, Pulley at center, and a much improved Hernandez at left guard. Keeping Cox out of quarterback Eli Manning’s face will be key if the Giants are to take advantage of a banged-up Eagles secondary.

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