Packers VS Eagles Playoffs

[Pugger]

Getting a higher seed isn't a big deal for the Packers. Their chances on the road in the playoffs are nearly identical over the past 20 years compared to their home record.

Warm weather tends to help out the past rush because D linemen can get better traction when the field isn't getting harder from the cold. That helps this Packers team because their O line is good enough to handle a pass rush in warm or cold weather whereas the D line needs all the help it can get.

While the Packers are firing on zero cylinders, the Eagles aren't a juggernaut IMO. If the Packers can limit Barkley they'll have a chance. If not, it will be a long game.

I would have preferred that we got the #6 seed and go to Tampa rather than Philly but that's just me.

 

[OldSchool101]

I read it sophomore year right after reading the Outsiders.

Then we are very similar age.

 

[OldSchool101]

I would have preferred that we got the #6 seed and go to Tampa rather than Philly but that's just me.

Not that I’d be letting my guard down, but Hurts not taking a live snap for 4 weeks isn’t exactly ideal for the Eagles. Although he’s fortunate it’s 4 weeks at the end of a season. I think you bring your best Run Stopping Safety down and Run him at Saquon like he’s getting the ball every play and pop him in the backfield (which is allowed as he’s a blocker) enough to heavily disturb his typical route. I’d also blitz disproportionately if I’m Hafley. Lots of confusion and stunts early in set the tone. Make the ball come out quickly and make sure our CB’s play it that way.

While Philly is a very good team, I still think GB is being underestimated. Yes we are very sporadic. However if Packers show up to play I think people might be surprised. I hear media saying Philly is the best team in the league but I truly think the Lions are playing excellent right now. I highly doubt Philly beats MN by 22 points like what we just saw. I think the Packers on a good day are fully capable of going toe to toe with the Lions. The Lions would beat the Eagles 7/10 times imo.

 

[weeds]

If the Pack play "up" for a full game .. for the first time this season, I think they can beat Philly with or without Watson.

Watson played because Doubs was ill but truthfully, #10 is the uranium rod that drives the power plant. When he's on ... and he wasn't before he hit his funny bone ... it's a formidable offense.

The defense for it's flaws has been good enough to get around the scheme issues we've beat to death here - and the injuries.

The REAL issue in my view has been mental issues. The Pack seem to find new and innovative measures to shoot themselves in the a** on a weekly basis and it all came to a head Sunday. That punt return by the Bears still stocks in my craw.. but THAT was last week.

I'm not real optimistic that they'll park their sh*t show and show up mentally as a unit on Sunday ... and that's on Matt. Tired of him muttering "That can't happen" every time it does.

 

[OldSchool101]

Luckily it’s our players that have final say. No matter how good a game plan is. No matter how aggressive or passive a Coach acts. If players don’t execute and play disciplined neither method matters.

I really like what Josh said in a lockerroom interview after the game. That guy is truly a Godsend. He’s very convicted and he agrees with my mindset and that helps


When Jacobs was asked about how he felt about his first playoff game, he basically said thats way lower than his plans. He wants a SB and achieving a playoff game is below his bar. It’s thinking too small.

Jacobs on facing the Eagles. He said last meeting he played poorly by his standards and essentially left production on the table. He mentioned they are a good team but he thinks we can beat them if we put together a consistent game. He said what we all know. It’s not about is GB good enough to beat Philly. It’s about is GB consistent enough to beat Philly. If each player raises his game and plays disciplined, he’s confident we can beat anyone in the league talent wise.

Mental errors and inconsistent are our problem and that’s totally accurate imo. That’s not other teams beating us though. That beating ourselves. If we weren’t talented enough I’d be more concerned. It’s not about Christian Watson because you don’t need Christian to overcome beating yourselves. Christian had 13 yards in our first meeting and we were a missed FG away from 57 minutes of being in the lead. Literally. Our last meeting came down to a missed FG and missed 2 point conversion. The Eagles were very good in Week 1 and they arr still very good. That has not changed or they are not on some other worldly level. They were good week 1 imo.
So were the Packers. But GB has to make the easy points and can’t afford
10 yellow flags disturbing every Drive

 

[OldSchool101]

Out of 10 drives during our first Eagles meeting (I’m not counting us getting the ball back with :27 sec end of game) 7 of 10 Packer drives had at minimum 1 Offensive flag. The other 3 drives without an O penalty??

