Quote

The way he describes it is not exactly suitable for sensitive ears, but Jason Pierre-Paul has been around this block more than once and he knows what neighborhood he’s entering when he describes what awaits the Giants on Sunday night in Philadelphia.

“It’s just different, it’s a different feeling, it’s a different vibe and you can’t just sit here and say it’s a regular game, because it’s not,’’ Pierre-Paul said Thursday. “At the end of the day that could be the game that [bleeps] you and you go home in December, on the couch.’’

The language may be rough around the edges, but it’s Giants-Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field and so a few choice words are completely appropriate. Heck, linebacker Jameel McClain grew up in Philly and so he knows what awaits the Giants and anyone associated with the Giants in this NFC East border war.

“I’m a Philly guy,’’ McClain said. “I know someone’s gonna crack a joke at my mom.’’

And?

“She will laugh,’’ McClain said.

The Eagles (4-1) are tied with the Cowboys for the division lead, but the Giants (3-2) are on the move after a 0-2 start, riding a three-game winning streak by margins of 13, 31 and 10 points. The Eagles have trailed by 10 or more points in the second half of three of their victories, a fact Pierre-Paul pointed out when he said “At the end of the day, yeah, they’re 4-1, but they could have easily been 0-4.’’

JPP’s math was off and he probably meant to say 1-4 or 0-5, but the point was made: The Eagles have been winning close and on the edge.

“The games were that close, you know it, too,’’ said an extremely relaxed and upbeat JPP. “I watch TV, you watch TV, too. Games are close. I feel we shouldn’t go out there and make it a close game.’’

Unless the Cowboys are far more real than anyone believes, this is a weekend the Giants can make up ground on both their rivals, as the Cowboys are assigned the most difficult task in the league: Playing a game at Seattle.

The Giants have earned this return to a game with first place potentially on the line.

“We have a lot of guys here who have been to the top,’’ said Mathias Kiwanuka, who has been there twice. “You understand what that feels like and you want to get back. We, as a group, especially last year, have been at the bottom, and we don’t ever want to go back there.’’

There have been far too few of these the past few years for the Giants, games that have this look and feel. Sure, right around Thanksgiving last seaon the Giants had won four straight after their desultory 0-6 start and at 4-6 were in contention in a division that not only Antrel Rolle recalls as “weak.’’ But it always felt like a bogus run by the Giants and it came crashing down in a 24-21, last-second loss to the Cowboys that ended the charade.

In 2012, the Giants entered the stretch run with a record of 8-5, actually in better shape in the standings than they were a year earlier, when they were 7-6 and then 7-7 before their magnificent and wholly unexpected Super Bowl surge. This time, there was no magic dust to sprinkle around. They blew it in such spectacular fashion, getting belted 34-0 at Atlanta and then 33-14 in Baltimore.

Rookie receiver Odell Beckham Jr., fresh off his impressive NFL debut in last week’s 30-20 comeback victory over the Falcons, said he’s been “asking around’’ to learn from his older teammates what this rivalry is all about, wondering if it’s akin to the SEC battles he grew accustomed to at LSU with Alabama and Ole Miss. He was told to expect the best, and the worst.

“I heard they’re a rough crowd, to say the least,’’ Beckham said.

Pierre-Paul hopes the Giants are discounted heading into this game, because he likes it that way.

“I hope we’re the underdogs,’’ he said. “Most people expect us not to win this game. We don’t want nobody on our side.’’

He said this particular division matchup is the toughest because. “it’s right up in our back door.’’

“I don’t like Philly,” he said. “We don’t like them, they don’t like us.’’

Which makes it all the more interesting for national TV.

“It just adds to it, it’s a Sunday night game and everybody is watching. All the games are over, you’re the last one to play,’’ Pierre-Paul said. “I’m pretty sure everyone’s got work Monday, but they’re gonna stay and watch that game.’’

Quote (xnozx. @ Oct 9 2014 08:37pm)

Quote (xnozx. @ Oct 11 2014 08:14am)

[FONT='Times New Roman']Some Eli stats:[/FONT]


-Most 4th-quarter touchdown passes in a season (15 in 2011)
-Tied NFL Record most game-winning drives in a season (8 in 2011)
-Most road wins in a single regular season and postseason by a starting quarterback (10)
-Most passing yards in a single postseason (1,219 yards in 2011)


All 4 of those are pretty incredible

Quote

Tucked in the corner of MetLife Stadium in the Giants players' family section last year when they played the Philadelphia Eagles were a few out-of-place faces.

With the Giants struggling through another disaster -- their fifth straight to start the 2013 season -- quarterback Eli Manning threw an interception into the hands of Philadelphia's Brandon Boykin. Giants right tackle Justin Pugh walked off the field, only to look into the family section to see those out-of-place individuals, decked in midnight green, "going bananas."

