The Birds will stay one step ahead on Sunday
I was with my BSB co-author last Saturday and, shockingly, we had some discussion about the upcoming NFL playoffs. The Eagles’ opponent wasn’t known yet, but I told Bry, “I think the Packers will beat us.” For weeks now, the one matchup I did not want for the Eagles in the 1st Round of the playoffs was the Green Bay Packers. Sure enough, that is the team coming to Philly this weekend for what promises to be a great game for any fan of the sport.
Anyone that pays attention to the Eagles and the NFL and the coverage this week of the Wild Card Round (and if you’re reading this, I’m pretty sure you fall into that category) knows that the Packers are a bad matchup. The Eagles are starting two very inexperienced defensive backs, and the Packers feature one of the game’s premier quarterbacks and a deep, talented corps of receivers. The Eagles offensive line has struggled in pass protection all season, and the Packer defense excels in the pass rush, with one of the all-time great, quarterback-killing defensive coordinators (Dom Capers) calling the shots.
Meanwhile, the Eagles, of course, come limping into the playoffs, with the Giants and Vikings seemingly laying out the blue-print for containing the Eagle offense. The home-field advantage is huge and I still believe the Eagles are a really good team, but all week I’ve seen this game as a narrow Green Bay win. Until this morning.
You may say I’m just looking for reasons to believe in an Eagles win, and you’d most likely be right, but an article I read this morning by Marcus Hayes was enough to shift my thinking just enough that I now see the Birds pulling out a close one on Sunday. As the article shows, I’ve been far from alone in my feelings about the game. The vast majority of experts around the country, and even in Philly, have been picking the Packers to win this game, and that fact has not been lost on the Eagles players. The Eagles are division champions, playing on their home-field against the Wild Card, 6th-seed Packers, yet all they’ve heard all week is that they’re going to get beat. And, apparently, they are NOT happy about it.
A team that has spent most of the season hearing people singing the praises of Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, and others, has spent the last two weeks hearing about how they’re not good enough. I think that’s given them the classic “nobody believes in us” chip on their shoulder that will make the difference on Sunday. It’s pushing them to prepare a little bit more this week, to work just a little bit harder, and to come out on Sunday taking things up in intensity one notch more than they otherwise would have. The defense, in particular, feels like they have a ton to prove, and they will make just enough plays to bring home the win. Eagles take it, 21-20.
They’re working of a virtual bye week. And we all know how good Andy Reid is coming off a bye, right?
And here’s Ray Diddinger’s prediction:
“I went back and forth on this game. Early in the week, I was leaning toward the Packers, but I’ve seen them a few times on the road this season and they don’t look like the same team. They were 3-5 away from Lambeau and dropped the last three road games in New England, Detroit and Atlanta. The Linc won’t be a warm and welcoming place Sunday.”
http://www.csnphilly.com/01/07/11/bDidingerb-Eagles-Packers-Scouting-Repor/landing_insider_didinger.html?blockID=386742&feedID=704
I trust his opinion as much as anyone out there when it comes to everything NFL (even if it is a little biased).
The bye theory doesn’t really work though because Andy still only had the normal amount of time to prep for the Packers, cause they didn’t who they were playing until Sunday, and he had to spend at least some time getting ready for Dallas. They probably did some prep for Green Bay starting last week, but not that much.
Just to add a little more credence to the “virtual bye week” theory. I heard a report that not only did Andy Reid decide to rest most of his starters for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, but he held a couple of them (most importantly, Michael Vick) out of practice all week. In fact, he told Vick NOT to even show up to practice, but, instead, instructed him to spend all that time studying film of the Green Bay Packers. He rolled the dice that the Packers would be the opponent, and because of this, Vick has had two weeks of focusing on nothing but the Dom Capers 3-4 defense. Reid actually demanded that he stay away from practice, so as not to let any of the Dallas gameplan interfere with the Green Bay preparation.
I, too, like the Birds this weekend. Homefield is a gigantic advantage this time of year.
Well, that makes sense, because even if it did end up being the Giants, Vick has already faced them twice and wouldn’t need too much time to study film on them. I wonder how much the coaching staff was preparing for Green bay that week. I read another article today and it said that Sean McDermott sleeps at his office 4 nights a week and is up 4AM. It is crazy how much these NFL coaches work. Wonder how much longer big old Andy can do it.
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