1 TD to regain our lead 26-24
1 43 yarder missed FG hits the upright
1 Made FG

That’s evidence that when you don’t beat yourself you are highly productive

So I think we match up better to the Eagles than most people think. All that’s remembered is final score. Jacob’s Wilson Reed gashed Philly for 163 yards. 7.8 per carry.

The GB Defense held one of the best Running Games leaguewide (possibly across the last decade) to a very mediocre 3.8 per carry.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Hurts hasn't thrown more than 4 passes in a game in like a month. He might be kinda rusty. Can't let him run, make him pass!

I think "rust" on a veteran is over-rated. One might make the counter argument of "his legs and arm will be well rested, so once he warms up, watch out."

It would be a great break for the Packers if Hurts doesn't play, but my gut is that the Eagles will do what the Packers themselves do, play the game. They won't officially say that Hurts is playing, until they have to. Make the Packers prepare for another QB and then throw them a left jab with "Hurts is 100%."

 

[OldSchool101]

The Unbeatable Eagles were winning against Jacksonville (At Philly) and Jacksonville clawed their way back from a 22-0 deficit.
1st down and 10 from the Philly 13
1:43 left in regulation. 23-28 Eagles INT Lawrence in the Endzone

 

[OldSchool101]

I think "rust" on a veteran is over-rated. One might make the counter argument of "his legs and arm will be well rested, so once he warms up, watch out."

It would be a great break for the Packers if Hurts doesn't play, but my gut is that the Eagles will do what the Packers themselves do, play the game. They won't officially say that Hurts is playing, until they have to. Make the Packers prepare for another QB and then throw them a left jab with "Hurts is 100%."

People can say or argue whatever they want it doesn’t make it any more accurate. Them somehow saying healing from a concussion and missing multiple weeks is actually helping Hurts is a stretch. Now I’m not saying Hurts can’t play good.
I’m very confident that if you gave 32 HC the option of playing their QB weekly and coming in healthy or their QB had missed multiple weeks in concussion protocol and is coming in “fresh” after all that concern? I think every last HC picks the former scenario. I don’t think it’s + category at all.

We can beat Hurts healthy imo. Jacksonville was
1st n 10 from the Philly 13.
4 down territory.
1:42 on the clock.
Philly only had 2 Timeouts
Jags went for the quick TD score? Into tight coverage nonetheless. Rather than taking their free play Run on 1st to bring the clock to 1:02 with 3 more tries to get 8-9 yards and 4 bonus tries if they reach the 3 yard line 1st n goal for a sure walk off Win. Once again misused Timeouts and the clock to favor. They would’ve likely lost either way mismanaging the clock and saving Timeouts for the Eagles last drive.
If we continue to replicate the mismanaging like Jacksonville did and Chicago was doing and like we do on occasion? Our odds of winning will drop by 50% snap of the finger. An entire game can be lost with 1-2 clock mishaps.

 

[Firethorn1001]

We can beat Hurts healthy imo. Jacksonville was
1st n 10 from the Philly 13.
4 down territory.
1:42 on the clock.
Philly only had 2 Timeouts
Doug Peterson went for the quick TD score rather than a Run on 1st to bring the clock to 1:02. Had they scored they likely left too much time left either way.

Pretty good odds that if the Packers are in this situation 1 play later it will be 2nd and 13 from the Philly 16 after a failed Reed sweep.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Hurts could be rusty vs the Packers because the rustiness is usually a lack of timing and not going through progressions as smoothly. It's not necessarily the personal but the team aspect that can lead to rustiness. Especially in the first half. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Eagles try to acclimate Hurts with shorter throws and RPO's to start the game.

 

[OldSchool101]

Pretty good odds that if the Packers are in this situation 1 play later it will be 2nd and 13 from the Philly 16 after a failed Reed sweep.

It wouldn’t surprise me!

