For the last few years, defenses who were facing the Packers spent their time worrying about mobile, strong armed quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. That’s still the case but the Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is becoming as much or more of a headache than the two wideouts.
Rodgers has become very adept at getting the ball out of his hands because they don’t have the best offensive line in the business. The Eagles defensive ends can beat the Packers tackles but they have to do it quick enough to put some hits on Rodgers. It will be important that rookie Brandon Graham shows up with a chip on his shoulder, but let me get back to the Packers pass attack.
Rodgers will go to any of his recievers, but Finley is gradually becoming that guy. He looks for him when the game is on the line and he makes the play that leaves your mouth hanging open. Finley lines up outside at the wide receiver position as much as any tight end in the league and that includes the Chargers All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates.
Finley first came to my attention a couple of years ago when I saw him go up and snatch a ball out the air with one hand for a touchdown. He strong-armed the defensive back, so severely that he should have been arrested on the spot. It was a case of defensive back abuse.
I think Finley was the guy the Eagles were thinking about when they drafted Cornelius Ingram. He’s looks like an NBA power forward and he goes up for a football like the dominant rebounders in the NBA.
I see a young Antonio Gates, when I look at this kid. It looks a like a man against boys when he lines up against defensive backs in the red zone. I don’t see how the Birds can match up against him.
They don’t have a defensive back who can deal with his size. The guy is 260 pounds.
Stewart Bradley is an outstanding cover guy who has the size and he’s got good speed for a big middle linebacker, but he can’t run fast enough to stay up with Finley. I think he’ll cover him at times with help deep, but I don’t see them leaving him on Finley by himself for very long.
Weakside Ernie Sims will be in there on three downs, so he’ll get his chances with him. Sims is fast enough to run with him, but he isn’t any taller than the defensive backs. He’s giving up at five or six inches to Finley, which is a huge advantage when you’re talking about covering a guy who can jump like an NBA star.
If Rodgers sees Sims on Finley in the redzone, he’s going to simply throw the ball up for grabs.
Their wide receivers are very good and shouldn’t be taken for granted. They’ll probably try to attack Asante Samuel with a quick screen or two to see if he’s going to tackle on Sunday. Ellis Hobbs will be a target and so will rookie Nate Allen. Rodgers will use pump fakes
but they’re not the most unstoppable weapon on their offense because that title goes to Finley. The Eagles won’t be trying to stop him, they’ll be mainly try to contain him.
The guys who can stop Finley don’t play defensive back or linebacker. I’m talking about Trent Cole and the rookie Graham. If they get to Rodgers and pound him, he won’t be able to get the ball to anybody.
Finley is just one of those guys that creates a matchup problem for any team. That is mainly why Andy kept LJ Smith for so long. His physical stature was imposing on defenses but he just couldn’t play. With some teams you just have to pick your poison. Who do you want to get beat by…. the TE or WRs? And oh yeah their running game isn’t too shabby either. He like Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis, Tony G and any other big, athletic TEs create problems for every team. We just have to decide what we want to live. And of course getting pressure is key against everyone and even more so against this high powered offense.
Also the answer to your question….What Will The Eagles Defense Do To Stop Jermichael Finley? maybe nothing. Maybe there’s nothing we can do to stop him. Who knows. In the NFL more than most other sports matchups are key. And sometimes you just don’t match up well no matter what you try. Having said that, they’ll figure out something I hope. Even though he isn’t the same player but this is when you need a guy like Dawk to handle a TE of this sort. I’m not thrilled with our secondary especially with the big physical WRs and TEs and good QBs we will be playing this year.
I was in Wisconsin last week and alot of Packers fans were talking about Finley, and how all of the teams that they play under estimate him. Stew will really to need come up big, but as usual over the past few years, a good way to attack our defense is with the TE.
2 words…Nancy Kerrigan
one word, songs… if he cant cover him nobody can.
Songs wouldn’t touch him..his names not McNabb
Don’t you mean Tonya Harding http://WWW... ha
4 Pronged attack to limit TE J Finely
#1) Line up A Jordan over him at line of scrimmage and beat his ass at the line of scrimmage and then allow Safety Allen pick him up or MLB S Bradley.
