Packers VS Eagles Playoffs

[Schultz]

Odds are that even if you go beat Tampa Bay (had we gotten 6th seed), you play the Eagles/Lions the following Week. I guess choose your poison.

Realistically, the Packers could not determine their own fate by beating the Bears. The best they could hope for was a Win and the Commanders lose. That puts them in Tampa. Neither happened. What did happen is was they lost Watson, Love got banged up, maybe other guys got further banged up, no rest for starters and now you begin your playoff run after getting beaten by one of the worst teams in the NFL.

My theory on resting starters might have changed slightly had the Packers controlled their own destiny for a higher seed, win and they are #6. Even in that situation, I probably still do what the Rams did and rest my starters.

I’m questioning that in life you must have courage. If we were afraid to do our jobs due to minor setbacks we’d all wither away into mediocrity.
I say all the time that I don’t want our team to play timid. I HATE playing “not to lose”. I think short term you might have setbacks taking the assertive approach. Long term not so much. So while you might indeed be exactly right about resting all players. You will also likely lose that mentality in the long term as an opponent wills their way back and defeats us, because we “take the safe approach”. as we took our foot off the gas. It’s a mentality debate and you’re looking at 1 slice of a 8 piece pie. I don’t want 1 slice. I Want the whole pie. So I’ll just concede you could be right in short term philosophy.

Some of the best sports teams have come back from the most improbable setbacks. Btw. Christian Watson didn’t become frail vs Chicago. He’s been frail since he got here. Might as well find out if he can make it through a Quarter of football. I mean, if he cant maybe it’s Gods way of showing us another path. I’ve learned first hand he’s a God of road blocks and adversity. I love him even more for it. Adversity creates endurance. Endurance creates discipline. Discipline creates opportunity. Opportunity creates hope. Hope is the fruit of having faith.

That's all fine and good, but the real question is: What type of pie are we talking about?

 

[OldSchool101]

If you have any respect for Wayne Larrivee's opinion, he was adamant about the starters playing against the Bears. He thought that was the ONLY option.

Even I myself waffled. I ended up with a route of playing for 3 quarters to not go too heavy on snap counts. Such as playing 30 snaps if you normally play 50 etc. or taking 15 handoffs if you normally take 25.
My philosophy was trying to capture a little taste of all the desserts. Keep momentum. Mitigate injuries. Minimized the wear and tear on starters so they are not exhausted while still giving us a better opportunity to win.
If we were losing by 2 scores or winning by 2 scores at halftime I’d start pulling my Starters. Matt did it but after watching Love and Watson injure I think it spooked him. Naturally so. Thus he pulled Love and Jacobs permanently.

 

[OldSchool101]

That's all fine and good, but the real question is: What type of pie are we talking about?

This is a good question. Gillian’s Island Pie made by 2 pretty girls. Coconut Crème

 

[JKramer64]

Sad for Watson but I think that he just lost his ability to get a big contract. I assume that GB will pick up his fifth year option

Watson was a 2nd round pick. Only 1st round picks can get the 5th year option.

 

[JKramer64]

In looking at stats from week 1 and watching the replay on NFL network, Cooper only got 11 snaps, but had 4 tackles and a pass deflection. I expect him to get close to 100% of the snaps this week. He may be the key to slowing down Barkley. He is a difference maker, the best since Matthews.

From watching the replay, the Packers played the Eagles toe to toe physically. The offensive line really played well. What did them in was the untimely penalties in the red zone and inability to score touchdowns after getting turnovers. In the 4th quarter, Nixon dropped a sure pick 6 which would have given them the lead. Love didnt play that well, showing the same inaccuracies and dangerous throws that he has shown most of the year. He was lucky to get picked only once.

Watson wasn't much of a factor (3 catches for 13) but did catch a short TD. Reed was a superstar. They will need him to step up again.

That was week 1 and Philadelphia has improved alot, the Packers not as much. Still, I think the Packers have a good shot in this game. Eliminate the penalties and take better advantage of Philly mistakes. It all comes down to how Love plays.

 

[milani]

In looking at stats from week 1 and watching the replay on NFL network, Cooper only got 11 snaps, but had 4 tackles and a pass deflection. I expect him to get close to 100% of the snaps this week. He may be the key to slowing down Barkley. He is a difference maker, the best since Matthews.

From watching the replay, the Packers played the Eagles toe to toe physically. The offensive line really played well. What did them in was the untimely penalties in the red zone and inability to score touchdowns after getting turnovers. In the 4th quarter, Nixon dropped a sure pick 6 which would have given them the lead. Love didnt play that well, showing the same inaccuracies and dangerous throws that he has shown most of the year. He was lucky to get picked only once.

Watson wasn't much of a factor (3 catches for 13) but did catch a short TD. Reed was a superstar. They will need him to step up again.

That was week 1 and Philadelphia has improved alot, the Packers not as much. Still, I think the Packers have a good shot in this game. Eliminate the penalties and take better advantage of Philly mistakes. It all comes down to how Love plays.

I think our biggest task is handling the Eagles pass rush. We need to run the ball and they know it. So they will stack. Unlike the Vikings who disguise and deceive the Eagles just come at you. This is when the one on one battles are big. We had some big plays against them in WK 1. I believe there will be some for the taking but the Love has to put the ball on the money and our receivers have to catch them.

