Gameplan For Philly

[The Shadow]

OFFENSE :
Jim Johnson is no dummy; he is probably thinking that the Packers will be very aware of his pass rush, & will begin by running between the tackles, throwing slants, & throwing screens.
He will be prepared for this - and his overall goal will be to put the Packers in 2nd & long & 3rd & long situations so he can turn the dogs loose. Therefore, he will crowd the line early & keep his linebackers tight. This, he will reason, will not only stuff the center runs, but also crowd the slant lanes & sniff out the screens.
I assume that Ahman will play very little, if at all.
I would open by avoiding the middle runs (1 & 2 yard gains will play into the Eagles' hands), & instead attacking the edges with the new, quicker fullback leading Morency outside. There is always the chance that this may turn out to be unsuccessful, of course, but I would rather try something other than the expected.
And, early on, I would have Morency throw the halfback option pass, which, even if unsuccessful, will loosen things up & give them something to think about.
Favre must play very smart, of course. Turnovers must be avoided at all costs. 3rd & long? Don't force a play that's just not there; throw it away, live to fight another series.

DEFENSE :
Our run defense must step up to the plate & contain Westbrook.
Since we can't pass rush very effectively anyway, I would - on 2nd or 3rd & 7
downs - to drop 7 back into coverage, with a shadow always on Westbrook, and consistent help for Poppinga on the TE.
Every so often, sending Hawk or a corner would help to keep McNabb at least a bit nervous.
If McNabb gets frustrated by having Westbrook neutralized to some extent, and the TE not as tempting an option as his game film studies of the Packers have indicated, he is VERY capable of making some big mistakes.

[SD GB fan]

offense:
i imagine something like the chicago game, hopefully with a better result. we will need to able to run in order to keep their offense off the field. maybe take early shots into their depleted secondary to keep the defense honest. max protect sets too.

defense:
ummm...contain westbrook

or

maybe some knives, guns, and bombs? :crazy:

i have no clue. the best defense is a good running offense

[ahaha]

The Packers need to put more guys into coverage. Keep everything in front of them. Make Philly drive all the way down the field and hope that they will make mistakes if they have to be patient. Maybe they'll get some key penalties and turnovers. I think they should blitz once in a while, preferrably with Hawk or Collins, but not too often. I don't think our front 4 is as bad with pressure as a lot of people here like to say. I think in this situation they're capable of getting a timely sack or pressure here and there. One critical part of this strategy is playing well in the red zone...keep them to field goals.
Now, this strategy will only work if the offense has a good night, but realistically, we don't have a chance in this game, with any defensive strategy, unless our offense does well.

[RashanGary]

Offense - Execute well and take what is given.

Defense - Tough, hard nosed football. I want to see fast, hard hitting, mercyless defense. I want to see the secondary prevent the big play. I want a bend but don't break approach. I just wnat to see hitting though. I want Hawk, Collins and Kampman to rock some eagle ass. McNabb has to hit the turf 3 times for this day to be a success and whoever is running and catcing the ball needs to feel pain at every possible juncture.

I believe that physical denfese changes the way the game is played. Guys stop fighting for that extra yard when they are hurting from the play before, balls get dropped, passes thrown off target, ect... I just wnat to see energy and impact.

[Partial]

Well, the Eagles run defense is very, very solid. They held LT to 7 yards on 17 carries last year. They have a big, strong linebacking core. With that said, in that same game, LT averaged 6.5 yards per catch on screens and short passes.

Personally, even though this team reminds me a lot of the Bears defensively, I would say they do not want to pound the ball against them.

Trotter is excellent in the middle at diagnosing the run, but in my opinion he can be taken out of the game by running play action passes.

However, with the longer drops required for play action, they're going to be blitzed.

I would run the offense from an I with Bubba in at fullback. I would put lee or martin in at TE. I would then run a playaction over and over and over again with bubba just chilling as an extra blocker in the backfield. I would then let ahman go out in the flat, and have the tightend to a 3 yard slant.

That would be what I do on early downs. That play action is not only get trotter to hesistate for a second on getting on the coverage, but getting the OL to diagnose and react to wherever green goes in the flat. That should essentially isolate trotter onto a TE and that would appear to be a mismatch.

They're not gonna generate much more than 50 yards on the ground, especially if green is out, so I would run a few end arounds and possibly a gadget play just to keep them honest.

Personally, I would run a quick snap and toss to driver before he leaves the line of scrimmage often. I am very confident in DD's ability to outrun a corner and get 4-5 yards routinely.

[The Shadow]

Almost forgot : a healthy amount of max protection for Favre; only 3 receivers out in patterns is preferable to Favre on his back.

[BallHawk]

Our offense could score 5 TDs, but if our secondary doesn't play its best game of the season, so far, we will lose.

Watch for a big game from Morency. I feel it.

[MJZiggy]

I know what you're saying BallHawk. I was sad as anything after Samkon left, but I think Morency will be better than expected. Does anyone know if Samkon had a hand in Houston's narrow victory?

[BallHawk]

Samkon had 6 carries for 9 yards, his long being 3 yards.

So, No. He had no effect in the Texans win

[red]

don't get behind early

only bad things happen when we do that

[Partial]

don't get behind early

only bad things happen when we do that

I am tellin' ya, see above, thats how you beat this team. The only difference between this team and the Bears is that trotter isn't even close to Urlachers league (among a few others, like slower ends, more blitzes but less pressure from front 4).

[Tarlam!]

don't get behind early

only bad things happen when we do that

I am tellin' ya, see above, thats how you beat this team. The only difference between this team and the Bears is that trotter isn't even close to Urlachers league (among a few others, like slower ends, more blitzes but less pressure from front 4).

Maybe I'm grabbing at straws, but, we won the toss against Detroit - first coin toss we won!

I hope we win the toss!

[The Shadow]

We went to Detroit, where we always have trouble, and found a way to win.
We're going to Philly, where we alaways have trouble - why not another win?
It's important to realize that many of the same players who couln't win in either venue have now been replaced.
Greg Jennings, A.J. Hawk, Colledge, Moll, etc. do not carry that negative baggage.
Let's think positive!