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OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Eagles vs. Packers, Week 1 Pregame Preview · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, everybody. It's Jeff here. I wanted to let
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: you know this Eagles pregame podcast show was recorded on Tuesday,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: September third, twenty twenty four, so by the time you
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: hear this, some things may have changed here or there,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: but we hope you enjoy the show. Welcome, folks to
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: our Eagles pregame podcast show here at the Philadelphia Sports
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Table podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: show in the world. Week one of the Eagles twenty
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: twenty four twenty twenty five season is upon us. They
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: are facing the Green Bay Packers down in Brazil. So
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: very excited to get into this NFL season, this Eagles season,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: and to be talking about this Green Bay Packers team
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: here on opposition territory this week. We have got a
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: great guest, and I will say side note if my
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: voice is a little weird, kind of coming down with something,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: so hopefully you won't hear too many coughs or anything
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: like that as we go along with our discussion in
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: this upcoming interview. But like I said, we got a
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: great guest here. We've got a great guest, a lot
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: of great conversation and analysis as we look to this
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: coming Friday, when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Green Bay
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Packers down in Brazil. Let's get to our pregame show.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Joining us this week from Acmepackingcompany dot com and he's
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: the managing editor over there, also one of the co
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: hosts of the Frozen Tundra Frequencies podcast. To get into
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: this week one matchup Philadelphia Eagles the Green Bay Packers
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: down in Brazil, We've got text Western.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: How you doing, text, Jeff, I am doing great, man.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: It is.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: It has been a long summer, a long time since
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: since the Packers lost in San Francisco in January. I
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: think we're very excited to get this sea and back underway.
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: And it's a very different feel for Packers fans this
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: offseason coming into this season than it was last year. Obviously,
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Jordan loved the big Unknown last year. Now, coming off
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: of the second half that he had just absolutely scorching
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: hot down the stretch, this is this is now a
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: season where okay, expectations are back up to a normal
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: level for the Packers again because we get to renew
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: our birthright with having another elite quarterback just just flow
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: right one after the other.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, the development of Jordan Love, which we're going to
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: get to in a little bit, is going to be
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: very interesting to watch and it's going to be one
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: of those, I think kind of an underrated NFL storyline overall.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of storylines heading into this NFL season
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: in general, but you know, text to start us off,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: you mentioned that loss last year to the San Francisco
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: forty nine Ers in the Divisional round. It was by
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: only three points. And this is a Packers team that has,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: I think something to prove as one of the up
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: and coming teams here the NFC in general. They have
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: their quarterback of the future, as you just mentioned, Jordan Love,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: a young receiving corps that's looking to have a breakout season.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: And the question also, I think is can this potentially
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: be a top ten defense in the league with regard
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: to you know, what we're going to be seeing on
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: the field from the Packers. So how do you see
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: this team's continuing development and right out of the gate
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: here in Week one against Philadelphia Eagles down in Brazil.
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean you hit on it with the offense, right,
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: You've got just a completely young, really exciting, talented corp
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: of players on that offense, and the only two guys
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: who you could have basically called grizzled old veterans last
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: year on the team Aaron Jones and David Bactieri. Both
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: of those guys are gone now, right. Jones was released
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: in the offseason. They brought in Josh Jacobs, who had
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: a great season a couple of years ago for the Raiders,
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: obviously fell off a little bit last year, but he
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: seems really revitalized and reinvigorated in his love for football.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: And he's still just twenty six years old, right, so
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: he's got a lot of tread left on his tires,
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: and I think he's going to be a really interesting
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: weapon the way that Matt Lafleur decides to use him.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: I think you can do a lot of the same
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: things he did with Aaron Jones with Josh Jacobs. I
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: think he's a better receiving back than he really ever
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: has gotten credit for with the Raiders, just because they
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: haven't used him as much in that way. So I
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: think Laflour is going to have some fun things to
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: do with Jacobs. Then you get that young receiving corps. Right,
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: All of these guys were here last year and contributed
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: in big ways in some you know, some moments of
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: course across the course of last season. So all those
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: those six receivers, the three tight ends, every one of
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: those guys made big plays for Jordan Love in the
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: second half. And so you've got this kind of continued
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: development with all of those guys developing together and Love
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: developing along with them. And that's just I think going
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: to really be a set up for an exciting offense
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: all season long. I think so, yeah, Yeah, And as
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: far as the defense goes, that's where the big ques
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: marks lie.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: Joe Berry's finally gone replaced by Jeff Hafley, former Boston
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: College head coach, and he brings a pretty significant scheme
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: change with him. They're switching from a three four to
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: a four to three base and it's gonna it seems
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: like it's going to be a much more aggressive style
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: of defense. They've really put an emphasis on takeaways on
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: big plays, and I think that's the where the key
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: is going to be. You're gonna see, I think this
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: team give up more big plays than they did under
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: Joe Berry, but I think you're also going to see
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: a lot more takeaways and a lot more aggressiveness on defense,
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: and I think this team is going to go on
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: defense as the pass rush goes.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: But you've got a.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: Really, really good starting group and some pretty solid depth
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: on the defensive line. Rashan Garry still still developing and
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: still becoming one of the better pass rushers in the league.
