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IN last week’s loss, we handed the ball off 24 times for 95 yards (3.9ypc). Unless things get out of hand quickly, it’s going to take that sort of commitment to the running the ball, to win this game. While RB Boston Scott has been the boogeyman against the giants, most of the carries need to go to Philly native RB D’Andre Swift.

While this city is famous for its cheesesteaks, hoagies and roast pork sandwiches, we also love a good cutlet. So lets hope that DE Josh Sweat and OLB Haason Reddick bring their appetites, because the giants are known for allowing multiple servings. So mangia! Mangia, boys! Don’t leave anything left.

Grabbing the win would move us to 11 – 4, and end our three game losing streak. Which would make for a great Christmas present. It would also put us a step closer to winning the NFC East, for the second year in a row.

Losing means 10 – 5, and another week of fans acting like the season is over, for a team already guaranteed a playoff spot.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus: the giants.

1) Go Get Some Cutlets: Five sacks in this one should be our minimum goal. In seven games, giants QB Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito has been sacked 35 times. This would indicate that perhaps his offensive line isn’t very good.

We’ve gotten some impressive play as of late, from DT Jalen Carter and DT Fletcher Cox. The hope is that we can get our edge rushers going as well. Both Sweat and Reddick were quiet last week. Reddick has yet to force a fumble all season. Changing both would help the team immensely.

2) Secure the Run: Usually it’s either “set the edges” or “play the ‘A’ gaps”. This week it’s both. We have injuries to our LB’s, so there might be a lot of subbing going on. This is a great opportunity for miscues, because someone isn’t in their run fit. Our D-Line has to set the lanes and boundaries, so everything is easier for back-ups to read.

Bottling up the run on first and second, sets us up for third and long. When we see third and six or longer, we have got to make plays that get us off the field. Making tackles at the sticks won’t cut it. They’ll just play for the markers.

3) Spread and Run: It’s an overly simplistic strategy, but right now the Eagles offensively need a re-set back to fundamentals. Asking the Eagles to play from under Center is out of the question. It would fix a ton of what’s wrong with us, but it won’t happen. So the next best thing, would be to stretch the box laterally.

Every week, I chart how many runs we have of 10 yards or more, and at no point have we had more than four in a game. We had four vs the Vikings, Bucs, and Chiefs. Half of these were from our QB. If we can stretch the box laterally, and get Swift to the second level quickly, maybe he can break a couple of these run.

4) Passes On the Rusher: While giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux is listed as a LB, he’s basically a DE. If he’s not going to line-up outside of the Tackle and not drop into coverage, then we need to be about the business of attacking the Flat on his side. Why not take something they’re likely to give us, all game long?

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

This past week, Head Coach Nick Sirianni said this offense (meaning the system), is the same offense from the last two years, and it’s being run the same way. I don’t doubt that the playbook is the same. (Notice that opponents seem to have figured us out.) What is bullshit, is that it’s being run the same way.

It doesn’t matter who gets the blame for fucking up the offense. If Sirianni wants it, hey, I’m happy to give him shit for it. Whether it’s Sirianni or Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson, the play-calling is atrocious to the point of almost being amateurish. Heavy Shotgun; no motion; called QB runs on first down; route concepts that look like they came off of Madden ‘96. All of those are bad things.

And don’t say that we were fine with it when were winning, because TONS of us weren’t. Sirianni and the players, this very season, repeatedly stood at the podium after games, saying the team had yet to play it’s best football, and then seemed confused when fans weren’t thrilled with “a win being a win”.

It was also an issue last year. Not starting fast. Or starting fast and then letting opponents creep back into games. So this year’s issues aren’t new. We want to see an Eagles team consistently give us four quarters of good football. And we want to see a head coach who can get that out of his players.

I think this run of games is more important to Nick Sirianni than many might expect. To go from the one seed, to not winning the division… I’m not sure how team Owner Jeff Lurie would stomach that. So I think this is a must win game for Sirianni.

I have no hard news to back that up. It’s just my gut feeling. That being said, my gut has an extremely good track record, in regards to this team.

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WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know FOOTBALL and that’s it. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, then you are a fool trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.