In a rematch of a Week 1 fight that took enlighten in Brazil, the Philadelphia Eagles are internet hosting the Green Bay Packers for a playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
In bid to preview this Wild Card matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Acme Packing Firm. The happy Justis Mosqueda kindly took the time to answer to my questions about this upcoming fight. Let’s preserve a perceive on the answers.
[For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to APC.]
1 – After throwing on the least one interception in every of his first eight games, Jordan Esteem hasn’t turned the ball over his closing seven games. What’s all long previous into that turnaround?
Toyotathon, dinky one. In all seriousness, the reality that the Packers don’t give their starters many reps in the preseason in traditional (Matt LaFleur is a big believer in load administration and demolish avoidance) makes me imagine that team is consistently going to be better in the second half of of the season than they are out of the gate. We’ve sexy seen it too yet again and yet again to preserve a long way from admitting that. Esteem is aloof loads aggressive with the soccer, but some of those interceptable balls sexy haven’t approach down for the protection, too.
2 – To what extent is the Christian Watson demolish a foremost jam? And the intention attain you request the Packers to stride about changing him?
It’s a rather massive deal. Without Watson, the Packers’ offense didn’t in truth possess an answer for man coverage against the Vikings. Generally, the Vikings play zone protection in the encourage of their blitzes and the Packers were caught a dinky bit off guard by their gameplan, leading to the outlet Green Bay desired to dig themselves out of early. Watson had three touchdowns against the Cowboys a pair of years ago in the playoffs when they tried to man up these receivers. Bo Melton is the best doubtless other “velocity” receiver on the roster, but it’s getting exhausting to play him and Jayden Reed on the discipline on the identical time because neither are impactful as lag blockers on the lag-first team. Perhaps the answer is to let Dontayvion Wicks beat man coverage with his route running, but shedding Watson completely hurt the team.
3 – What’s one thing that makes you are feeling in truth ultimate relating to the Packers’ probabilities in this matchup?
Can I train Jalen Hurts? Will I accept attacked if I train Jalen Hurts? The Packers possess performed a comely ultimate job of taking part in receivers on the perimeter this year. Where they accept gutted is the heart of the discipline in the encourage of the linebacker level. Green Bay has also performed a in truth ultimate job of not letting mobile quarterbacks accept to the threshold. They’ll push the pocket and play savor against scramblers in wish to strive to bend the threshold and probability flushing a quarterback out, in particular to the moral facet. Unless Hurts decides to destroy his trends and starts to throw over the heart, the build they’re rather extinct as a protection, I take care of the matchup.
4 – What’s one thing that in actuality worries you relating to the Packers heading into this game?
Now we possess so many injuries. Last week, the Packers were down two safeties, Jaire Alexander at cornerback and Quay Walker at heart linebacker. Eric Wilson sexy can’t lag correctly ample at heart linebacker to end a majority of these passes when the Packers call Tampa 2, one of their well-liked coverages. The Vikings fully cooked Wilson over the heart of the discipline of their closing matchup, but Chicago wasn’t in a internet site online to ever in truth accept correct into a groove in the passing game. On high of that, Green Bay’s glide bustle hasn’t in truth been impactful this year unless they ship a blitzer from depth. Their defensive ends possess improved a lot in the lag game and possess performed correctly containing mobile quarterbacks, but their stress rate has long previous down tremendously.
5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles in the in the meantime listed as 4.5-point home favorites, what’s your rating prediction?
It’ll be a legitimate game. If I’m taking a facet on 4.5, it’ll be the Packers, but I savor this is comely shut to 50/50 from a choose’em perspective. Give me 24-21 Packers for the comment piece. Cocky?
