Official Game Day Thread: Packers @ Eagles - 1/9: WIN 21 - 16

[mattwill]

I don't think we are saying this game is a gimme at all. We know it's going to be a stern test for us. Vick is tough to defend, very tough. It's no secret. You'll have those idiots on both sides of the argument that think that the other team has zero chance. I've read on the Eagles forums this week that the Packers will have no chance against the almighty Vick and that Vick more or less walks on water... So, both sides have "those" idiots.

The true football fans know it's going to be tough, both sides have their strengths and weaknesses. That's why they play the game.

If you have, then you haven't been reading any intelligent Eagles forums. Smart Eagles fans know that it will take an elite game from Vick to overcome 1) the challenges of our Defense (especially in the Red Zone) and 2) a very aggressive Packers D. If the score is under the 41 point Over/Under then the Packers win. If it is over 41 the Eagles have a much better shot.

 

[mattwill]

What small favors are you talking about? The fact Matthews knocked out kolb and then the almighty Vick came in to lead you to the playoffs?

No. Locking up the #2 seed for the Bears.

We consider the Matthews/Kolb interchange as a huge favor done by the Pack to the Eagles. Changed the trajectory of the season for us.

 

[mattwill]

Interesting...

Eagles-Packers national writer picks: Am I missing something? - Bleeding Green Nation

24 of 29 National Writers are picking the Packers.

EDIT: Would be interesting to compare their picks to the Seahawks-Saints

 

[98Redbird]

If the Eagles had beaten the Vikings the Packers-Bears game would have taken on a whole new meaning for the Bears . . . with who knows what outcome. Y'all might be looking from the outside-in. Be thankful for small favors.

I'm pretty sure that the outcome would have been the same. Packers were not going to lose to the Bears in Lambeau. But it is what it is, and we'll never know what would have happened in the other scenario so there's no since in arguing about it.

 

[98Redbird]

If you have, then you haven't been reading any intelligent Eagles forums. Smart Eagles fans know that it will take an elite game from Vick to overcome 1) the challenges of our Defense (especially in the Red Zone) and 2) a very aggressive Packers D. If the score is under the 41 point Over/Under then the Packers win. If it is over 41 the Eagles have a much better shot.

Right, that's what I was saying... Both sides have idiot fans that spew nothing but garbage and misinformation.

I was just using it as an example of some of the crap that I've been reading. Again, that goes for both sides. I've read some stupid **** that Packers fans have been saying as well. Every fanbase has them.

 

[98Redbird]

Interesting...

www . bleedinggreennation . com /2011/1/7/1921350/eagles-packers-national-writer-picks-am-i-missing-something

24 of 29 National Writers are picking the Packers.

EDIT: Would be interesting to compare their picks to the Seahawks-Saints

This is what makes me nervous. The Packers seem to have a difficult time when they are the media darling and everyone loves them. It seems to go to their heads. If they come out believing that they are God's Gift, they will lose. They play their best when everyone picks against them and their backs are to the wall.

 

[Kitten]

Weather alert: Anyone traveling to Philly tomorrow beware. We are expecting another 4 - 6 inches of snow during the day tomorrow. Everyone please travel safe! I know it's not a lot of snow to most of you but it is enough to make a mess out of things in Philly. It is not uncommon for a state of emergency to be declared for anything over 6 inches. It's a little different when you are dealing with a major city and a high volume of commuters using various modes of transportation. You should be fine, I'm just saying travel safe!

Game day forecast: 36 for a high, windchills in the low 20's. Winds 20 30- mph. Wind is going to be a factor in this game. Punters on alert!!! Eagles have Akers and hi is an ace, one of my favorite punters (kickers).

Packers would do well to get out of Philly Sunday night or Monday morning at the latest. No running up the Art Museum like Rocky! There is going to be a major snow storm hitting Philly on Tuesday. Best to be clear of here!!!!

 

[DevilDon]

I'm pretty sure that the outcome would have been the same. Packers were not going to lose to the Bears in Lambeau. But it is what it is, and we'll never know what would have happened in the other scenario so there's no since in arguing about it.

The whole "what if" arguments are a waste of time. It makes no sense that the Bears didn't want to win it, they played their starters up to the last second, they were going for a touchdown at the end. Foolish to think they weren't playing all out that game, the Packers D demolished them.
They beat Philly when it mattered to Philly, we beat them when it mattered to us. We all know we should have had the first game also.

 

[98Redbird]

The whole "what if" arguments are a waste of time. It makes no sense that the Bears didn't want to win it, they played their starters up to the last second, they were going for a touchdown at the end. Foolish to think they weren't playing all out that game, the Packers D demolished them.
They beat Philly when it mattered to Philly, we beat them when it mattered to us. We all know we should have had the first game also.