#2) Have E Sims line-up over him and run with him all over the field
#3) Have Safety K Coleman line up over him and run with him all over the field
Most important, is not to have this guy have a clean free-release off the line of Scrimmage
Also watch their back-up TE (Donald Lee) who is not too shabby himself and can get down the field
scorp, Dawk would be left behind like a small child by Finley. He would expose Dawkins weakness it wouldn’t even be funny…
JonathanS, I was speaking of Dawk in his prime. Thanks though.
Now were talking..this is the meat and potatoes match-up of this game..Finley will get 1 TD..biut the up-start Eagles shock the NFL and take this one 27-24.
what will the eagles offense do to actually score pts
probably nothing
now its the upstart
i dont know how many teams were 11-5 and considered upstarts the following yr
only in philly
just so u can give a dude a pass
It’s funny that Bradley was critized for not being able to cover on pass plays and now he is being touted as a good cover guy by the same people. The packers game will tell us whether the Eagles are OK or not, not the tweeting about Aaran Rodgers by Graham or the talking of the young guns(tongues). Hopefully Andy will not use too many tricks plays and onsides kicks and will use the run and not give up on it after 2 plays. He never seems to go back to the run and give up on the pass.
BigE I never understood the Stewart Bradley talk either. In my opinion, he hasn’t done anything amazing. He’s a very solid LB but I don’t know why everything thinks we’ll be able to cover TEs because he’s back. Will the LB core be improved? Yes. But we couldn’t cover TE before last year either. Ernie Sims is fast but throw a couple misdirection plays and play actions and he’s out there running into his teammates. The LBs will be improved but that’s not the Steelers LBs lining up back there.
E and Scorp- Great points, I get ripped by the AR man juice guzzlers on here for ripping this teams FO and their propaganda but thats exactly why i hate them. They are almost like politicians and spread whatever they want us to perceive their way. They double standard themselves all the time and just insult our intelligence. Also , is Ray Lewis known for his cover ability? I mean everything we here is about the PASSING game even for our D. Andy loathes the running game and he build his D for pass defense because in his mind there is nothing else and as you can see its worked out great for Andy.
Scorp and Ozz This Sunday will be a good indication as to whether the hype is hype or the team has improved. Every time the FO speaks,. even Lourie’s wife, they use the word excited excessively. I guess they hired a marketing guru and his buzzword was excited similar to yes we can and hope and change. Say it enough and people will believe it.
just bump and run the s**t outta him two words BE PHYSICAL with him and keep roger’s on his back!!! what im really worried about is when they put either driver in the slot with guess who JOSELIO “ZOOM RIGHT PASS EM” HANSON”! u know what….. WHY and i mean WHYYYY?? dont the eagles get rid of #21 he’s a midget and he does nothing but get burnt cajun style!!!!!!!!!!!!! wtf is anyone with me?
No body keeps it real more than you guys, you call it like you see and that is good, but dang you guys can suck the wind out of being a birds fan. Its like you guys are the mirror opposite of the three monkeys, often on this site you “See no good, hear no good, speak no good.” I have no gripe with your analysis you guys keen on that point, but hell someone tell me how the Pack is going to stop Celek, or who the heck is going to d-up D-Jack. So the Pack line sucks uh, why does no one want to know how the heck they are going to stop our D. Damm if I were going to war with you guys I might just shoot myself save myself from being killed by the enemy. Koolaid drinker? Sometimes I am so what thats the fun part of being a fan. You are both some of the smartest bird fans I have encountered, but you are also some of the darkest. I think you know to much and can’t enjoy the ride. You guys know what the sausage is made of…ahhhhh to bad I guess.
This team does not suck, we have had a good run and will continue (Drives me crazy not having a superbowl truely it does), But if the players are willing to lay it down to try andget us one then I will be grateful for the effort. For the record I WANT THAT DANG SUPER BOWL WIN. And if anyone tells me to leave the site and go to Eagles.com well that is just what I do because you guys sometimes down right depress me.