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: You got some young guys there on the opposite side
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: behind Preston Smith.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: And then I think this.
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: More one gapping penetrating four to three scheme is going
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: to do wonders for Kenney Clark as a defensive tackle.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: You've got DeVante Wyatt and Brooks, guys who can can
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: give you some pass rush there. So if the pass
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: rush is working, I think this defense works, and that's
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: I think what it really boils down to. Can they
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: be a top ten defense? I sure hope. So yeah,
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: top five. I mentioned top five, and I was like, maybe.
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: I was shooting a little, that's a little, but yeah,
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: But if they can be a top ten ten defense
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: in that range, I think this team is a legitimate
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: Super Bowl contender based on what we think the offense
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: can do.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Building on that success they had in the second half
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: last year.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: I think they are going to be a legitimate super
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Bowl contender if Jordan Love really does take those next steps,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: and that's who I wanted to get into next There
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: is a lot of pressure on Jordan Love, not just
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: this week against Philadelphia Eagles, but this entire season in
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: terms of really how he's going to enhance this Packers
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: offense with the chemistry is inevitably going to look like
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: with the receiving core. So I'm wondering, can you give
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: me your thoughts on what we're going to be seeing
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: from Jordan Love, from his leadership on the field, and
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: how he's going to be looking to really take things
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: to the next level throughout this season. What are your
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: thoughts here?
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think last year was it was pretty natural
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: for him to sort of step into that leadership void
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: that Aaron Rodgers left.
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: Obviously, you're taking over as the starting quarterback. That comes
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: with its own level of pressure and leadership expectations, but
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: also because of how young that receiving corps was, he
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: had no choice but to be the leader for those guys.
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: So many first and second year receivers last year, basically
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: the entire receiving corps, and they really went through a
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: lot of growing pains in the first half, they were
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: guys who were missing on routes. You know, he wasn't
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: on the same page, especially on some deep balls early.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: And you finally saw that turn around kind of late
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: October early November when when they started winning games and
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: the offense started to look very different. They were hitting
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: on those deep balls right, and it seemed like, you know,
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: guys realized how they needed to run their routes for
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: what Love was looking for, for what the offense needed,
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: for what Lafleur was calling. And as long as that
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: doesn't slip, I think the expectations for this offense can remain,
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: you know, high, at that high level that they played
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: in the second half, and and I think there's there's
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: no reason to think that that it's going to take
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: a significant step back after having a full offseason again
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: working with a lot of these guys. You look at
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: that depth chart again, a receiver Christian Wattson, Romeo Dobbs,
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: Jayden Reed, D'antavian Wicks, all four of those guys. Bo
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Melton came out of nowhere to have a couple of
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: big games down the stretch. So you know that receiving
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: core goes five six guys deep. With with players who've
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: now had big games in the NFL and and put
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: up some some solid success. And then again you add
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: Musgrave and Tucker Craft at the tight end position. You've
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: got all the weapons you could possibly look for, and
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: it's good. What's most interesting to me isn't so much
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: you know, how's How's Love going to play? You know,
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: I feel very confident that he's going to play very well.
