Glauber: It doesn't get more heated than Giants-Eagles

PHILADELPHIA

When defensive end Trent Cole first got to Philadelphia six years ago, all he kept hearing was how the Cowboys were the team most detested by the Eagles. And all Cole kept feeling was that the Giants were the ones highest on the hate list.

For defensive end Justin Tuck, there never has been a question about the Giants' biggest rivals. Cowboys? Nope. Redskins? Almost. Eagles? Bingo.

Especially when the games are in Philadelphia.

"That's probably my favorite place to play," Tuck said. "Those fans are intriguing. They're very polite . . . to anybody that's wearing a green uniform."

Tuck remembers being on the team bus that was pelted with everything from stones to eggs while pulling into the parking lot at Lincoln Financial Field.

And Cole?

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"I've always felt like it was the Giants who were our biggest rivals," he said. "You know, crosstown shootout. It's always been a battle to see who owns New Jersey."

Jersey? The Giants play in northern Jersey, and many of the Eagles live in southern Jersey.

"They put up a fight every time, and it's always competitive with a lot of trash-talking,'' Cole said.

And there you have it. The star defensive players from both teams agree: Giants-Eagles is where the passion begins and ends in the NFC East.

And there may be no better example than Sunday night. With both teams atop the NFC East with 6-3 records, the outcome will go a long way toward determining whether one or the other plays well into January.

Though they come into the game from opposite directions off last week's games - the Giants were humiliated, 33-20, at home by the Cowboys and the Eagles thumped the Redskins, 59-28, on the road - there is reason to believe this game won't reflect the past.

Except maybe in the past of this great rivalry, which has produced dazzling results and intense passion. Such as last year's shootout in Philly, when the Eagles beat the Giants, 45-38. Emotions were so raw that Cole was ejected after scuffling with Giants center Shaun O'Hara.

"There are a lot of emotions going on out there," Cole said. "Fights happen. This is our job, and a lot of emotions go into the game. We're trying to keep our jobs every game."

Tuck may not be worried about his job, but is concerned about turning things around after last week's debacle. And he thinks it's good that the Giants are facing the red-hot Eagles.

"It puts us back on alert," Tuck said. "It gets us back to thinking, 'Did I do everything in my power to practice this week to go out there and win the game?' Coach [Tom] Coughlin talked about how you're going to get what you earned, and I don't think we earned a win against the Cowboys.''

After the Eagles' brilliant performance against the Redskins, it's easy to think the dominance will carry over to Sunday night. Not necessarily in a league in which week-to-week results can change so radically. That's why I'm giving the Giants a puncher's chance, even with Michael Vick coming off the greatest game of his career.

Cole begs to differ, and he'll do his part to disrupt and try to rattle Eli Manning.

"When you're getting hits on the quarterback, any quarterback is going to get rattled," Cole said.

If Cole's Eagles force Manning into the kind of mistakes he committed last week, it's Philly's game. And if Tuck's defense can slow down Vick after last week's transcendent performance, the Giants will be in first place at the end of the night.