Giants want Vick, fair fight vs. Eagles

The Giants might gain a tactical advantage if Michael Vick misses Sunday's game because of a concussion. But make no mistake: These guys want the Eagles' playmaking quarterback in the lineup.

"Absolutely," defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said Wednesday. "I'm a competitor. I want to beat every team, and I want to beat them at their best. I want there to be no doubts."

And just to reinforce his point, Kiwanuka referenced the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz welterweight bout, in which Mayweather won by knockout after punching Ortiz when he had just given Mayweather a hug and a kiss to apologize for an illegal head butt.

"I want to be able to go there and throw the knockout punch while the ref and the other guy are looking," Kiwanuka said.

Take that!

Welcome to Eagles week inside the Giants' locker room. It is on, people.

One of the NFL's greatest rivalries continues on Sunday in Philadelphia, where the injury-riddled Giants attempt to channel their anger and emotion from last year's horrific late-season meltdown against the Eagles and turn the tables on their NFC East foes.

Kiwanuka was in street clothes on the sidelines as he watched that nightmare unfold, and he remembers the eerie silence as it became apparent the Giants' season was coming unglued. "It was very surreal," said Kiwanuka, who was out with a neck injury. "It was like the crowd got silent, and time stopped for a second. It was unbelievable. This was not supposed to happen. We'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

But if the Giants are to truly avenge that loss, they'll have to turn the tide of a rivalry that has gone the Eagles' way in six straight games. The Giants haven't beaten the Eagles since Nov. 9, 2008. That was the year after the Giants' Super Bowl title, and they were on their way to an 11-1 start.

Players never like to hear this, but it's true: The Eagles have the Giants' number. And Andy Reid has Tom Coughlin's number: The six-game losing streak is the longest to any one team in Coughlin's career.

And if Vick is healthy enough to play, the likelihood is that the streak will extend to seven. Given the state of the Giants' injury-depleted defense, coupled with the revelation Wednesday that Domenik Hixon is out for the year, it's hard to see the Giants keeping up with a vastly superior Eagles team.

Philly loaded up on the free agent/trade market in the abbreviated signing period, bringing in big-name players. On paper, this is not a fair fight, especially with the Giants' mounting injury problems.

Earlier this week, safety Antrel Rolle said he wanted Vick in the lineup because he didn't want "any excuses when we go down to Philly and put it to 'em the way we will."

Rolle wasn't quite as boisterous Wednesday, but he said the Giants are "going to go out there and we're going to fight. At the end of the day, we're going to say we gave it our all."

And even if it meant that the Giants would have a better chance of beating Philadelphia if Vick didn't play, Kiwanuka shot back, "It doesn't matter. If you're a competitor, you want a chance at the champ. We'll have a better chance of winning if we execute. That's all we have to do."

Sounds simple. But if Vick plays, this will have to be a big upset for the Giants to land the knockout punch Kiwanuka so desperately wants to deliver.