Thanks to the downfall of the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFC East has come down to the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. If that wasn’t the case, Eagles fans like myself would have a very strict eye on the big Cowboys-Giants showdown on Dec. 11. But since it won’t impact Philadelphia in any way, all it can do is watch Dallas and New York decide the NFC East and wonder what could have been.

Either way, this prime time showdown should determine the fate of the division in some way. If the Cowboys prevail, they will pretty much have the NFC East wrapped up while the Giants descend into further disarray. But if the Giants win, it will further illuminate the fact that this is the weakest NFC East race in a long time – which makes it more upsetting that the Eagles couldn’t take advantage.

Despite a four-game losing streak and Tom Coughlin being on the hot seat, New York can still move back into first place with a win in Dallas. It is astonishing that a 6-6 team on a four-game slide can still do that – although perhaps less so in an era where a 7-9 Seattle Seahawks team can reach the divisional playoffs. But that happened in an NFC West that everyone dismisses as the worst division in football, whereas the East is supposed to have higher standards.

Everyone in the NFC East has had a downfall or collapse in some way, as the Washington Redskins fell apart after a 3-1 start, the Eagles have spent all season shooting themselves and the Giants’ 6-2 start looks very far away. As for the Cowboys, they could have run away with the division by now if not for several blown leads in the first half of the year. But with a victory over the Giants, they will likely run away after all.

Improving to 8-5 normally isn’t enough to provide a cushion in this division. Yet if Dallas improves to that record and is two games up over a 6-7 New York team that’s lost five in a row, it would pretty much be the whole ball game. The NFC East still wouldn’t look pretty, but it would be clear cut who the best team is – or at least the one that stayed standing the longest.

However, a Giants victory would leave both teams at 7-6 and likely make a mere 9-7 record good enough to win it all – at best. It will cement the NFC East and its contenders as the dregs of the conference for the first time in recent memory, even though it might then be the only division decided on the final weekend.

Yet the Cowboys and Giants hardly look like threats to knock off the likes of the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers in January. Although the Giants came close against the Packers and 49ers, they need to actually make the playoffs to get another shot. That will likely be impossible if they don’t beat the Cowboys – and if they do, then Dallas will look like a less viable contender and more like a club collapsing right on cue.

The NFC East should be under the Eagles control by now, if they had just held onto a few more leads. Instead, they are a non-factor as the fate of the division is decided on Dec. 11 – either as one where the Cowboys ultimately took control, or one where the winner is the division’s worst champion in many a year.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Walk through the ground floor of New York Giants headquarters and there are at least a half dozen life-size pictures of the organization’s remarkable Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots in February 2008.

There’s one of Eli Manning’s great escape on the play that led to “The Catch” by David Tyree. Even though he is with the Jets now, there is one of Plaxico Burress’ championship catch in the corner of the end zone. Another one shows Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora making a play and, of course, the obligatory shot of the Lombardi Trophy being lifted in celebration.

Look at them and it feels like yesterday.

The reality is that was almost four years ago, and much has changed as the Giants (5-2) and Patriots (5-2) prepare to meet for the first time in a regular-season game since Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz.

The teams meet annually in the final preseason game, but this will be the first time that it means something again.

“It’s a new year,” said Pro Bowl guard Chris Snee, who was one of 14 players on the Giants’ 54-man roster who suited up for the title game. “There has been a lot of turnover on both teams. It doesn’t make any sense to think about a game four years ago.”

Guard David Diehl, who played tackle in the Super Bowl, says everybody is going to make comparisons to the game four years ago because it was such a great game under extraordinary circumstances.

No one gave the Giants a chance against the Tom Brady-led juggernaut that was looking to become the second NFL team to win the Super Bowl with an undefeated record.

New York found a way to orchestrate “The Great Escape,” ”The Catch” and Plax’s play in posting a 17-14 win.

“They’re a different team. We’re a different team,” Diehl said. “Obviously you’re going to hear all of that stuff throughout the week. We’re focusing on this season and what they’ve been doing this year.

“They’ve been playing defense differently. They’ve been doing different things up front. It’s the Giants versus the Patriots. This isn’t the Super Bowl.”

The Patriots only had seven players from that Super Bowl on their 53-man roster last week in losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If there is a constant for both teams it’s at quarterback. It again will be Manning vs. Brady. And most people would think that’s a clear advantage for New England in the game at Foxboro, Mass.

However, Manning has more than held his own this season. He has completed 156 of 241 passes for 2,127 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Brady is 184 of 272 for 2,361, 18 and eight. Both have quarterback ratings over 102 percent and are hitting on better than 64 percent of their passes.

“I think this is a whole new environment, whole new situation,” Manning said. “Obviously, an important game, we have to have a great week of preparation. We know we’re going against a great team, a Hall of Fame coach, a Hall of Fame quarterback down the road. We just have to go in there expecting to play sound football like we’ve been doing.

“Eliminate the mistakes, try to execute the game plan, try to get into the fourth quarter and win the game.”