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: It's going to be who's going to step up among
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: that receiving corps and really stake a claim to kind
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: of being the go to guy. Because you could have
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: any number of these these top four guys I think
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: could do it, and they do it in such different ways.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: It's such a varied group.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: Watson's the big size speed guy right right. Dobbs is
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: the contested catch, kind of possession receiver with some sneaky, sneaky,
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: twitchy ability, Dntavian Wicks is a tremendous route runner, and
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: then Reid has that great speed out of the slot.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: So again, all these guys do things very differently and
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: bring different aspects to the table that Matt Lafluur can
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: use in the offense and game plan around well.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: I think it's the chemistry two text. Yes, I think
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: like which player, whether it is Romeo Dubbs, you know,
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: whether it is Christian Watson possibly taking that next step,
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: But where that chemistry actually manifests itself with Jordan Love,
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: That's what I'm going to be looking for in terms
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: of this Packers offense. Yeah, and I think so far,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: the little snippets that we're hearing on a training camp,
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: it seems like Dobbs has kind of been his go
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: to guy, you know, early on through a training camp.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: We'll see if that maintains.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: I mean, he certainly was the guy in the playoff games,
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: especially that game against Dallas. He just exploded and it
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: was beautiful, had a huge, huge game. Yeah, so you're you're,
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: you're welcome for that one.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: That was fun.
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: We we we were more than happy to uh to
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: take those guys down. So but yeah, he was the
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: one who stepped up late in the season and really
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: delivered some big performances. And we're hoping that again that
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: maybe as long as you know, somebody kind of steps
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: up and can become that go to guy when you
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: you know, have to have it on third and seven. Right, Yeah,
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: that's what I'm like, like you said, I'm gonna be
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: really curious who that guy ends up becoming because for
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: so long right it was Jordy for Rogers, it was
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: Greg Jennings before that, and there were so many guys
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: going in and out of the lineup last year that
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: that that Jordan didn't really necessarily have that one guy
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: that he would always look for or always go to
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: in those clutch situations. So it's just gonna be fun
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: to see how that develops as the course of the
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: season goes along.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: It is too and and as we look to this
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Friday again Eagles Packers, we look at matchups and we
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: see what both of these teams may get give us
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: fans or what they may not be giving us fans,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: both the Eagles and the Packers, they have some question
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: marks at the right guard position.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: I know Matt Lafleur wasn't really showing his cards this
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: past week when he was asked about the right guard
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: position and who may be starting earlier this week. I
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: could be wrong at this particular point in time as
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: we're recording this, but the right guard position for the
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Eagles as well, you know, as we've been talking on
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: this podcast platform, could be the Achilles Heel for the
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Eagles early this season. There are a lot of question
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: marks I think with regard to the Eagles right side
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: of the line terms of the right guard position, and
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: I know the Packers as well, So how do you
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: think the Packers O line is really going to gel
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: this coming Friday given those question marks at the right
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: guard position.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: Yep, Yeah, it's it is going to be interesting to
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: see who ends up getting this start. It's either going
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: to be Jordan Morgan, the first round draft pick out
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: of Arizona, or Sean Ryan, third year guy from UCLA.
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: And Ryan's an interesting guy because he rotated in and
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: out of the lineup for much of the second half
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: of the season with John Runyon at that right guard spot.
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: Last year seemed like he was the better run blocker.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: So if I don't, I don't expect them to continue
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: that rotation like they did last season. I think they're
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: gonna They're gonna stick with whichever guy I think they
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: have to they think is ready to go. Yeah, I mean,
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: continuity is is such a huge piece of consistency on
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: the offensive line. So if you want to if you
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: put any stock in official unofficial depth charts in the
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: Packers have Ryan currently listed as the starter, with Morgan
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: backing up both guard spots, but Morgan was was being
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: worked in as the starter until he had a little
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: minor injury that knocked him out for for a little
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: bit at.
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: The end of camp.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: So I think it's really a coin flip who's going
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: to get the start. And again, Ryan gives you, I
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: think a little more juice in the run game. Morgan's
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: going to be a better pass blocker. Morgan's an interesting
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: one too, because because he was draft and announced as
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: a tackle, but I think a lot of draft analysts
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: kind of had him pegged as a guard anyway, and
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: they figured that with Rashid Walker doing such a good
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: job at left tackle and Zach tom being a really
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: solid young guy at right tackle, they figured his easiest
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: pathway to get on the field was going to be
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: to compete at right guard. So that's I think the
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: primary reason why he's in there. But yeah, I think
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: it's going to be a coin flip. But thankfully the
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: rest of those four guys on the line are the
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: starters from last year.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: Again, Ryan's played with both of them.
