E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he was one of only three sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls up until last year. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

THE BIG DECISION - WILL GIANTS PLAY ALL THE REGULARS?

By Dave Klein
Ok, you're in charge.

The Giants will play the Philadelphia Beagles Sunday in a game that doesn't really matter to them. They're in the playoffs, you see, and nothing can change that on Sunday, even in Lincoln Financial Field, more commonly referred to as The Linc.

In fact, The Linc is a far more pleasant arena than its predecessor, Franklin Field, which was the only stadium in the league to have its own court room.

Those Eagle fans who "celebrated" entirely too strenuously were brought downstairs to see the judge, disciplined, fined and asked to leave. No more, Eagle fans are far more composed now - or so it is said.

But while the game's result will have no bearing on the Giants playoff situation - they're the sixth seed and will remain so - it will have monumental importance to the home team, which can lock up the top seed in the NFC and a first-round bye just by winning.

And if that doesn't happen, the horror to every Philadelphia fan will come true - it will provide the top seed and the bye to the Dallas Cowboys.

So what will you tell head coach Brian Daboll to do with regard to his starters? Play ‘em or sit ‘em, risk losing the game with less-than-exceptional guys on the field and keep the regulars healthy, or try to keep the Eagles away from all the benefits of winning?

Oh, that's not fair. You knew the answer. Sit ‘em, keep ‘em healthy for the games that matter and just hope you get to meet the Beagles down the road, like perhaps in the NFL championship game. Hey, anything can happen, right?

We're talking about keeping quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley in civvies, along with a handful of other starters who can use the rest and relaxation to get ready (and rested) for the first post-season action.

You know, guys like linebacker Azeez Ojulari, defensive tackle Leonard Williams, center Jon Feliciano, cornerback Adoree Jackson and maybe a few others who were hobbling, limping, whining and complaining after the long and demanding season.

So what should Daboll do? Well, he isn't going to let the beagle out of the bag. He's going to wait and surprise everyone at kickoff. Maybe he'll start Jones and Barkley but only for the first quarter, or the first half. Maybe not. After all, what they do on Sunday won't really matter, and if one of them gets hurt, that could be a disaster.

He does have veteran Tyrod Taylor as his backup quarterback, and there are a couple of apparently capable backs behind Barkley, Gary Brightwell and Matt Breida.

"I talk to a lot of people (about it)," Daboll said. "Sports science, trainers, strength coaches, (general manager) Joe (Schoen), (assistant) coaches - and we'll just make the best decision that we think is right for our team."

The reality is that Ojulari and Williams did not participate in practice yesterday, while Feliciano and Jackson were limited in their participation. Safety Xavier McKinney did fully participate, but he needs the work after recovering from broken fingers inflicted by a falling motorcycle (on which he was riding) during the bye week in Mexico.

The bottom line? Don't play ‘em. Even if they help you win a game - and there are credible reasons for carrying a grudge against Philly - helping you win the next game is far more important.

But what about offensive coordinator Mike Kafka? What does he think about resting vs. starting?

"My philosophy on that mirrors Dabs' [Daboll's] philosophy," he said yesterday. "That is to get the guys ready to go this week. Against Philadelphia. We'll let him handle that [who to play, who to sit] at the end of the week."

And Wink Martindale, the defensive coordinator, was asked the same question. His response? Oh, you guessed.

"I think the philosophy is our philosophy," he said. "Where that's at right now, is up to Dabs, and I'll go with whatever he wants to do. And I'm excited. All thoughts and all eyes are looking forward to playing Philadelphia, going into that stadium and playing a division rival."

You didn't really expect anything different, did you?"

As for the Beagles, head coach Nick Sirianni is wrestling with the same question, but this time it involves his star quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Two games ago Hurts injured his shoulder, didn't play last week and is, well, questionable for Sunday.

Sirianni has said that Hurts is "day to day" but wouldn't elaborate on that. "We don't have to make a decision yet," he said, "and we're going to see how this week goes. I know he wants to play."

EXTRA POINTS - The current betting line shows the Giants to be 14-point underdogs, yet another indication that those with a "vested interest" don't expect all the Big Blue starters on the field. ...

This will be the 182nd meeting between the two teams. ... Philly holds a slim 89-86 lead in regular season meetings and the teams are 2-2 in playoff games.

davesklein@aol.com

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