I bleeeeeeed greeeen baby i have faith in this eagles squad!!! i see us winning!!!! and the main thing this season is being healthy!!!! last year which is behind us…. we all seen what injuries did to us but we still went 11-5!!! yes and i mean us fans need 2 have faith in this team and roseman has made some of the best decisions i’ve seen in a long time!!! not producing get the F**K OUT! instead of keeping the dexter wynn’s, demps,staca andrews,shandra andrews,etc. i can see us alot of teams on our schedule and when we make the playoffs just off our schedule can make us a big favor against a team in the playoffs who had a much more weaker schedule!!!!!!!! what do you think
Monolith, you are dead on. It seems like there are many who would like to see the team fail in order to be able to crucify the organization as a whole. The lack of a SB makes them need somebody to castigate, a person must be found whole can recieve the blame and be humiliated in public. I spend as much time and money on this team as anybody, and it has gotten to the point where there can be no dialogue about the team, no optimism allowed. I already have my tickets for the Jacksonville and Skins away games, and I cannot wait to get on the road and follow the Birds. The new Maclin jersey is already laid out and waiting for Sunday. We have a shiny new to team to watch, why watse effort being miserable before the season even starts. Must be too many guys married to fat broads with no joy in their lives, they need to hate on something. We have a tough schedule this year, young team, but I am anxious to see them play. I am looking forward to seeing them learn and improve as the season goes along. If you don’t enjoy the journey you will always be looking ahead, never be able to be happy where you are. That’s a good way to miss your whole life.
Nobody wants to be like a trained monkey. Looking forward to the season starting means different things for different people. Sunday they are honoring the 1960 team which is now 50 years old. How many fans were around then. Whoever was and is still a fan and getting overly excited about this team, fine, but don’t tell others who sat through losing seasons and poor critical performances to be cheerleaders before we see what we have is a waste of good energy. We aren’t getting paid millions to act excited. Success and failure is not in the hands of the fans. Having a used car salesman sell me a car that he says is a steal and best buy dosen’t excite me until I test drive it to see for myself.
No one wants the teams to fail. There’s a big difference between stating what you want to happen and what you think is actually going to happen. If in my gut I don’t feel like we are good enough then I’m not going to lie to myself nor believe everything that comes out of Banner’s, Reid’s or Lurie’s mouth. I don’t see us being a contender but yet I’m spending my hard earned dollars to attend every home game. That’s because I love the team and want them to do good but that doesn’t mean I think they will. Sometimes you just gotta keep it real and stop living in fantasy world.
anderson you think pointing out true flaws is being miserable, well I say it’s being realistic. This team isn’t perfect and for anyone on here to want everyone to be happy about the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff, they are being hypocrites, foolish and just idiotic. Period.
Ozz you are right. Andy has built his offense and defense to play pass. And the league is a passing league but that doesn’t mean you don’t run a balanced offense and have a team that can stop the run. Good teams will just play a balanced games and exploit our inability to both run the ball and play against the run…. especially in December.
I hear Ya BigE, no one is telling anybody what or how to think.As I said I highly respect you guys analyis on this site, and if you sat through the dark gloomy losing years, then you better than some that doesn’t know about the losing years, should appreciate this team more than others. Everyone has the right to say what they want. I like you guys take on things, kinda make me say hmmmm my point is that you guys are…. get ready……… DAMM DARK, seriously i have gone like 10 straight days and found very few positive interest. You guys are so smart and knowledgable, your memories so deep that you just seem bitter.
Don’t get me twisted when the eagles blew that bears game couple years back I cursed with such intensity that by friends thought that I would call down the wrath of God on all of us, (I have a few moments like that) so I feel our pain as bird fan. Oh by the way when in the devil did we have a dang used car these last 10 years? Really the way I see it our dog gone benz got beat by a couple of Bentley’s, thats just how it is, and don’t give me any crap about weak divisions, confrences, that case could be made about many team, many years.
Ayway love you guys don’t ever stop telling it like it is ……one thing though you are too smart, and know to much about this team to not be able to enlighten us with some positive wisdom and insight in between, cause this team is not as bad as we say. And if they are, well I got my own grown man @#$$%@# to worry, instead of the woes of this team. We ain’t the Lions or PANTHERS wink wink GO Eagles
Green Bay 43 “We are not rebuilding” 17
10 of the 17 comes during garbage time.
