Packers-Eagles, Week 1

[J-Mike88]

It's NEVER too early to look ahead.

I don't like hearing and reading these projections by people like Peter King that says the Packers could be like 6-1 or something gaudy like that when we face/off with the evil purple.

I especially don't like it because I think our opening game is very tough and is very losable. We've had a lot of nightmares in the city of Brotherly Hate, and for any of you guys going to that game, wear body armor and pack some weapon. Those fans are prix.

I think we catch a break getting Kevin Kolb in his first start after McNabb because if he gets off to a bad start, those fans will shower him with boos. Not booze. Boos.

No McNabb. No Westbrook. No Brian Dawkins. No Terrell Owens. Those guys haunted us before.

Now we have to watch out for DeSean Jackson and Brandon Graham.

Packers 27
Eagles 20

Woodson opens the season with a Pick-6 in defense of his DPOY.

[EvilMonkey]

It's NEVER too early to look ahead.

wrong, too early.

[eaglesalltheway]

It's NEVER too early to look ahead.

I don't like hearing and reading these projections by people like Peter King that says the Packers could be like 6-1 or something gaudy like that when we face/off with the evil purple.

I especially don't like it because I think our opening game is very tough and is very losable. We've had a lot of nightmares in the city of Brotherly Hate, and for any of you guys going to that game, wear body armor and pack some weapon. Those fans are prix.

I think we catch a break getting Kevin Kolb in his first start after McNabb because if he gets off to a bad start, those fans will shower him with boos. Not booze. Boos.

No McNabb. No Westbrook. No Brian Dawkins. No Terrell Owens. Those guys haunted us before.

Now we have to watch out for DeSean Jackson and Brandon Graham.

Packers 27
Eagles 20

Woodson opens the season with a Pick-6 in defense of his DPOY.

Thanks dude...


As for the game, I do think it'll be close if both teams come in fairly healthy. If injuries ravage either team like they did the Eagles last year, don't count on a close matchup. After that, there really in't much point in predicting this game at this point, as it is too early. I'd at least wait until the preseason for a thread like this, haha.

[J-Mike88]

I'll be watching the Eagles camp and preseason games to see how they progress.
It's really weird to be going into Philly and not gonna see McNabb.
Or Westbrook. Or Dawkins.

And eaglesalltheway, not all Eagles fans are hostile jerks.
But I think their image is well-deserved, and anyone who's gone to a road game in Philly knows this.

evilmonkey, if any casino sportsbooks have wagering odds on a game, then it's not too early! lol


For those of you who have been known to place an occasional (legal) wager on a game:
Here's the team OVER/UNDER for wins on the season: Guess what they have us set at.
http://www.sportsbook.com/livesports...sname=football

They also (off) have us favored by 3 over the Vikings on Oct 24 in Green Bay, for what that's worth. But they also have the Queens by 3 over us on November 21st in the Humptydome, so basically they have us even with the HFA worth 3 points.
And they have the Jets favored over us by 2.5 in New Jersey on Halloween.
They have us favored by 3 over Dallas on November 7th.

They have New England favored over us (in NE) on December 19th also by 3 points. So we have the Vikings twice, Jets, Patriots, Dallas... all games that are pretty damn even and could easily go either way.

They don't have odds up for the Eagles game for some reason, but based on the other odds they do have, I would say it will almost be a pick em.

[Whistler6]

It might be too early to place bets, but it's never too early to discuss. What else do we have to do? I have no idea how this game will go, but I'm thankful Green Bay gets to play Philly early on.
I think Kolb and co will develop into a formidable opponent as the season goes on, but catching them week 1 might allow the Packers to get the best of him before he begins to gel in the offense.

[J-Mike88]

It might be too early to place bets, but it's never too early to discuss. What else do we have to do?

No Kidding, well, if you're a Brewers fan. :)

Speaking of the Eagles, this JUST IN:

June 1, 2010 3:08 PM ET
Eagles Defensive back Marlin Jackson has managed to play in just 11-of-32 possible games over the last two seasons while tearing his ACL twice, so it was fairly surprising that the Eagles gave him a contract including $2 million in first-year pay at the start of free agency.

They may already regret it.
According to the on-site account of the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeffrey McLane, Jackson needed to helped off the field during Tuesday's OTA practice. Jackson was "visibly upset," and "left the building crying."

The good news is that the Eagles announced the injury as being to Jackson's right ankle. He didn't re-tear an ACL.

The bad news is that this still appears to be a serious injury. The Eagles will provide a status update on Jackson later this week.

