Better Know the Enemy: Philadelphia Eagles

A look ahead at this week's Giants foe

Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Giants' next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles.

There used to be a commercial inviting people to purchase Nike sneakers so that they could live out The Michael Vick Experience. 

That commercial came out when Vick was still just an exciting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, a moment in time that seems as ancient as football players wearing leather helmets. The Experience would be a much more interesting trip to take at this point in time, although it would be a bit less of your conventional amusement park attraction. 

Vick's story has been told to death, so we'll just jump to the end. Or we would jump to the end if we knew exactly when the end was going to come. 

Vick has gotten off to such an awful start this season -- six interceptions and three lost fumbles in the first three games -- that it didn't come as much of a surprise when Eagles coach Andy Reid was less than emphatic in his assertion that Vick would remain the team's starting quarterback earlier this week. He put a little more oomph behind the sentiment later, but the message that Vick's rope has gotten short persists all the same. 

It started just before the season when Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said that the Eagle needed to be significantly improved after gaining an 8-8 record last year while strongly intimating that a failure to acheive such heights would have serious consequences. You don't get much more consequential than changing your coach or your quarterback, so both coach and quarterback will need fewer disastrous plays going forward than the Eagles have had thus far. 

Beating the Giants would be a good way for Vick to start rebuilding his claim to the Eagles job. Here are a few other people who could help him get that win. 

LeSean McCoy: Osi Umenyiora's bitter enemy got a nice new contract in the offseason and the Eagles seem not to equate more money with more playing time. McCoy remains one of the league's best backs while also only periodically serving as the center of attention in the Eagles offense.

DeMeco Ryans/Mychal Kendricks: The veteran Ryans and rookie Kendricks have totally flipped last year's weak linebacking corps into a strength for the Eagles defense so far this season. It's keyed an overall shift to a powerful defense in Philly, one that has carried them to a 2-1 record while the offense struggles to hold onto the ball. 

Jeremy Maclin: Maclin didn't play against the Cardinals last week, but should be in the lineup on Sunday night. His presence would make life easier for Vick, who will need all the weapons he can find to keep things from going off the rails again this week. 

Demetress Bell: The loss of Jason Peters to an offseason Achilles injury has left the Eagles to choose between Bell and the injured King Dunlap at left tackle, a situation that has hurt the team in both the passing and running games. The Giants defensive line showed some life against the Panthers and a repeat would leave the team in very good shape against this Eagles line. 

Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.

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