Giants and Eagles on the Rise: NFC East Rivals Look to Gain Respect Around the League The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles are two teams who appear to be on the rise in the NFL. Both teams had impressive wins against division rivals last week. The Giants defeated the Arizona Cardinals 21-14, while the Eagles flat out destroyed the Cowboys 41-14. Both teams can attribute their success to strong running games that lead the way to victory. The Giants will now rely on their new "thunder and lightning" combination of Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne. Barber, the former UVA star and Roanoke native, is the speed back while Dayne, the former Heisman trophy and NCAA career rushing leader, is the destroyer. The Giants are hoping that this combination will work wonders and run over defenses all year long. I was very impressed overall with the Giants running game, because the Giants usually never have a running game! Barber and Dayne compliment each other very well. The best type of running back to have in the NFL is a back that has not only good speed, but a back that isn't afraid to pound in the trenches. Backs like Stephen Davis, Jamal Anderson, and Eddie George are prime examples of this. The Giants have sort of split this type of back into two people. Barber is the speed that will try to elude you with Barry Sanders' like moves. He'll try to juke you and embarrass you. Dayne will try to embarrass you too, but not by juking. He's just going to run right through you. Dayne unnoticeably will get sometimes up to five yards a pop just by plowing through four and five defenders at a time. At the end of the game, those yards add up. These two backs will do wonders for a Giants offense that hasn't been that great in recent years. They will also benefit quarterback Kerry Collins. Collins is a solid quarterback with a strong arm. By having a solid running game, Collins will be able to do more play action passes and therefore have more chances to gun the ball downfield. The Philadelphia Eagles also benefited from a strong running game. They, however, rely on only one running back: Duce Staley. Staley had a career game against the Cowboys rushing 201 yards. 101 yards is a great game. 201 yards is just ridiculous! Having a great running back like Staley in the backfield will greatly benefit second year quarterback Donovan McNabb's learning process. The Eagles still lack a game breaking wide receiver, but their running game will carry the load until someone steps up to that position. However it's the Eagles defense that impresses me the most. When you think of all the big name players in the NFL on defense, you don't think of anyone on the Eagles staff. The front seven in the Eagles defense are ferocious. Lead by defensive end Hugh Douglas and key additions like number one draft pick Corey Simon of Florida State, this defense is out for blood. Overall both the Eagles and the Giants won't have people talking Super Bowl just yet, but they have earned the respect of the league. |
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