This year there will be no such luck. The defending Super Bowl champions are off to a rousing, roaring 7-1 start and hold two victories over NFC East opponents (Dallas, Washington) as they take the trip down the New Jersey Turnpike to play the third, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Sunday night.

"We had to get things straightened away last year," said defensive tackle Barry Cofield. "We were learning a new defense (courtesy of coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, whose formative years, incidentally, were spent as an assistant to Eagles coordinator Jim Johnson), and I think people suddenly saw when we finally got it."

Indeed. That would have been the fourth quarter of their third game, when the 0-2 Giants held off the home team Redskins with a goal line stand to take their first victory of the season -- and first of a six-game winning streak.

During the off-season, especially after the stunning Super Bowl victory over, the teacher, Johnson, offered praise to his student, Spagnuolo, but now there is no time for such niceties.

The lessons were learned well, but that should be obvious. Even with the loss of two Pro Bowl defensive ends, Michael Strahan (retired) and Osi Umenyiora (knee injury, out for the season) the defensive unit has maintained an awesome pressure on opposing offenses and currently leads the NFC with 30 sacks in the eight games.

"It's like trying to predict where they're all going to come from," said Dallas quarterback Brad Johnson, who was removed from last Sunday's game at halftime. "You know they're going to rush, but you don't know which ones at which time or how many at one time."

That's the Johnson way, and Spagnuolo learned it well. But he added his own modifications, his own sleight-of-hand, and suddenly it has become yet another difficult defense for NFL offensive coordinators to solve.

Defensive end Justin Tuck has become his chief sack technician, but Spagnuolo has employed a few unexpected weapons, too, such as strong safety Michael Johnson, cornerback Corey Webster, reserve defensive end Dave Tollefson and defensive tackle Fred Robbins, who surprisingly has 51/2 sacks.

Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb is more than just familiar with the Giants' defense -- he has seen it in all its frightening reality up close and personal. He was sacked 12 times in the team's first meeting last year, six of them by Umenyiora

The Eagles' offensive line isn't spectacular this year, not with right guard Shawn Andrews (back surgery) probably unavailable. In fact, it will provide the Giants' marauding horde of pass rushers hope for continuing sacks and intimidation.

And the Eagles may have Steve Spagnuolo, their former linebackers coach, to thank for it.

SERIES HISTORY: 147th meeting. Giants lead series, 78-66-2. Giants have won five of the last six meetings, including the last three played in Philadelphia and both games last season. Last year's 16-3 victory in Giants Stadium saw the Giants sack QB Donovan McNabb 12 times (a team record) and DE Osi Umenyiora recorded six of those sacks (another team record).