No seriously though I think? Matt has learned his lesson. Can’t have a fancy dancy backfield play there. Getting a tough Jacobs Run there for just 2-3 yards would improve odds dramatically.

2nd and 7 from the Philly 10 yard line. Let the clock Simmer to 1:02. Pretend a play to try to draw them offsides. Then call a Timeout. You’d have 3 tries to get 8 yards or just score. Ideally you get a 1st down and make them burn both timeouts and going under :50 sec
Run off :40 sec takes away potential 5-6 plays for Eagles to get a FG to Win

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

People can say or argue whatever they want it doesn’t make it any more accurate. Them somehow saying healing from a concussion and missing multiple weeks is actually helping Hurts is a stretch. Now I’m not saying Hurts can’t play good.
I’m very confident that if you gave 32 HC the option of playing their QB weekly and coming in healthy or their QB had missed multiple weeks in concussion protocol and is coming in “fresh” after all that concern? I think every last HC picks the former scenario. I don’t think it’s + category at all.

While you could be right on what some HC's think, I don't see a lot of veteran QB's getting reps in the preseason games. Given that their last game was 7-8 months prior, wouldn't coaches be concerned they were rusty and needed the game time?

Back to Hurts's situation. First, we don't even know if he will be playing on Sunday. I guess we will find that out soon enough. If he is playing on Sunday, any Packer fans that think "oh he hasn't played a full game since Dec. 15th, that is a big advantage to the Packers", are fooling themselves. As I said before and I am sticking to it. If Hurts plays, he will be well rested, his legs and arm fresh and he will be as dangerous as ever.

 

[OldSchool101]

Hurts could be rusty vs the Packers because the rustiness is usually a lack of timing and not going through progressions as smoothly. It's not necessarily the personal but the team aspect that can lead to rustiness. Especially in the first half. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Eagles try to acclimate Hurts with shorter throws and RPO's to start the game.

yes. Anytime there’s a lack of rhythm it shakes the timing on throws. How long or how much is determined by that concussion. I’ve had a pretty bad concussion and for 2-3 weeks I would walk around a corner and smash into it with my shoulder. Totally misjudging it. It sounds weird but a concussion thriws equilibrium off and you don’t even realize it. Ordinary simple things like walking room to room become problematic. For me I ran into a 2X6 coming out of a cellar. It cut my head open and knocked me down the stairs taking those old 6-pack of Coke bottles with me. I got up maybe 10 seconds later broken glass everywhere lying on the ground.

 

[OldSchool101]

While you could be right on what some HC's think, I don't see a lot of veteran QB's getting reps in the preseason games. Given that their last game was 7-8 months prior, wouldn't coaches be concerned they were rusty and needed the game time?

What’s up Poker!
Fed you a “like” didn’t want to think it’s anything but a debate!
IMO
The above scenario is exactly why QB’s come in week 1 like HOF QB Rodgers 3-38 Saints played at Jacksonville.

Or like Love week 1 overthrowing Musgrave for an early INT

Even taking a week off as a #1 seed is questionable. Taking 4 weeks off for a concussion is generally more problematic than saying he’s “fresh”.

Fresh for what? A recurring concussion is a very real thing.

 

[Magooch]

Probably the practice reports will give us a big indication. If he is cleared today I would go ahead and assume he'll be suiting up against us.

Also Philly went ahead and released Ian Book (their reserve/temporary #3 QB) which would suggest to me they're preparing to have Hurts back with Pickett/McKee as backups.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

What’s up Poker!
Fed you a “like” didn’t want to think it’s anything but a debate!
IMO
The above is exactly why QB’s come in week 1 like HOF QB Rodgers 3-38 Saints played at Jacksonville.

Or like Love week 1 overthrowing Musgrave for an early INT

I gave you a like on this as well.

However, there is a big difference between 7-8 months of not playing a game, than that of 3 weeks. Hurts will not be coming in "rusty" on Sunday.

