Tim McManus Previews Eagles Vs Giants Playoff Matchup
We are finally going to get an Eagles playoff game. They are all set to square off with the New York Giants on Saturday Night in their first playoff game after securing the bye week. And to preview this playoff matchup, Tim McManus joined The Best Show Ever. What are his thoughts on the game? How healthy will some of the banged-up Eagles be? Tim discussed that and more. Here is what he had to say.
Updates of the Various Injured Eagles
“We know about the scary scene with Josh Sweat a few weeks ago. He is now a full participant, and in line to play again the Giants on Saturday. With a lot of the pieces (returning), it is almost a fully healthy squad. Avonte Maddox does not look like he is going to play in this game. But most of the other guys are. You are right to point to the big two. Jalen Hurts and Lane Johnson. Lane Johnson did go through today’s practice. He was listed as limited participant with that groin injury. But he was out there, and passed the biggest test of the week today. And Jalen Hurts was not listed on the injury report”
On His Thoughts on The Eagles Drawing The Giants as their Matchup
“They basically got the best draw possible. Outside of Tampa coming here. It was definitely the better of the scenarios. If Minnesota would have beaten New York, and Dallas came here, that is a worse matchup for me. It doesn’t mean I think that the Giants are a team you can just roll your helmets out and beat. They are playing a higher brand of Football over the last quarter of the season… But considering you could have gone Cowboys then San Fran, they got a pretty good break.”
On How Gannon Will Approach Defending the Giants
“There is a lot of agita in the Philadelphia area when it comes to Gannon. Most of it is misplaced, and maybe a hangover from his first year. If you look across the board, the job he has done has been excellent for the most part. But there have been times when maybe he is not aggressive as he needs to be. Or he falls into old tendencies. And that can get the Eagles in trouble.
For this one, the focus is going to be making sure Daniel Jones stays in the pocket and has to beat you from there. I honestly don’t think he is going to overload the defensive players in this game… I think they are going to play to the strengths of this team, and not try to reinvent the wheel. We know that Gannon does like to play zone predominantly. That is to make sure the defensive backs have their eyes on the Qb so they can get some turnovers. And we know he doesn’t like to have the deep ball beat him. I don’t think those are things that will suddenly change in this playoff game.
This is also a team that led the league in sacks. Almost broke the NFL record. All while generating what was for most of the year the most turnovers in the league… Gannon has had a good beat on how to take care of opponents this year. 14 wins speaks to that. And I’m confident he is going to have a good gameplan for the Giants.”
And you can listen to the full conversation below…
