Forget Hard Knocks. Eagles Brace For Week 1 Against Packers

Eagles fans everywhere are bracing themselves to sail into uncharted waters. What once was excitement bubbling about a sure success season, has turned to gut wrenching nerves hoping that our precious birds don't drown in disaster. With tonight's insignificant match-up looming against the "Hard Knock" New York Jets, the truth remains that most of the lingering questions will not be answered until the week 1 match-up against the Green Bay Packers




A portion of the edge and uncertainty comes from the sure knowledge that many questions will be answered when the Pack comes to town for the start of the Eagles 2010 regular season trudge. With them they bring a high powered offense led by the rocket arm of superstar quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. They feature a dangerous balanced attack where they can pound you into submission with running back Ryan Grant or air it out for quick scores with the likes of wide receiver Greg Jennings and the athletic, big play tight end Jermichael Finley.



The Packer defense remains incredibly stout against the run. So all yardage gained on the seven or eight carries by Eagle's running backs will surely be hard earned. A normally solid veteran secondary is presently ailing in Green Bay with cornerback Al Harris in question to play in the opener and safety Atari Bigby still recovering from ankle surgery. What we know for certain, is the youth and speed of their defensive line will be used in an attempt to collapse the pocket on quarterback Kevin Kolb.



Now for the fun part of the discussion. How will the Eagles attempt to combat a large quantity of explosive offensive weapons and move the ball on a surely stubborn Green Bay defense? This would normally be the time when I break down for you, piece by piece how the Eagles will dismantle and frustrate Green Bay on both sides of the ball. But both you and I know that to do so would be blowing furious smoke up all of your collective backsides.



We start an inexperienced quarterback in Kevin Kolb, who does possess one of the most dynamic receivers in the game with Desean Jackson and a sure handed red zone threat in tight end Brent Celek. But will this offensive line be healthy enough or sharp enough as a cohesive unit to give Kolb time to execute the offense as planned? A glimpse of the preseason strongly points to a big negative in that department, my friends. Kolb has looked flustered and hurried and his arsenal of weapons have barely been able to jump into their routes before he is scrambling for his very life. This combined with the Andy Reid frustrating pattern of no balance on offense, could lead to many short possessions and an increased share of time imposed on a young, inexperienced Eagles defense.



Turning to the other side of the ball, it is imperative that the Eagles defense place immense pressure on quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Stud DE Trent Cole and high motor first round rookie DE Brandon Graham must make early contact with Rodgers in order to force him into poor decisions and to protect an untested, youthful secondary.



The Eagles interior defensive line remains healthy and the group has played fairly well together against a variety of effective offensive lines. The return of promising linebacker Stewart Bradley and the addition of the hard hitting Ernie Simms from Detroit, should work wonders in slowing the Pack run game and assisting in coverage. But a real concern remains in wondering how they will attempt to defend Finley. The Eagles D has historically had major issues containing big play tight ends as witnessed by inept coverage of divisional rivals Jason Witten and Chris Cooley.



Perennial pro bowler Asante Samuel returns as the lone solid, proven performer at corner. He is a dangerous ball hawk, but his gambling style of play and suspect tackling skills don't necessarily make him a constant stabilizing force in the secondary. Quintin Mikell looks to move forward from a somewhat inconsistent year to fill big shoes as the expectant heir apparent to the great, departed Brian Dawkins at safety. And finally rookie and 2nd round draft choice, Nate Allen looks to skip the tremendous learning curve and use his high football IQ and keen sense for the ball, to lock up the starting role at free safety.



I think it is fair and absolutely urgent that we, as Eagles fans, set the bar a few notches lower for the upcoming season. This team has been a solid,competitive, playoff contending team for the better part of a decade. But a quarterback with two pro starts protected by an ailing, inefficient offensive line, coupled with a defense starting a rookie at safety absolutely must suffer the growing pains of this strong league. The goal will be to see just how far this young squad can grow throughout the year, hopefully painting a picture of exciting, deep playoff runs for the near future. And I can't think of a much better way to gauge how far we need to progress than to jump into the fire against one of the best teams in the NFC.