Packers Looking For Historic Win In Philly » Brats & Beer

October 1, 2006
posted under: Eagles, Packers, Pre-game

If Green Bay is somehow able to win Monday night against the Eagles, it will be more than just a stupendous upset: It would be an historic victory. The Packers have not won a game in Philadelphia since the days of Vince Lombardi when the team stomped the Iggles 49-0 in 1962. Not to mention the fact that Brett Favre has never won a game in the state of Philadelphia and he has a record of 17-13 playing on Monday Night Football.

The deck certainly seems stacked against the Packers, but there is still a chance they can come out of this game with a win. The Eagles are suffering from multiple injuries to many of their starters. Most notably, cornerback Lito Sheppard has missed a lot of practice time with an ankle injury and is listed as doubtful for Monday’s game. Philly also has listed as questionable safety Brian Dawkins (concussion), wide receiver Donte Stallworth (hamstring) and running back Brian Westbrook (knee).

If Sheppard and Dawkins are both out of the game, or only play in limited roles, that could really open things up for the Packers offense. But it is still going to be tough to sustain drives if the running game doesn’t get better soon. There was an interesting post at TheWisconsinSportsBar a week ago about the zone blocking scheme and how in both Denver and Atlanta it took four or five games for the system to start paying off. I certainly hope this is the case in Green Bay as well, because they need a big running game this week playing the blitz-crazy Eagles.

The other big area of concern for Monday night is of course the secondary. The Packers are ranked 31st in the NFL for yards passing allowed, giving up an average of 301 yards per game so far. That is just sick considering they have Al Harris, previously one of the best shutdown corners in the business, and Charles Woodson, the $52 million man, which begs question: Have these two players run out of gas or is there a problem with the coaching? Personally, I find it hard to believe that both Woodson and Harris have lost their abilities, so the onus for correcting Green Bay’s secondary must fall on defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and DB’s coach Kurt Schottenheimer. If they can’t get it done, then Mike McCarthy needs to make some changes in his staff, and quickly.