Doug Pederson's Philadelphia Eagles come limping into Lambeau Field on Thursday night to take on Matt LaFleur's 3-0 Green Bay Packers in a nationally televised affair.
When the Eagles have the ball
No matter what you've heard, quarterback Carson Wentz remains a premiere weapon. The guy can put the ball anywhere on the field from pretty much anywhere in or outside the pocket. If your coverage is good downfield, he can kill you with his legs. And if you do scheme up pressure to beat the Eagles very talented offensive line, you better get home with more than one defensive back or even linebacker because Wentz is a big brute of a guy who can shed tacklers and break free to take your soul with a big play after you thought you had him in the pocket.
The Eagles will look at what the Broncos were able to do along the interior of the Packers defensive line last week and look to replicate some of that success... The Eagles will look at what the Broncos were able to do along the interior of the Packers defensive line last week and look to replicate some of that success... With so many questions and inconsistency at wide receiver, Wentz will look to tight end Zach Ertz early and often.
When the Packers have the ball
Much has been made of the struggles on offense, but really, they are close. I know it doesn't feel that way when you see Aaron Rodgers throwing consecutive passes into the turf, but they are.As LaFleur indicated on Monday, it's all correctable and the answer lies in the details.
Getting Davante Adams and Jimmy Graham more involved has been the drumbeat coming out of 1265 Lombardi this week, but it remains to be seen if Graham is even able to play as he's dealing with both groin and quad injuries this week. One possible way the Packers could open things up is by utilizing rookie wide receiver Darrius Shepherd on some of their jet sweep action and using his speed to get vertical out of the backfield.
The Packers currently lead the league in takeaways and last week was a prime example of how those extra possessions can lead to points. Rodgers has always been risk adverse, and we've certainly gotten used to his penchant for not wanting to throw up high risk passes. But so far this season, he has seemingly taken that to another level, and I think much of it has to do with the fact that he knows that more often than not, the defense will keep them in the game.
You can read Aaron Nagler's full preview and prediction at Cheesehead TV by clicking here.
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