The Eagles gameplan against the Packers will be to run the football and pass the ball short. They will want McNabb to stay in the pocket in an attempt to keep him healthy but that will depend on his tackles (LT William Thomas, RT Jon Runyan) who must keep Packers DEs (LE Aaron Kampman and RE Cullen Jenkins) out of his face. That will be easier said than done. The Eagles will also run the football a lot against the Packers defense with Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter and Tony Hunt. The key matchup could be when Westbrook tries to catch balls out of the backfield putting pressure on the OLBs of the Packers. Look for A.J. Hawk to be up to the challenge. WRs Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown should have their hands full trying to find openings against CBs Al Harris and Charles Woodson. The best matchup in the passing game for the Eagles will likely be L.J. Smith against SS Nick Collins and Atari Bigby.Â
Look for the Packers to attempt to run the football early in the game to take advantage of the Eagles weakness between the tackles. RBs Brandon Jackson and Vernand Morency have been gimpy in the pre-season but when they watch film of the Eagles they will just likely take some painkillers and get on the field. MLB Omar Gaither and OLB Takeo Spikes must step up and stop that Packers running game. The Packers will probably run to the left where there best two O-Linemen play. LG Daryn Colledge and LT Chad Clifton should get a good push against the Eagles front. The Packers O-Line must control DEs Jevon Kearse and Trent Cole to give Brett Favre the chance to go down the field with the football. The Packers need their receivers to step up in this game. With Donald Driver a little gimpy the Packers need Greg Jennings and rookie James Jones to step up. The veteran secondary of the Eagles will cause the Packers some trouble. CBs Lito Sheppard an Sheldon Brown are solid and safeties Sean Considine and Brian Dawkins are outstanding football players.
It will be interesting to see if Packers K Mason Crosby has the jitters in his debut. Eagles K David Akers is one of the most underrated at his position as he is clutch.
PREDICTION:Â Look for the Eagles to beat the Packers as they have owned them at Lambeau Field lately and the Packers have not played well at home in quite a while.Â