Packers At Eagles Wild Card Game Discussion Thread

[Fritz]

Yeah and should have been dinking and dunking the past two months. The pass offense needs to build some steam against a fast D.

They should be dicking and fucking, not dinking and dunking.

C’mon, Mad, it’s the playoffs, baby! Balls to the walls, rock out with your cock out, all that shit.

[Fritz]

Feels like one of the healthiest teams we’ve had in awhile across the board in terms of starts lost. Prob a site that would validate that

I was going to start a new thread, but not sure it's worth it.

Basically, my idea is for kind of a reverse-Barney Fuckdoggle effect. Instead of unheralded, lowly players who come out of nowhere and play big, how about players who were drafted high but have underperformed, and need to come out of nowhere with big game performances?

I've got three who need to do this in order for the Packers to win.

1. Luke Musgrave - Even when healthy - which is not often - he's been a lumbering disappointment. He was supposed to be that field-stretching tight end, and he needs to show up and do that on Sunday with Christian Watson out.

2. Eric Stokes - Basically a scrub at this point, Stokes needs to flash suddenly and maybe get a pick or create a turnover, or cover like a former first-round pick is supposed to. Imagine if the dude got an interception!

3. Sean Rhyan - Okay, he's been an average starter, I think, but a third-round guard is supposed to be better than "meh." He needs to block Philly's big boys inside, with authority, if Love's not going to have the pocket collapsing on him constantly.

Other players for whom we had great expectations that have not lived up to the billing but need to on Sunday?

[Teamcheez1]

Need Van Ness, Clark, and Gary to rush like their hair’s on fire.
Quay, if he plays, needs to make some plays, not get lost in the wash.
We need as a team to contain Barkley.

Nobody is really giving us a chance.

[Jaire]

1) This is a very young team still.

2) No Watson, no Jaire are a difference this year. We play some good secondaries and really good WR groups, beginning with Phili.

3) The pass rush overall has been a big disappointment. I'm not sure they can just improve. Our first rounders haven't developed this year and Gary took a step back after the contract. Probably the biggest disappointment on the team. The Oline has played better than I expected. The playoffs are all about line play.

Overall, these NFC playoff teams are the strongest in a long time imo. It's not the Packers year, unlike 2014 or 2020. They gotta play perfect football and haven't done it this year. But for THIS game, Phili is vulnerable. Hurts is arguably the weakest QB in the NFC, and most our secondary is back.


GPG
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[Joemailman]

Ian Rapoport @rapsheet1.bsky.social

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni says QB Jalen Hurts has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and is good to go vs the Packers.

[Joemailman]

[Teamcheez1]

Found this analysis:

Over the 778 games in our sample, the team that receives the second half kickoff was able to score in the last minute of the first half and on their opening second half drive 12% of the time. When compared to the 0% chance of stealing a possession if you receive the opening kickoff, this becomes a small built-in advantage to deferring to the second half.

Please tell MLF to defer if he wins the coin toss.
Statistically, he is putting the Packers at a disadvantage.

[QBME]

Found this analysis:

Over the 778 games in our sample, the team that receives the second half kickoff was able to score in the last minute of the first half and on their opening second half drive 12% of the time. When compared to the 0% chance of stealing a possession if you receive the opening kickoff, this becomes a small built-in advantage to deferring to the second half.

Please tell MLF to defer if he wins the coin toss.
Statistically, he is putting the Packers at a disadvantage.

Per the internet:
67.7% of reported NFL statistics are made up.

[King Friday]

There are two aspects of this game that are required for the Packers. The first is Love. He has to be accurate. He has to make quick decisions. He has to be able to scramble 3 or 4 times when necessary. Everyone is worried about the receivers, but I’m strangely confident that they will show up in this game if Love is cooking. The second is the pass rush. If the Packers can get to Hurts, it changes the dynamic of the game. With the likely rust he will be shaking off, getting pressure on him will lead to mistakes and will negate whatever advantage the Eagles offense has with skill position players.

[MadtownPacker]

Found this analysis:

Over the 778 games in our sample, the team that receives the second half kickoff was able to score in the last minute of the first half and on their opening second half drive 12% of the time. When compared to the 0% chance of stealing a possession if you receive the opening kickoff, this becomes a small built-in advantage to deferring to the second half.

Please tell MLF to defer if he wins the coin toss.
Statistically, he is putting the Packers at a disadvantage.

Watching Pepe in a press conference yesterday or the day before when he got asked about this. The way his face reacted tells me he’s not going to do that again. He did try to act sneaky and got that little smile when he responded saying that they didn’t wanna say what they’d be doing.

[Joemailman]

Aaron Nagler @aaronnagler.bsky.social

Packers signed QB Sean Clifford from the practice squad to the active roster.

[sharpe1027]

Found this analysis:

Over the 778 games in our sample, the team that receives the second half kickoff was able to score in the last minute of the first half and on their opening second half drive 12% of the time. When compared to the 0% chance of stealing a possession if you receive the opening kickoff, this becomes a small built-in advantage to deferring to the second half.

Please tell MLF to defer if he wins the coin toss.
Statistically, he is putting the Packers at a disadvantage.

Without context, this means nothing. How many teams where able to score on the opening drive and in the last minute of the first half, for example?

[Teamcheez1]

Here is the conclusion from the study.
I would argue we have actually done worse than the studies bear out.

“Deciding whether to receive or defer the opening kickoff is a decision that can influence the outcome of games on the margins. These margins might not seem like a lot, but in a game of inches, they become the difference between a close win and a loss. Receiving the ball to start the second half results, on average, in an extra point on the scoreboard and a 12% chance of stealing a possession. A lot of factors play into how different coaches prefer to start out each game, but teams will generally receive a slight advantage by deferring to the second half when given the chance.”

[CaptainKickass]

The Packers allowed only one play of 40-plus yards this season. That was A.J. Brown’s long catch-and-run touchdown against Jaire Alexander in Week 1.

That’s it.

No other team in the NFL has allowed less than six 40-yard plays. The league median is 10.

I found this statistic interesting, as I had not heard it prior.