If we’ve learned anything last year is that Kolb can rack up yards and points when teams are in ‘prevent defense” protecting a big lead……(saints game)
“TIMES YOURS”
Finally there are a number of you regulars who have spent a fortune on this team so I respect your anger and your contempt, their are a few on here that I highly respect “BigE, Paul, Scorp etc….” that is not my point casue you are right in many regards, its just we have never been in the last 10 years (Maybe 2005) as bad as you guys say, you want to win, got it, you want a Superbowl, noted, you want to run the ball..me to. But even with all our errant ways as a team we were never as god awful as some say, be real but be fair.
We don’t know what the flaws are in this team yet. The OLine they are starting on Sunday is 16-3 as a unit (I stole that from the Daily News today). The defense has a bunch of new guys, and a new DBacks coach, I’d imagine they will be better in week 6 than they are in week 1. End of half and game offense has been an issue in the past, but Kolb did a decent job of it before the half last year against NO. Perhaps it will continue to improve. The Cowboys OLine is in disarray to start the season, maybe Romo gets banged around some and folds like the fraud that he is. The Giants got old in a hurry last season, and could go nowhere this year. The Skins are not even worth mentioning, they only have only one good player on offense. There exists the possibility that this season could be exciting and fun. The whole league is 0-0, it is the start of a new season, in my mind it is 2001 all over again. Time to start climbing through the ranks of the NFL again, and maybe get it done this time. There are issues on this team that concern me, I hope Trevard Lindley is as good as advertised, and that Graham plays well, quickly. Maclin needs to play a bit tougher, McCoy has to prove he can be a #1. I am not delusional, it might not work in this form. But yeah, if you cannot find anything to be excited about regarding this team, I think you are probably are miserable. Football season is fun, and any day at the Linc is one of the best 10 days of the year.
E.A.G.L.E.S…EAGLES.
Nough Said!
anderson silva, of course we don’t know what the true flaws are yet, but that’s what we do. For that matter we don’t know what the strengths are either but that doesn’t stop people from praising those things. We talk about what we THINK are the strengths and weakness. Don’t like it, ignore it can living in la la land where everything is perfect. Good luck with that.
Again you think because people are constantly praising this team they are miserable. You guys are so irrational it’s ridiculous. There are some things to be excited about but it’s all about expectations. I don’t care what the upside is if this team isn’t ready to win a championship. I’m not going to sit here and say this team will be a contender in 2011 and be happy about that. We should be contenders NOW. And if you are content with being just an ok team that’s fine for you. People like you are the reason why this FO will not take huge risks and just happy being competitive.
Scorp, are you freakin kidding me!? You or anyone is absolutely entitled to any opinion about what the eagles front office does, at any time. But to suggest that the eagles don’t take risks, that’s utter bullcrap. You’re telling me that trading mcnabb in the division isn’t taking a huge risk!? What about trading a number one draft pick within the division to get kolb. What about to? What about vick? What about djax who everyone said would be too small and fail in the nfl? What about all the changes this year? You are crazy if you thnk the eagles don’t take risks. You can disagree with the risks that they do take, but saying they don’t is either denial or pure insanity
Schiller, I said take HUGE risks. That’s a difference and it’s purely subjective. So what’s huge to you may not be huge to someone else. Also I’m not talking about the risks in signing Vick or anything like that, I mean more like financial risks. That’s all. So for maybe one year, forget about the salary cap implications 4 years later on a move made now and really go it. That’s what I mean. I know we take risks, we are always signing players coming off serious injuries. That’s risky, but again not what I’m talking about. Of course I don’t want them to go Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder and spend every bit each year, but it would be nice to do it just 1 every few years where we can look at it and say “They’re really going for it now”. Not just trying to stay competitive but putting it all out there. Trade a first round pick for a bonafide pro bowl player or something. And in that assessment of risk we are more conservative.
It’s ok to be conservative but not all the time. Like the year we got both TO and Kearse you looked at the organization and said “they’re going for it”. Do something big to bring in some impact players or something. That’s what I mean. Since TO and Kearse there really hasn’t been anything done through the offseasons where you could say they are trying to win the whole thing now. Look at teams like the Jets and Ravens. They were in the playoffs last year, pretty deep but that didn’t stop the ravens from getting Boldin and now Housh or the Jets from getting the players they did. It’s not about getting WRs I mean just take a risk and forget the salary cap and forget having 25 draft picks for and just go for it all right now… just once every few years.