 

[Team Ronny]

Lafleur has to quit being too cute with his 3rd/4th down/ red zone plays. They need to be aggressive, go no huddle, don't be afraid to add an extra o lineman to get the running game going. Get Musgrave involved, that guy was always open last season, get him going.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

If Washington had lost to Dallas and we didn't screw up the Bears game we would have been the #6 seed.

Yet, Washington didn't lose to Dallas and we lost to the Bears. Even had we beat the Bears, we would be the #7 seed. So, like I said, it would have take 2 more Packer wins or 1 more win and a loss by Washington.

Counting on another team to lose, is kind of a losers mentality. Just go out and win games, so you don't have to rely on others.

 

[milani]

Yet, Washington didn't lose to Dallas and we lost to the Bears. Even had we beat the Bears, we would be the #7 seed. So, like I said, it would have take 2 more Packer wins or 1 more win and a loss by Washington.

Counting on another team to lose, is kind of a losers mentality. Just go out and win games, so you don't have to rely on others.

Those very close losses to Detroit and Minnesota were critical. If only we had snagged one of them.

 

[DoURant]

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[Voyageur]

The key to the Packers beating the Eagles is Reed handling a heavy load, and Doubs being well, and able to handle the tough catches to move the chains. Additionally, we need a heavy dose of Jacobs early, and some good blocking and perimeter offense from our TEs. If that happens, and the offensive line gives Love 2.5 seconds on the pass rush before he needs to move, we can win this game.

Of course, the defense needs to play a stellar game and not go into a death by a thousand cuts game plan at the end, so we lose by an FG.

Then there's the issue of Love's health and whether or not the Packers did an extensive amount of practice with Willis at the throttle, to insure they're prepared to go either way, and able to switch plans in mid-game.

 

[milani]

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You hate to see this happen for the fans in LA. But what other choice does the league have? Imagine moving a Lambeau game to Minnesota. I guess there are advantages to living by the frozen tundra.

 

[milani]

The key to the Packers beating the Eagles is Reed handling a heavy load, and Doubs being well, and able to handle the tough catches to move the chains. Additionally, we need a heavy dose of Jacobs early, and some good blocking and perimeter offense from our TEs. If that happens, and the offensive line gives Love 2.5 seconds on the pass rush before he needs to move, we can win this game.

Of course, the defense needs to play a stellar game and not go into a death by a thousand cuts game plan at the end, so we lose by an FG.

Then there's the issue of Love's health and whether or not the Packers did an extensive amount of practice with Willis at the throttle, to insure they're prepared to go either way, and able to switch plans in mid-game.

Difficult to do against the #1 defense. Move the chains with short passes to the backs and TEs. Run the ball, of course, and at the right moment play fake with a shot down the field. This is a game in which I wish we had a bona-fide FB.

 

[Voyageur]

Difficult to do against the #1 defense. Move the chains with short passes to the backs and TEs. Run the ball, of course, and at the right moment play fake with a shot down the field. This is a game in which I wish we had a bona-fide FB.

With that pass rush, and the fact they'll concentrate of stopping Jacobs, the middle will be open, as long as you pressure their defensive backs on the outside, and intermediate routes. It's all going to depend on how they change things up to disguise intent.

 

[gopkrs]

I'd prefer to win the game like we did last year in Dallas. Everything seemed to work. I don't think we need to limit ourselves. But we do need receivers to get open.

 

[OldSchool101]

To beat your opponent you must mitigate their strengths and exploit their weakness.
Eagles success has actually come through a heavy Running attack and playing stingy Defense on the other side. The reason we matched up so well in the first meeting is we fight fire with fire. We beat them in Rushing yards and total yards Offensively. However we were only 1 of 4 Redzone trips. The Eagles were 3 of 6 in the Redzone and helped them out gain us in 1st Downs 21 to our 15. Those consistent play by play chunks also controlled the Clock nearly 33min to our 27min in our Week 1 meeting.

the Eagles are #1 in the league owning the clock (32:22). GB is averaging 28:16 Time of Possession on the Road (#28) It’s not a coincidence that what lost our last meeting is Philly got into the lead into the closing minutes and ate the clock. Left us with like :27 seconds in our last drive.
1. Solution
GB has to repay that favor. DO NOT score too quickly under 3-4 minutes if it can be controlled by play design UNLESS it puts us winning by 7-8 points minimum OR if it’s a 3+ point lead and under :60 sec at kickoff.
It takes some crafty maneuvering with mixing in shorter passes or Runs at the end of the half and regulation and paying attention to the clock!!! I feel like a broken record this year, but someone on that staff had to be mindful of the clock. Even I said real time at a Detroit we were going to lose when we handed them the ball with 3:30 left with THEM in drivers seat. I said on the forum had it been 5:00+ we’d still likely get the ball again with over a minute. We never saw that ball again and it was the worst possible outcome. A slow methodical bleeding is what Philly will hand us.

On Teams Philly only has 2 Weaknesses. They are below average on KR coverage. We are #14 in KR yards and Eagles are #22 in KR coverage. It’s small variance, but it’s an area to exploit. Allow Nixon to return it if not in the Paint. Their Kicker is lower echelon so expect it might not make the Paint.
Also we are #18 in FG% but we all know we were dead last before McNamath. So we’re likely top5. If our Offense is inside the 40 statistically 60% it’s points. Inside the 35 is solid 75% points there.

The Eagles Kicker is 26th and more than unstable at 50 and beyond. That’s our GB33 yardline. Keep them outside the GB33 and that = rush 5-6 when they are between our GB28-36 yardline or thereabouts. Have to get a TFL there. Even a loss of 2-3 yards could = 3 points to us.