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: Morgan started to work in there and again, Zach Tom
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: on that right side is as as solid a pass
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: blockers as you can get, I think on that side,
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: and I think that'll help regardless of who's there at
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: the right guard spot.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: All right, very good Again, folks were talking to TeX's
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Western from sb Nations, ACME Packingcompany dot com and also
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: the Frozen Tundra Frequencies podcast. You can follow him on
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: the Twitter slash x at text Western. He's a great
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: great follow and uh, yeah you got you guys have
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: been doing the Frozen Tundra Frequencies now for a bit
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: and real quick you want to tell folks about it?
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. We kind of went independent with the podcast network.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: A few of us who've been running shows through the
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: ACME Packing Company podcast over the years, we've kind of
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: spun off and you can find us. It's at Frozen
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: Tundra pod on Twitter. I believe is the all right,
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: better check that. But but yeah, usually I'm I'm doing
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: the game recap podcast, so you'll hear me, you know,
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: putting one out Friday night late into the feed on
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Saturday morning. We've got some some really good shows with
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: a couple of different groups of guys that that.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: We work with.
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: Nice, and it's it's it's a lot of fun. We
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: were really happy to keep that going.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Nice nice. All right, Well let's get into some defensive
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: talk in terms of the Packers. Well, we're gonna see
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: this coming Friday. The Packers added four new safeties this offseason.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: And for Eagles fans listening, if you don't know that,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: four new safeties and look the Eagles, they have some newish,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: slash like older type of faces coming into this season
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: as well in terms of the safety position. One of
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: one of the safeties for the Great Bay Packers is
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: Xavier McKinney. And I'm wondering, because there are it's such
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: a new personnel group here, how concerned are you about
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: coverage over the top and what may happen this week
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: against a very, very prolific Philadelphia Eagles receiving corps.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's going to be interesting because of those four
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: new safeties. You've got McKinney, who was a big free
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: agent signing right, and then you brought in three rookies
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: in the raft, second under Javon Bullard out of Bridgia,
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: fourth round Evan Williams from Oregon, and then fifth rounder
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Kitan Aladapa on Oregon States. So you've got a lot
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: of youth there, and I think they're really going to
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: be relying on McKinney his veteran presence there. It's going
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: to be that stabilizing force in the back end. I
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: think the guys that they brought in, though, do a
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: really great job meshing with how I think Jeff Hafley
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: is going to want to play his defense and run
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: a role his scheme. All of these guys are very
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: versatile players, and Hafley doesn't doesn't seem to want to
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: run a This guy is my high safe, my high
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: free safety, this guy is my box safety, and he'd
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: much rather run than interchangeably and kind of rock and
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: roll them a little bit based on based on the
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: position and based on what the offense is showing. And
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: I think with McKinny and Bullard, you've got guys who
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: can both come up and help and run support, but
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: also can go ahead and drop back and play that
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: deep safety role. Bullard Keene even drop down. I mean
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: even McKinny and Bullard can both drop down and play
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: in the slot if they need to cover tight ends.
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: So really, from a versatility standpoint, they got the guys
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: that I think our best fits for what it seems
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: like they want to do with that safety group. So
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: I actually think we'll see a decent amount of three
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: safety alignments this week. I think you could see some
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: of Bullard or McKinney in the slot, and then Evan
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: Williams also out there on defense playing a little more
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: of the deep safety role, so that'll be an interesting
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: thing to watch. Normally, Keishawn Nixon is the Packers nickel corner.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: I still think he'll be out there a decent amount.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: But maybe when they go into like dime packages or something,
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: that might be a point where you know, they bring
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: on a third safety and have Bullard or McKinney plays
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: as the dimeback. So that'll be kind of fun. But yeah,
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: certainly the youth of that group is going to be
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: a concern. And at least, you know, with a guy
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: like McKinney coming over from the Giants, see someone who's
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: you know, who's seen the Eagles receiving.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Core twice a year for the last several years. Oh yeah, hopefully.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: Has has some familiarity there and has some insights on
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: how to cover some of those guys for Jeff Affleet
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: absolutely does.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he absolutely does.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Well, as we're moving along here, let's talk about some
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: more matchups here. When we look at these matchups, I'm
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: wondering where you may have a concern as it pertains
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: to the Packers offensive matchups and defensive matchups. So let's
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: start with the offensive matchups thus far. What is your
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: biggest concern with any of these Packers offensive matchups that
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: you are seeing thus far hidden here into Week one?