Scorp, great clarification/explanation. But even so, can you tell me the last time a huge financial risk/free agent signing got a team a superbowl? I can’t think of one… at all. So where is the reward for the huge risk then?
schiller, I don’t care what other teams have done. Sometimes, it’s about going out there getting a good player or 2 without worrying about 3 years from now. That’s all I’m saying. Those types of risks are often taken because they aren’t always available but when they are available we are never th frontrunners. And whether those risks paid off, we will see but a couple of those teams that do take those risks maybe in a better position right now to win. And when we did it back in 2004 it made us a Super Bowl favorite. So forget other teams. We when did lay it all out there, we were the best in our conference. Obviously, it will be some type of cost later on, but forget later on. It’s about now. I don’t care about having 13 draft picks when you probably could have traded 4-5 of them to possible make your team a contender now. So when those opportunities arise, I just want us to go for it every now and then. Not everytime. You don’t win in this league by being conservative all the time. Sometimes the risks don’t see results immediately and sometimes they are mistakes but I’d rather see them take a chance every now and then then stick to the same formula that has gotten no championships. It’s funny how Banner threw out the definition of insanity yet they still manage the exact same way….. lock young players into long term contracts which will make them unhappy later, trade down to multiply draft picks and spend major bucks on offensive and defensive line (which is good) but neglect impact positions. That’s insanity. Take a risk and do something different.
I just want to feel like they are trying to win it all. Not that they just are content with being competitive each year. Of course, I know they want to win it all, but if you have the means to put yourself in a better position, go for it instead of being conservative. I’d take a hugh risk and win a Super Bowl and missing the playoffs for the next 5 years than making the playoffs for 10 years straight with no jewelry to show. You think Tampa Bay would trade that Super Bowl championship for 10 competitive seasons?
First off scorp – I know that expression and I’ve heard it just as much as you, but that isn’t the definition of insanity. It’s not even close to the definition of insanity. It has nothing to do with sanity at all. And the Eagles just made a huge change, so they’re not trying the same thing over and over. And, you nor I nor anyone should ever listen to Joe Banner. He’s an ad guy involuntarily speaking to the media when he does. And to say that the Eagles have done the same thing over and over is ridiculous. They’ve gone after big name free agents, they’ve built through the draft. They’ve invested in the Oline, the Dline, went after skill players, went for secondary, drafted small, they’ve done a ton of different shit.
Second of all, I get it – you’re going after a feeling. Ok. But if I’m an owner, and you say to me that you want that feeling, and you’re willing to ignore examining your peers, what others have tried, and whether or not it worked, to go after that feeling, I’m saying – that’s nice but get out of my office and don’t apply for a job here again. You want to go with your heart and toss your brain aside. That’s (generic) philly fan passion in a nutshell. Passionate and dumb, or uninterested in logic and sense. You want to feel like your team is trying to win a superbowl, even if the method doesn’t work. I hear you, but I can’t accept your feeling or longing for a feeling as a way the team should make decisions.
I know that’s not the definition but they need to practice what they preach. I’m not going to keep going back forth with you about this. I want them to be a little risky sometimes with money and draft picks. You don’t. I get it. You are content with the always conservative approach. That’s fine, but not all the time. That’s my opinion and that’s what it’s going to stay. Again you can agree with and approve of everything the FO does. That’s our perogative. But me on the other hand, rather not be fed garbage and accept it as ok. But again that’s just me. So deal with it and move on. Thanks.
No, I say they ARE risky with their money and draft picks from time to time, really they are, and I’ve given examples. There are more, it’s all there. You just refuse to see that. Are they stupid like what Dallas did to get roy williams? No. I never said I like or agree with all there moves, I just don’t like or agree with some of your points, because they don’t reflect reality.
I agree with you G, but the problem is we will need some type of pass rush from Bunkley or Patterson, however Patterson play has regressed not improved….Bunkley is good against the run but needs a Nygata type from the Ravens next to him (excellent bull rush). We will have to cave the pocket at some point, who gives us that? Dixon? Laws?