That’s what the Giants did four years ago. But this year, their defense has struggled stopping the run, which might give Brady a second option this time around.

It’s a problem that Tuck says needs to be fixed now.

“If we were still living in the shadow of 2007, then that’s one of our greatest downfalls,” Tuck said. “We have to move on. Obviously they have and we do, too. Obviously, 2007 was a great year in all of our careers, but that’s not going to help us going there this year. A lot of guys are back from those two teams and a lot of guys are gone.

“The better team this year is going to win the football game, not the better team in ’07.”

For the last three weeks, the games played by the New York Giants have provided fodder for endless conversation:
Tom Coughlin is doing one heck of a job with the short-handed Giants.
(Ross D. Franklin – AP)

Because in the win over St. Louis, they appeared to be feigning injuries to slow down a Rams drive.

Because after the win in Philadelphia, Michael Vick complained that officials weren’t throwing flags for late hits on him by Giants rushers.

Because during the game-winning drive Sunday in Arizona, wide receiver Victor Cruz flopped and the ball came loose but officials ruled it was a voluntary dive with no fumble. A play later, Eli Manning threw the game-winning TD pass to Hakeem Nicks.

All reasonable topics for discussion.

But so is Tom Coughlin, the often (always?) overlooked coach who is a lot more than the grumpy old man he’s portrayed to be by TV cameras.

So in a season when everything went wrong early, the Giants are 3-1, tied with the Redskins for first in the NFC East where the Eagles and Cowboys are the glamor. That’s after their two best possession receivers defected in the offseason; and they began the year without four injured defensive starters and their first two draft picks.

Why have they won?

Because of Manning, who has picked up the family escutcheon from his injured brother and whose play has, in fact, been Peytonesque — his passer rating, 81.1 for his eight-year career, is 105.6, third in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.

But mostly because of Coughlin.

Coughlin is 65. He’s in his 16th season as a head coach and his 136 wins are 21st all-time. He also has what every coach covets, a Super Bowl ring won four years ago by outcoaching Bill Belichick and keeping New England from the first 19-0 season. Like this year, that was one the Giants entered with relatively low expectations.

OK, we’ve been fixated on Detroit and Buffalo because they’ve been so far down and on the ups and downs of Tony Romo and Dallas and the downs of Vick and Philadelphia. The 3-1 Giants are just another team — this is a franchise that for the past 30 years has won three Super Bowls and contended almost every year so success is supposed to be a given. Last season, the team was said to have “collapsed” because it lost a 21-point fourth-quarter lead to the Eagles yet it still finished 10-6, a tiebreaker out of the playoffs.

But this year almost surely would have gone south without Coughlin.

First, in the frantic free agency scramble after the lockout ended, the Giants let tight end Kevin Boss go to the Raiders and receiver Steve Smith to the Eagles, then lost Terrell Thomas, their best cornerback, plus two more corners; middle linebacker Jonathan Goff; end Osi Umenyiora; and rookies Prince Amukamara and Marvin Austin.

Fans? “We’re looking at 4-12 if we’re lucky,” said an avid-fan friend. Another suggested they play for the No. 1 pick and Andrew Luck to replace the underappreciated Eli.

Coughlin? “Next man up.” He doesn’t cry, plays with what he has and is as hard on his best players as the rawest rookie — he was all over Manning after 30 turnovers last season. He has two sixth-round picks, Greg Jones and Jacquian Williams playing big minutes at linebacker, undrafted rookie Henry Hynoski at fullback and an unknown tight end, Jake Ballard, who played one game a year ago as an undrafted free agent.

So? Three straight wins after an opening loss in Washington. Good enough to put the Giants, with the equally-unheralded Redskins (Rex Grossman!) looking down and the two “teams” — America’s and Dream — in the division standings.

Yes, the Lions and Bills deserve to be network darlings.

Still, a little love for that grumpy old man the networks seem to think spends his time yelling at officials.

Steve Spagnuolo made his mark as the defensive coordinator for the New York
Giants before leaving for his first head coaching job with the St. Louis Rams.

He’ll be returning to New York with an injury-ravaged team, much like the
Giants.

These banged-up clubs will be looking for their first victories Monday night
when the Giants welcome Spagnuolo’s Rams for their home opener.

Spagnuolo spent eight seasons as an assistant with Philadelphia before he
was hired by Giants coach Tom Coughlin prior to the 2007 season. New York led
the NFL with 53 sacks that year en route to winning its third Super Bowl.

Spagnuolo guided the unit to a top-five finish in 2008 when the Giants went
12-4 and earned the NFC’s top seed before he left to take over a Rams team that
went 2-14.

It’s unclear if Spagnuolo will see some of his former players on defense for
New York. Justin Tuck(notes) missed the opener with a neck injury and Osi Umenyiora(notes)
will probably remain out with a knee injury.

Five other key defensive players were already lost for the year before the
season started, with cornerback Terrell Thomas(notes) and linebacker Jonathan Goff(notes) the
most notable.

