Go Behind the Scenes for Eagles-Giants Round Two with New York Beat Writer

I asked five questions to longtime Giants beat writer Patricia Traina to get a more in-depth look at Sundays matchup

Ed Kracz/SI Fan Nation Eagles Today

SI Eagles Today went behind the scenes for the rematch of Eagles-Giants, Round Two, with the publisher of Giants Country, Patricia Traina, who is a longtime beat writer covering the New York Giants.

Here are five questions that Traina answered for me:

Q: The Giants were never in the game the last time the two teams played, not that long ago, but they have gone 2-1 since and made the playoffs. What, if anything, has changed since the last time these two teams played?

PATRICIA TRAINA: I think this team has built up some confidence that maybe started to slip a little during that 1-3-1 stretch you’ve referenced. Head coach Brian Daboll has continued to preach the importance of sticking with the process and letting the chips fall where they may results-wise. I think he’s also been able to tap into this team’s collective psyche to stave off any feelings of “Uh oh, here we go again!” when things don’t go as expected.

From a personnel perspective, the Giants are getting healthier. They have safety Xavier McKinney back, and they could have cornerback Adoree Jackson back this weekend. They’ve also found a pass rush, which has been a big help, and let’s not forget on offense how the no-name receivers have stepped up and made plays, with quarterback Daniel Jones taking what the defenses give them.

So, it’s been a complete team effort that’s been fun to watch these last three weeks—they should have beaten Minnesota, but there were too many mistakes in that one to overcome. If they get them again, I feel pretty good about a rematch.

Q: Brian Daboll said the decision to play his starters or not, or for how long if he decides to play them, won’t be made until probably Friday night. What do you think he will do and why?

TRAINA: The coach can’t sit everyone, so I think what he’ll do—and by the way, I believe he’s already decided on this even though he isn’t saying it because he’d have to have the personnel combinations practice this week—is take a middle ground and sit those players who are banged up or who have had a heavy workload and sit them down.

That would be guys like defensive lineman Leonard Williams, running back Saquon Barkley, tackle Evan Neal, safety Julian Love, and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, just to name a few. (I’d think Daniel Jones is in there as well, though my gut feeling is that Daniel is going to lobby to play even though I’d favor sitting him, given all the hits he’s taken as a runner.)

This would also be a good time for Daboll and his staff to empty the bench and give those guys who haven’t had a lot of game reps a healthy dose this weekend. You never know when you might need those guys to step up, so I believe that will be his approach for this weekend’s game.

Q: A playoff berth did not seem possible for the Giants when the season began, and they had to cut players to get under the salary cap, but here they are with their first postseason berth since 2016. Do you get a sense they will be happy to just be there, or do you think they can do some real damage?

TRAINA: Given their roster deficiencies, I initially thought that if they got to the playoffs, they’d be a one-and-done team. But after seeing how Brian Daboll and this staff have been able to get the most out of nearly every guy on the roster, I am starting to think that if they draw certain opponents in the first round (Vikings, for example), they could go a little further than first thought.

And no, I don’t think they will be happy to be there. I don’t see Daboll allowing that kind of talk to enter the locker room. Every week it’s the same thing: win or lose, flush the previous week’s game and look ahead to prepare for the next one. 

Daboll, remember, wouldn’t even allow for the “P” word to be mentioned until they were in. Now that they’re there, I do think they want to see how far they can go.

Q: Other than the head coach and GM, what have been the top one or two reasons this team has posted a winning record for the first time since that last playoff appearance?

TRAINA: The coaching staff. I wrote about it for Giants Country, but if you look at the job this staff has done, it’s truly amazing. They took many guys who were tossed aside by previous teams during last year’s off-season or street-free agents that joined the team after training camp, and they helped develop those players into viable contributors.

Richie James—that's a guy everyone thought was going to be cut after he lost those two fumbles and cost them the Seahawks game, but now look at where he is. He’s one of the top three receivers on this team, and that happened thanks to the coaches not giving up on him and digging in to coach him up.

And look no further than the job they’ve done with Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, and Dexter Lawrence, just to name a few. As you probably know, Jones was someone that I think most of Giants nation was ready to kick to the curb after this year.

But this staff—offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney—got him back on the right track. Same with Saquon Barkley, whom everyone feared would never look like his rookie form again. Dexter Lawrence? 

He’s always been a solid player for the team, but there were questions about whether he’d ever blossom into more than just a run-stopper. Well, he has. So I think the entire coaching staff is to be commended for the job it's done with this group.

One other contributing factor? General manager Joe Schoen. People criticized him for not trading for a receiver at the bye, but who’s laughing now? 

He’s been patient and trusted his process when it’s come to scouting veterans—again, I’ll point to all the guys they picked up that other teams didn’t want. When you have a solid foundation driving your personnel decisions and development, that goes a long way toward building something special.

Q: The Eagles have lost the rematch game with the two other NFC East teams this season. With that in mind, what is your prediction for this one?

TRAINA: I don’t think the Giants will win this one, not if my theory about them sitting some guys comes to fruition. And that’s not a slight against the backups. The Eagles have a deep and loaded roster, whereas the Giants can’t make that claim yet. But what I would hope is that it’s not a 22-point blowout. 

My wish for this game is for the Giants to be more competitive in this one because I do think it’s a wonderful litmus test for them to see how far they’ve come since that first meeting. But with the Eagles needing this game a lot more, I think Philly will come out swinging.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.