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think we touched on it earlier, and it's
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: the interior the offensive line. That D line for Philly
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: can be scary, right, and when you got a young player,
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: regardless of who it is, at the right guard position.
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: Josh Myers has been okay at center, but not certainly
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: not a top flight center throughout his career so far,
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: that's probably the area where where I'm most concerned. I
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: think the Packers tackles are pretty pretty darn solid in
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: pass protection, yeah, but I am worried about pressure up
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: the middle from from those Eagles defensive tackles, and so
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: that's where I think there could there could be some
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: real problems, especially if if they're getting in Jordan Love's
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: face early and often. Yeah, that's where I think there
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: could be some some serious problems and where the Packers
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: offense could bog down is if he's getting a lot
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: of interior pressure.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: And US Eagles fans too, we aren't one hundred percent
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: sure what we're going to see with this new Vic
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Fangio defense and the frequency of blitzes where those blitzer
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: are going to be coming from. I think you hit
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: on something there that's important. I think there may be
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: some blitzes right off the bat in that first quarter
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: against Jordan love Put get him under pressure. See how
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: that right guard situation is handling itself for the Green
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: Bay Packers. I think that's something that we may see
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: early and often for sure in this game. And on
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: the flip side of things here, what's your biggest concern
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: with any of the Packers' defensive matchups heading into Week one? Here?
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the linebacker group is a really interesting
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: and potentially could be a potentially problematic area for the
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: Packers right now. Again, I mentioned the pass rush, the
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: defensive line. I feel very solid about the cornerback group
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: has got a couple of high level veterans, right j R.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Alexander still out there playing at a high level. We'll
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: see how Eric Stokes play is coming back from some
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: injuries that he's had over the last couple of years.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: But the linebacker group is very interesting. Again, they're moving
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: back to a four to three, so you're playing more
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: linebackers on the field than an off ball role. Kwai Walker,
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: the third year starter in the middle, has has had flashes,
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: but he hasn't really kind of come on and developed
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: quite yet. And then the two guys next to him,
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson, are kind of career backups
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: who are being elevated into more of.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: A starting role.
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: So how they're going to be able to respond and
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: into that bigger role on defense is going to think
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: be a really interesting thing to follow in this game
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: and moving forward. And I think that's an area where
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: if I were an offensive coordinator looking to scheme up
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: something against the Packers' defense, I'd be trying to target
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: the linebackers in zone coverage and finding ways to get
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: my offensive linemen up on them in the second level
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: in the run game.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: And that's what we're hoping to actually see just well,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: I should say, in terms of the passing game, is
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: how well the Packers' linebackers are going to be, specifically
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: in coverage. Last year, the Eagles and Jalen Hurts were
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: absolutely horrendous when throwing over the middle of the field
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: those intermediate routes. That's going to be interesting for US
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Eagles fans to look at to see if further development
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: has happened with Jalen Hurts getting you know, making sure
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: he's completing passes within the hashes instead of outside the
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: hashes as he's done throughout the course of his career.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: That's going to be a very interesting aspect of the
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Packers' defense. See if they can matchup well against these
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Eagles receivers. That's certainly gonna be interesting. But a couple
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: more topics here at texts. I do have to say
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: that I am not a fan of this game being
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: played down in Brazil. I am one of these guys.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: Maybe it's because I'm turning into an old man here.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: I just think the first game of the season means
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: so much to NFL teams. It means momentum right out
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: of the gate. And sure there's some folks who are
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: gonna say, you know, football's football wherever it's being played.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: But there's also other extenuating circumstances and contexts that lead
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: and lend itself to playing the first game of the
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: season at home or in another stadium in the US.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: That's just my opinion on it, and I do know
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: some have said, you know, this game on Friday may
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: feel more like a home game for the Eagles due
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: to the fan base that's traveling down to Brazil. But
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I'll believe that when I see it here.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: So I'm wondering, do you like the fact that this
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: first game of the season is being played in Brazil?
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Why not?
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm I'm very much of two minds on it.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: I think there's I think there's something very cool about
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: having a showcase game in prime time on a Friday
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: night in Week one, a lot of attention obviously on
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: both of these teams, kind of almost almost being the
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: NFC's kickoff game compared to you know, the AFC on
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: Thursday with the Chiefs and Ravens, right, So, so from
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: that aspect, I think that's that's a lot of fun.