Pugh knew immediately. Those four Eagles fans were his closest friends. Those tickets they had received, they had come from him.

Never again.

"I don't give them tickets anymore," Pugh said on Friday, two days before his Giants face the Eagles in Philadelphia. "I got them tickets to the last Eagles game [in New Jesery] and they were cheering for the Eagles. So it's a wrap for them. Not just the Eagles game, for any game."

This is what Pugh has to deal with every year at this time. He has a crew of eight childhood friends (Corey Radel, Jake Lerner, Mike Perkiss, Andrew Leace, Jason Laderman, Harrison Green, Jarred Dorfman and himself) that remain especially tight to this day. All are Eagles fans. Pugh plays for the rival Giants.

To compound matters, Corey, Jarred and Jake live with Pugh in northern New Jersey, and will be among a group of five decked in their Eagles gear on Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

Not surprisingly, the tickets aren't from the second-year tackle, even though his friends had the gall to ask.

"He was like, 'You're joking, right?'" Radel said. "That was the interaction we've had regarding the game this week. We kind of needed to shut up after that."
Pugh's Friends.pngView full sizeJustin Pugh (top left) is part of a tight group of eight friends from the suburbs of Philadelphia. Corey Radel

So how does this work? How does a group of friends raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown deal with their closest friend playing for their biggest rival?

They insist it's complicated only when the rivals clash. But then there is the instance of the Eagles make the playoffs when the Giants don't, which happened during Pugh's rookie season. Or when the Giants are on the bye and they want to watch the Eagles. It may be a bit more tricky than they're leading on.

"Two times a year it matters," Radel insisted. "Every other game we're not only rooting for Justin to play well, but for the Giants to play well. Fourteen weeks out of the year, our loyalty is with two teams every Sunday, and with one right tackle."

Some of that praise may be out of necessity. Pugh hovers around 300 pounds and can easily squat the equivalent of at least two of his friends. His physical stature is the ultimate trash talk repellant, especially during Eagles-Giants week.

"Key words are 'do you dare,'" Radel said. "From a physical standpoint alone, it’s probably not the smartest thing to do to talk trash."

But that's not the only reason his friends shy away from that type of banter. The analogy they use is that if one of them were up for a promotion at work, it wouldn't be right to razz them if they didn't get job. Playing football is Pugh's profession. Winning games and performing well are what he is judged on each year. Rubbing salt in wounds wouldn't sit well.

Sundays can still get a little tricky, especially if any of them throw on their Eagles garb.

"We try and stay away from it," Radel said. "We live together, so sometimes if we throw the [Eagles] shirt on, he bites his lip and deals with it. ... But that will last about two minutes usually. Then he'll speak up."

What does he say? Right now, it's little more than empty warnings. But the threats serve their purpose.

"When I walk into the house on a Sunday and they have all their Eagles stuff on, I tell them they're skating on thin ice," Pugh said with a straight face and a believable tone. "I might be kicking them out of the house soon. At some point, they might be out on the streets."

For now, they still have beds and a roof over their head, even if they'll be rooting hard for the Eagles on Sunday night. A Philadelphia victory might put them in jeopardy.

Of course, to pander to their landlord, they could always dump their hometown team and switch allegiances. That might satisfy their friend, and solidify their living conditions. After all, Pugh is an integral component to their group of eight, each with that number tattooed somewhere on their body to signify their bond.

"If Justin signed a lifetime contract with the Giants, it would make us reconsider or at least entertain the thought of possibly rooting for the Giants," Radel said.

In the meantime, they'll be rooting for their friend's personal success, but his team to lose on Sunday night. In the perfect world, Eagles 100, Giants 99, with all Big Blue's points coming on runs off the right tackle.

But Pugh's friends can't ditch their Iggles. And they know their friend understands, kind of.

"Two days [after the Giants loss to the Eagles last year], he was like, 'I want to let you [expletives] know that I saw you when I was walking off the field celebrating the fact that the Eagles [intercepted that pass],'" Radel said. "So, for that reason, he refuses to give us tickets to games."

Especially when it's against the Eagles.

Quote (18_1 @ Oct 13 2014 08:18am)

That was just... really, really depressing. That is the second most depressing game I have watched in my life. The first being the 28 point lead we managed to blow in 7.5 minutes back in 2010. I will never forget sitting in the corner of the end zone where Djax returned the punt for a TD to win the game.

I was speechless after that game, and I'm pretty much speechless now. No idea what happened to our o-line this game. The refs were clearly favoring the eagles come flag time, but that's no excuse. Just added to the dreadfulness.

I haven't had such high hopes that were shot down this quickly since Plaxico literally shot himself in 2008 and derailed our chances for back-to-back SBs. So damn inconsistent...