Kind of falls under the same situation though. "Should have won" games are pointless as well... Either you walk out with a win, or you walk out with a loss.

 

[DevilDon]

Kind of falls under the same situation though. "Should have won" games are pointless as well... Either you walk out with a win, or you walk out with a loss.

It seems I contradicted myself there, but that was the point, woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Like MM says: "I like who we are"

 

[Forget Favre]

I haven't read through all the posts but here's my thoughts on this game.

The season opener where the Pack beat Philly in Philly doesn't matter and has no bearing on this game.
Do not think "Well, we beat 'em then, we can beat 'em now."
It's a different QB for Philly and we have seen and experienced the roller coaster "The McCarthy Screamer" through the Packers season. Of course we have also had the other safer ride "The Dom-inator" as well.
While I am looking forward to this game I'm also nervous about it as well.

Good luck to the Packers. I think they are going to need it. Especially the offense if McCarthy is doing the play calling. Hopefully A-Rod will ignore him and throw tons of times.

 

[mattwill]

I'm pretty sure that the outcome would have been the same. Packers were not going to lose to the Bears in Lambeau. But it is what it is, and we'll never know what would have happened in the other scenario so there's no since in arguing about it.

I completely agree. Couldn't understand why the poster made such a big deal of my "two meaningless games" comment.

 

[mattwill]

Right, that's what I was saying... Both sides have idiot fans that spew nothing but garbage and misinformation.

I was just using it as an example of some of the crap that I've been reading. Again, that goes for both sides. I've read some stupid **** that Packers fans have been saying as well. Every fanbase has them.

AMEN If you are looking for good Eagles discussion PM me and I'll send you some links. Your board won't let me post the links here.

 

[mattwill]

I haven't read through all the posts but here's my thoughts on this game.

The season opener where the Pack beat Philly in Philly doesn't matter and has no bearing on this game.
Do not think "Well, we beat 'em then, we can beat 'em now."
It's a different QB for Philly and we have seen and experienced the roller coaster "The McCarthy Screamer" through the Packers season. Of course we have also had the other safer ride "The Dom-inator" as well.
While I am looking forward to this game I'm also nervous about it as well.

Good luck to the Packers. I think they are going to need it. Especially the offense if McCarthy is doing the play calling. Hopefully A-Rod will ignore him and throw tons of times.

Interesting thought. Over on our side we are thinking the exact opposite . . . Especially the offense if Reid is doing the play calling. Hopefully Vick will ignore him and hand off tons of times to McCoy.

 

[mattwill]

Good discussions. Here's a post from our Special teams Blog thread that you might find interesting. The last post in the sequence comes first. The earlier posts are nested in it.

For the most part, yes. The KO coverage has been reasonably good the past couple of months, minus the Giants game a few weeks ago. I recall that they struggled in the season opener. I don't expect the Packers to be nearly as successful in that phase this time around.

Kickoff returns is problematic, especially since the primary returner is someone we've hardly seen and have no idea if he's secure. A turnover at the wrong time can be deadly, so there's is certainly some risk there.

To be honest, the only punt returner I trust is Jackson. He's been a bit tentative this year, but he strikes me as a guy who loves the spotlight so much that he'll amp it up for the playoffs. I want NO part of Maclin in the return game at all.

Thanks Franklin!
You feel good about our ST this weekend?

Cowboys "preseason" game.

Sav Rocca punted seven times and averaged 34.9 yards with 4.20 hangtime. Five of the seven were struck to the numbers. Mat McBriar punted eight times and averaged 41.8 yards and 4.08 hangtime with four of the eight struck to the numbers. I gave the statistical edge to McBriar, giving Rocca his fifth "loss" in sixteen games.

Through the regular season, Rocca averaged 43.3 yards (LOS to where the ball landed or was marked out of bounds -- rolls not included) and 4.55 hangtime. 68% of his punts reached the 4.5 second mark. 45% were struck to the numbers. Meanwhile, Eagles opponents averaged 42.1 yards with 4.18 hangtime with only 33% reaching the 4.5 second mark and 46% struck to the numbers.

Basically, Sav got a little more than a yard more than the other teams with .37 seconds more hangtime...which is a lot. He was also more consistent.

David Akers kicked off four times, but the last one was untimeable as it was basically a mis-hit or a squib. On the three long kickoffs, he averaged the ball to the 99.7 with 3.90 hangtime. David Buehler kicked off three times and averaged the ball to the 97.0 (adjusting for the kickoff from the 35) and 4.05 hangtime.

On the season, Akers averaged the ball to the 99.0 with 3.91 hangtime. Eagles opponents averaged the ball to the 97.3 with 4.04 hangtime.