 

[OldSchool101]

Don’t worry. If I’m Hafley I'm going on expecting Hurts to be 200%

Make no mistake or bones about it
I’m going to test him early and make him run for his life. He’s getting an 8 man box and 5 man stunts regular early in. Idc how they score a TD on a Hail Mary. I’m convinced set the tone very early and get Hurts on his back in qtr1. Get that QB click thinking 1.9 sec 1.9 1.9 sec is what I’ve got. I’ll give up a long TD before I allow 3.5 sec in the pocket regular.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Probably the practice reports will give us a big indication. If he is cleared today I would go ahead and assume he'll be suiting up against us.

Also Philly went ahead and released Ian Book (their reserve/temporary #3 QB) which would suggest to me they're preparing to have Hurts back with Pickett/McKee as backups.

Yeah, saw that on Book.

I still think Philly is playing the old sports game of "we don't want to tip our hand on who is starting". Not a bad move, maybe the Packers should have done it with Love and his elbow. However, I think if they had, I wouldn't be the only Packer fan screaming about him playing on Sunday, that isn't what the Packers need right now.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Don’t worry. If I’m Hafley I'm going on expecting Hurts to be 200%

Make no mistake or bones about it
I’m going to test him early and make him run for his life. He’s getting an 8 man box and 5 man stunts regular early in. Idc how they score a TD on a Hail Mary. I’m convinced set the tone very early and get Hurts on his back in qtr1

Can you be in the DC press box by 3:30, and wear your Hafley mask!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

yes. Anytime there’s a lack of rhythm it shakes the timing on throws. How long or how much is determined by that concussion. I’ve had a pretty bad concussion and for 2-3 weeks I would walk around a corner and smash into it with my shoulder. Totally misjudging it. It sounds weird but a concussion thriws equilibrium off and you don’t even realize it. Ordinary simple things like walking room to room become problematic. For me I ran into a 2X6 coming out of a cellar. It cut my head open and knocked me down the stairs taking those old 6-pack of Coke bottles with me. I got up maybe 10 seconds later broken glass everywhere lying on the ground.

Heck, I suffered a concussion and they had me working at the nuclear test facility launch site, a day later.....go figure.

 

[Firethorn1001]

It wouldn’t surprise me!

No seriously though I think? Matt has learned his lesson. Can’t have a fancy dancy backfield play there.

I have faith in MLF in many things, but those sweeps?

MLF with sweeps :

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[El Guapo]

Well there are several reports out there that Hurts will practice today. Of course, a big step is for the team to re-evaluate him after practice to ensure that he isn't experiencing any more symptoms. Assuming he does well, the Packers should prepare for Hurts at QB. However, I still believe that he will be a little less likely to scramble so the Packers should be aggressive on defense early in the game, and throughout if it proves successful.

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[milani]

I would have preferred that we got the #6 seed and go to Tampa rather than Philly but that's just me.

Better chance of winning the first round game.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Biggest variable right now is whether Hurts clears the concussion protocol. Second biggest is if Walker gets healthy and the Packers put him in for snaps over Cooper...Cooper is playing like a first round LB while Walker has, over his entire career, played like cornerback who can't cover (i.e., he can't take on blocks, can't cover, and consistently makes tackles 5+ yards downfield).

Packers defense (assuming coaches are smart and keep Cooper on the field over Walker) should be able to hold up pretty well against an Eagles offense minus Hurts...if Hurts plays then things might get rough because the defense's Achilles heel all season has been an absolutely awful pass rush. If the Packers can't get any pressure on Hurts he'll have all day to wait until Brown or Smith get open against a surprisingly adequate coverage group. Also, the Eagles have a TERRIFIC oline and, coupled with a bad Packers dline and Barkley, I'm certainly worried about the defense holding up if it's a close game in the 4th.
Packers offense on the other hand...I'm worried about that. When Watson is on the field, the Packers offense is elite, like top-5 elite. When he's out, the offense is mediocre. He provides so much to offense in his ability to run block and his ability to stretch the field. Without Watson, the Eagles will just sit on everything and make it really hard to do anything on offense. I would like to say I trust MLF to overcome that but I'm not sure that's possible for any coach with an offense that will be constipated by a lack of a real deep threat against the best defense in the NFL.