Tuck has indicated that he will likely return Monday.

A Giants’ defense that allowed Rex Grossman(notes) to throw for 305 yards in a
28-14 loss to Washington last Sunday will be up against a Rams offense with
major question marks.

Sam Bradford(notes) has been cleared to play despite a bruised right index finger
that knocked him out in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s 31-13 loss to the
Eagles.

Last year’s NFL offensive rookie of the year was able to complete all his
throws Wednesday by using a special glove designed to increase blood flow to the
injury.

“Everyone says I look like Michael Jackson,” Bradford said. “I’m not really
sure what it does. They say it works and obviously my hand feels better, so I
trust them.”

It’s unclear if Stephen Jackson or Danny Amendola(notes) will play.

Jackson was injured without contact on a 47-yard touchdown run on the Rams’
first play last week and left with a strained right quadriceps after one more
carry. Amendola, who led the team with 85 catches last year, is out with a
dislocated left elbow.

In addition, cornerback Ron Bartell(notes) is out for the season with two breaks in
his neck. Another defensive back, Bradley Fletcher(notes), has a sprained toe that
might limit him, and offensive tackle Jason Smith(notes) has a sprained left ankle.

Spagnuolo said it’s the worst injury report in his three seasons with St.
Louis.

“There’s a lot there, no question,” Spagnuolo said. “Nobody’s going to bury
their head in the sand, and we’re not going to go away. We didn’t envision
beginning like that and we certainly didn’t envision losing all these guys.”

New York could also be without top receiver Hakeem Nicks(notes), who suffered a
knee injury in the season opener. Nicks had team highs of 79 catches and 1,052
receiving yards in 2010, and he caught seven balls for 122 yards last weekend.

His loss could hamper Eli Manning(notes), who failed to throw a touchdown pass for
the first time in nine road games last Sunday. Only thirteen of Manning’s
career-high 31 TD passes a year ago came at home.

“It’s not going to affect me,” Manning said. “We have guys that can step up
and play. Just figure out what’s going to happen.”

New York’s starting tight end, Travis Beckum(notes), also missed the opener with a
right hamstring injury.

Along with Spagnuolo, former Giants defensive tackle Fred Robbins(notes) is
returning to New York. Robbins was a mainstay up front for New York from
2004-09.

The plethora of injuries, however, are by far the major concerns of the
coaches as opposed to any sort of reunion.

“No question he has his hands on the defensive side, but I am sure offense
as well and special teams as well,” said Coughlin about Spagnuolo. “They are an
aggressive special teams outfit.”

St. Louis has lost four straight to New York since a 15-14 win in 2001.

Barry Cofield played against the Washington Redskins 10 times as a member of the New York Giants. After all but one of those games he retreated to a victorious locker room. Dominance in this division rivalry is all he knows.

Close games, lopsided games, meaningless games, games with playoff implications – it hasn’t mattered. The Giants own the Redskins.

“When I was there, we respected this team,” the Redskins‘ new nose tackle said. “I’ve heard some things to the contrary, and I don’t think that’s true. When I was there and we had success, it was because we respected this team and we came out and played hard.”

And played better. Much better.

So if the Redskins are to take a significant step forward in coach Mike Shanahan’s second season, they must reverse their fortunes against the Giants, starting with Sunday’s season opener at FedEx Field.

“They’ve ran the ball on us, and we haven’t run the ball on them,” safety Reed Doughty said. “It’s pretty simple. I’m hoping that the way things are progressing, the preseason this year, that we can go out and do those things in the game. They’ve had our number. There’s no other way to look at it.”

Stats from the past 10 meetings tell a clear story, as Doughty suggests. In outscoring the Redskins by an average of 11 points, New York has bludgeoned the Redskins on the ground on both sides of the ball.

The Giants have outrushed Washington by an average of 140.9 yards to 93.2. New York has surpassed 100 rushing yards in eight of the 10 games; the Redskins have hit that mark only twice.

In the Giants’ 31-7 rout last December, they finished with 197 rushing yards on 36 carries.

“We know they want to run the football,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “I think they averaged about 30-35 rushes a [game] last year. They have a great defensive front – so obviously it started up front on both sides of the ball. We’ve just got to stop the run and get them in third-and-long situations.”

This could be the year, though, the Redskins stop getting pushed around up front on offense. Cofield defected to D.C. during free agency, and two of the other defensive linemen who started for New York against Washington last season – ends Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck – might miss the game with injuries.

The Giants‘ injury woes also include cornerback Terrell Thomas (torn ACL) and cornerback Prince Amakamura (fractured foot), their first-round pick. First-string middle linebacker Jonathan Goff suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice this week.

Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan doesn’t see an advantage there, though. He’s wary of the Giants‘ reserves, including defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, their 2010 first-round pick, who had a sack against Washington last season.

“I don’t see them much different,” Shanahan said.

Cofield would take extreme pleasure in beating the Giants even though he hasn’t suffered their oppression like many of his new teammates.

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