THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
They are, in the estimation of no less an authority than Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, two of the "elite" pass-rushing defensive ends in the NFL. For the Eagles to hold off the New York Giants, much less thrash them as they did Sunday, the offense had to keep Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck off quarterback Donovan McNabb.
It was the offense's top priority.
Grade earned: A-.
"That's the most important thing," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said after the Eagles gave up two sacks, one to Umenyiora, in their 40-17 rout of the Giants. "One of the most important things on that defense is those pass rushers. You have to take care of them, and we've done it in recent past history.
"As you know, there's been some times when we haven't, and they can wreck a game. They're that good. If you don't pay special attention, they can wreck a game."
Just ask Winston Justice. He was the key player in Umenyiora's sack-a-thon against the Eagles in 2007. In that game, with the second-year Justice filling in at left tackle for the injured Tra Thomas, Umenyiora sacked McNabb an unbelievable six times. He finished the season with 13 sacks, including seven in two games against the Eagles.
Justice had not started a game against the Giants since that one in early 2007, but did so Sunday at right tackle and lined up mostly against Tuck, who entered the game with 31/2 sacks this season. But the Eagles gave Justice, and Jason Peters on the left side, plenty of help to deal with Tuck and Umenyiora.
On their third offensive series of the game, the Eagles used a variety of techniques during their 15-play drive to keep Tuck away from McNabb. On a few occasions, Justice handled Tuck himself, but other times, he blocked Tuck into right guard Stacy Andrews or double-teamed Tuck with Andrews. Sometimes, tight end Brent Celek lined up to the right of Justice and chipped Tuck, if not to stop Tuck then to slow his momentum.
And almost every time, McNabb got rid of the ball quickly, so that even if Tuck reached the backfield, he wouldn't have a shot at McNabb or the ball.
Afterward, coach Andy Reid praised Justice and tried to protect him at the same time, but it was clear watching how they protected McNabb that the Eagles intended to provide Justice with as much help as he needed against Tuck.
"I thought Winston played very well just on his own," Reid said. "On most of our plays, he wasn't being helped. Both of their ends are great players. We helped out on the other side, too, so it was pretty balanced there in terms of when we helped and who we helped. You have two Pro Bowl defensive ends, so we learned a couple of years ago that you respect those guys.
"It just wasn't Winston the last time, although he's taken the brunt of it. He had four out of the 12 sacks," Reid said, dividing the blame for that 2007 fiasco. "We had to respect that whole group."
Justice said he was a different player from the one in 2007.
Tuck finished Sunday's game with no sacks. Although he has 261/2 career sacks, Tuck has only two vs. the Eagles; both came in that 2007 game.
Umenyiora's sack brought his career total against the Eagles to 101/2. More than 23 percent of Umenyiora's 451/2 career sacks have come against the Birds, even though he missed all three games last year after suffering a season-ending injury in the preseason.
In seven games this season, the Eagles have allowed 17 sacks, about average in the NFL. Although six came against Oakland, they have allowed a total of five in their last two games, against the tougher defenses of Washington and New York.
"Any time we can help on the edge to stop [defensive ends] or slow them down, that's huge," Celek said. "It helps out Donovan a lot."
Against the Giants, they did just that against two of the best.
Contact columnist Ashley Fox at 215-854-5064 of afox@phillynews.com.