[GB12]

Too early.

[J-Mike88]

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME REAL FOOTBALL ???

Some things to watch for in Philly:

#1- Road woes.
We've been pretty good on the road with Rodgers, but we've lost at Tampa Bay both years, and of course at Minnesota both years, among others.

#2- Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin..... both of these guys could exploit us and have some big plays. The DB-field we last saw in Arizona, leaving holes and missing tackles... it looks the same to me.

#3- Brent Celek, TE. I don't know his health status, but I know he's a weapon for Philly, and we have had more than our share of problems covering TEs.

#4- Brandon Graham... this is they guy I wanted in the draft, but Philly wanted him badly and took him higher than most 'experts' projections. We started last year by making Adewale Ogunleye at DE look like Jared Allen, then week two made Antwan Odom look like Dwight Freeney. I know those weren't the same OTs we have now, thank God. But seeing either Clifton or Tauscher go down wouldn't shock me. And we've seen the Bulaga vs Graham matchup before.

#5- Special teams. Who here would be surprised if we got gashed for at least one long return from the Eagles?

Not to sound pessimistic, but just do not be over-confident. Pass defense and special teams are two important areas that we are subpar. Other than homerism, nobody can think we've taken enough steps to shore up either of those areas.

[J-Mike88]

2007 Season.
Opening Week: Packers beat Eagles on rookie Mason Crosby 52-yard game winning FG on final play of game.
Season became magical.
Until the choker threw it all away........

I remember that win over Philly very well.
Had we lost that opener, things could have gone totally in the wrong direction. These early games are important to get teams on the right track.

Let's send Kevin Kolb on the Matt Cassell track like in Kansas City.

[umphrey]

I'm really not worried about Philly much. If we lose it will be because some special teams bounces don't go our way combined with some boneheaded defensive plays.

Kevin Kolb isn't very good. His receivers are, but Kolb is a bad fit for the offense IMO. He'll miss them on the bread and butter deep routes, hit some intermediate routes but get picked off once or twice by one of several veteran ballhawks in our secondary, lose confidence, and turn into captain checkdown.

If they still had a Brian Westbrook, Donovan McNabb based offense I'd be worried. I don't think much of McCoy though and I don't think he can move the chains on short passes and edge running. Doesn't help that their offensive line won't be able to move anybody on our DL, and we should shut down the interior run fairly early and often.

Brandon Graham has been impressive but he's not going to make a fool out of Clifton or Tauscher (not sure which side he's playing). Those are two veteran tackles that are gold when healthy and Graham doesn't have any tricks they haven't seen. He'll try to use his lower body strength to get a push and after hitting a wall several times he'll quickly realize he's not the strongest guy around anymore and he's not strong enough or cerebral enough to really win battles yet.

The biggest risk? How do Clay Matthews and Brad Jones respond to 60 minutes of football after being banged up and missing significant time. I don't want to see them whiffing on off tackle runs or leaving a TE wide open on out or dig routes.

[johbur]

I'm only worried about the health of the defense. It will be apparent quickly whetehr the secondary can hold up to a passing attack and if the Capers scheme can get to the QB. If Matthews is healthy that will help immensely, though the mighty Zombo might be gearing up for a DPOY year... ;D lol

[Sportsfan486]

I'm not concerned about this one. That offense doesn't scare me with Kolb and McCoy in the backfield and an average OLine.

Our biggest concern should be special teams. Just punt the ball out of bounds, please. Also, we need to lay some hits down on DeSean early; if we do that he's unlikely to blow up on us, he doesn't take well to physicality.

I think it will be a relatively close game but I think we'll be in control throughout. I'm going with 28-20, Packers.

[princefielder28]

I'm somewhat concerned with this game...we're going up against a young team but they have big play potential and a defense that can get after the QB...I think we'll win but it won't come easy

[J-Mike88]

How do Clay Matthews and Brad Jones respond to 60 minutes of football after being banged up and missing significant time.

No worries about endurance for 60.
Our offense will have the ball for about 35, so the D just needs to suit up for 25.
And Zombo! will spell them a little bit anyway.

[Packystan]

I'm honestly not too concerned about this game, although I can totally see DeSean gashing us with a punt return. But as long as our line can hold up against Graham and all the exotic blitzes Philly comes with, I think we can put up at least 28 points. Kolb doesn't scare me. McCoy's running lanes will be limited. And Woodson and Tramon should keep the Jackson-Maclin duo fairly under control.

GB 38
PHI 20