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: I kind of agree though that the location. I'm very
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: happy for Brazilian football fans to be to let me
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: get that off your right out for them because it's
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: a burgeoning market, there's a there's a lot of there's
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: a lot of football fans down there that are finally
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: getting to see a game. And actually we we happen
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: to have I happen to know that the Packers have
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: a very large following in Brazil.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: So I am also very skeptical about those reports of
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: being a quote unquote home game for Philly, so both
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: both in terms of fans traveling from the States and
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: at local fans in Brazil there. But so I'm very
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: happy for them that they get a chance to experience that.
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: I kind of agree with you that week one is
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: is kind of an odd time to do it. Yeah,
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: I sort of get the idea, right doing it on
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: a Friday, you kind of help mitigate some of the
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: travel concerns with that coming off, you know, an off
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: week at the end of the preseason. Then you have
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: an extra two days for the teams to come home
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: and play again the following Sunday. So I understand doing
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: it that way from a scheduling perspective, but I also
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: kind of the Packers haven't started at home in week one.
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: I think since like twenty sixteen, which really crazy. Yeah,
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: they've been on the road for like seven or eight
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: years in a row, which is just kind of a bizarre,
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: a bizarre thing. So I would have liked to have
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: seen the Packers open up the season at Lambeau in
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: Week one, just from from that aspect. So but yeah,
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: I don't know. This spectacle of it, I think is
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: going to be fun. I'm also happy that it seems
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: like the weather's not going to be too hot. It
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: seems like the forecast looks like it's going to be
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: pretty decent football weather on Friday Night too, which I
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: think everybody can be can be happy about. So yeah,
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: I kind of I kind of go back and forth,
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: but I'm trying to focus a little more on the Okay,
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: the Friday Night showcase is gonna be fun.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: It is, no matter what.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: It is, absolutely and the fact that football is here
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: the first game of the season, that means something. That's
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: what we got to focus on, folks. So I guess
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: to close this out here before I let you go
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: text what's your scoring prediction? As we're looking at this
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: matchup on Friday, My co host and I are going
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: to be doing it on our regular show, give our predictions.
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: What's your scoring prediction here Week one Eagles Packers.
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: Well, I think I'd be tard and feathered if I
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: didn't pick the Packers in this game. But it's it's
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: Week one. Games are so hard to predict as it is, right,
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: and this just adds that extra level of of who
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: knows to this game the whole the whole.
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: Travel aspect and everything.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: But ultimately, like we saw this, this Packers team, you know,
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: walk off the field in San Francisco from frustrated and
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: determined to make up for letting that game slip away
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: from them. They made some big changes that I think
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: were stemmed from that game. We got a new kicker,
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: Honors Carlson's gone after one year, picked up the narve
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: dog Braden Harvison Tennessee, who I'm excited about. Apparently his
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: wife is from Wisconsin, so he was ecstatic when Doris
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: picked him up.
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: So that was fun.
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: But I think they've that this is a team that
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: is to some extent coming in with a mission this season,
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: and again those expectations are high again, and I just
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: I really do believe that the versatility and that the
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: big group of playmakers that this Packers' offense has is
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: going to be a really big challenge for anybody to
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: deal with. So I'm gonna I'm gonna go Packers of
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: a close one. I'm gonna say I think twenty seven
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: to twenty three is where I went with that one.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: All right, very good. Like I said, folks, we're gonna
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: be getting into our predictions on our show that's dropping
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: Thursday morning. He's text Western from Acmepackingcompany dot com, that
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: sp nation site, and also listen to he and his
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: co host over at Frozen Tundra Frequencies that great podcast. Buddy,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: it was great talking to you text. Thanks so much
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: for taking the time. Good luck to the Packers this week.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: I'll say that good luck. I hope they don't win.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Good luck, you know. I hope everybody stays healthy of
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: course on the field. And it was great talking to you.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Come back and join us down the road, my friend.
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, Jeff, thanks for having me, always a pleasure look
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: forward to. Who knows, maybe we'll we'll end up seeing
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: a postseason rematch or something, so that'd be a fun one.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Opposition Territory
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: family members who are Philly sports fans or sports fans
• 26:43
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• 26:46
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• 26:50
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• 26:53
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• 26:56
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• 26:59
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• 27:03
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• 27:08
  Speaker 1: We'll catch you next time.