Other points:

* Really bad play by Chad Hall on the Cowboys last punt of the game. Instead of coming up to field the ball in the air -- which is essential for a punt returner -- he allowed the ball to hit the ground and bounce for about ten or fifteen more yards before picking it up. The subsequent offensive series ended with Sav's worst punt of the day, and possibly of the season, which gave the Cowboys pretty good field position for their gamewinning drive. Hidden yards on special teams.

* Gerard Lawson looked like he has a burst on kickoff returns. Hard to tell too much since it was limited exposure. Let's hope he's not a fumbler.

* It would be nice if Bobby April would explain to his players that they can't line up over the center on extra point attempts. I think the call at the end of the game was the THIRD time this has happened this year. You'd think that one of the players would see this and inform the offending party of the issue. It's not too much to ask.

 

[aaronqb]

Go Packers

 

[98Redbird]

It seems I contradicted myself there, but that was the point, woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Like MM says: "I like who we are"

Yeah, I knew what you were sayin. It's good, just hoping for a "W" on Sunday.

 

[98Redbird]

I completely agree. Couldn't understand why the poster made such a big deal of my "two meaningless games" comment.

Lol, I was the poster... and I wasn't making a big deal of it. I was just saying that the two games were not meaningless. Well, the first one anyways, the second would have also been meaningful had they won the first.

 

[98Redbird]

I also think the Packers control the Eagle ground game, similar to what happened against Chicago.

To be fair, the Bears were gashing us on the ground, they just stopped running it for some reason and it wasn't because we were stuffing them, because we weren't. Not sure why they abandoned the run and put the ball in Cutlers hands rather than Forte's. Forte was moving the chains in big chunks against us.

 

[FrankRizzo]

Friday, Jan 7, Mike McCarthy Press Conference | Packers Insider

McCarthy's transcript from today's press conference. I like what he's saying.

 

[Pat4DaPack]

Im so nervous, tomorrow is gonna drag on cause I have almost nothing planned, then the late start on Sunday, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

[aaronqb]

Go Packers

 

[FrankRizzo]

Forte had consecutive runs of 25 and 21 yards in the 1st half.
The Packers made adjustments and that was it.

2nd half -- 4 / 12 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 6 / 1 / 4 / 5
10 carries for 37 yards

Walden made a bad move on one of the long runs in the first half. I don't think the Eagles will have a strong running game unless Vick does the damage. But, I think the Packers rush 4 and put enough heat on him where he makes some mistakes.

Thanks aaron, that's right. It wasn't that they abandoned the run. 10 carries in a half is a decent amount, and it was just a couple of back-to-back runs that hurt us. I do remember Walden crashing to the inside, allowing Forte to run around the edge for 25 on one run.

By the way, I think LeSean McCoy is a much better RB than Forte is. I'd take McCoy way before Forte.

 

[98Redbird]

Forte had consecutive runs of 25 and 21 yards in the 1st half.
The Packers made adjustments and that was it.

2nd half -- 4 / 12 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 6 / 1 / 4 / 5
10 carries for 37 yards

Walden made a bad move on one of the long runs in the first half. I don't think the Eagles will have a strong running game unless Vick does the damage. But, I think the Packers rush 4 and put enough heat on him where he makes some mistakes.

You got me on that point. I didn't realize that he had so little success in the second half. I just remember the long gainers that he had against us, which is probably what was sticking out to me.

I would say that McCoy is a far more dangerous runner than Forte though, so we need to get that corrected this week with Walden. Problem with the Eagles is that they have so much speed, so much shiftiness that one little mistake like that can turn into 7 in a hurry... No mistakes in this game guys, no mistakes!

 

[mattwill]

Forte had consecutive runs of 25 and 21 yards in the 1st half.
The Packers made adjustments and that was it.

2nd half -- 4 / 12 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 6 / 1 / 4 / 5
10 carries for 37 yards

Walden made a bad move on one of the long runs in the first half. I don't think the Eagles will have a strong running game unless Vick does the damage. But, I think the Packers rush 4 and put enough heat on him where he makes some mistakes.

You got me on that point. I didn't realize that he had so little success in the second half. I just remember the long gainers that he had against us, which is probably what was sticking out to me.

I would say that McCoy is a far more dangerous runner than Forte though, so we need to get that corrected this week with Walden. Problem with the Eagles is that they have so much speed, so much shiftiness that one little mistake like that can turn into 7 in a hurry... No mistakes in this game guys, no mistakes!

As much as I really like McCoy, I wouldn't sell Forte short. The one area where McCoy is clearly better is making tacklers miss in the open field. If the Packers can keep McCoy from getting to the second level, then Forte and McCoy are very similar runners.

The place where I think McCoy poses the most danger for the Pack D is as a receiver. The vast majority of his receptions put him out in space where his ability to make tacklers miss is a major asset (from the Eagles' perspective) and major challenge (from the Packers' perspective).