Insein said:
Keys to the game for the Eagles:
1) Give McCoy the Ball. He needs about 20-25 touches. Preferably at least 15 of those carries.
2) Vick has to read the blitz and hit the hot read that is open because of it. Plenty of guys open when those corners come in. Vick has to find them.
3) Defense has to step up. They have been the weak link all year but its a clean slate now. Its time to step up and play big.
1) Yes. GB is tied for 2nd-worst ypc in the league.2) Yes, but the receivers also need to help out. There were times in the Min game where Vick picked it up, but the receivers didn't turn around to give him the target.
3) Eh, sure you can say that this would be a big help, but I'm not sure how realistic it is to put much hope on this. Ideally, McDermott will design something like in the Indy game, where all the different looks really confused Manning. This should be a similar situation, in that GB also has very little in the way of a running game.
Additional keys:
4) Get DeSean involved early. If he doesn't get his early on, he tends to disappear.
5) Parker and Cole winning battles and getting a good rush. They should have an advantage over Bulaga and Clifton and they need to exploit that in order to help the secondary.
6) Honestly, I think that this is going to come down to whether Vick can make plays when he needs to do. I have no confidence in the Eagles' D getting stops when they need them, so can Vick get big plays early to let the D be a little more aggressive or score on the last drive?
I'm going Eagles 34-31, but honestly that's at least partly homer talk. Would not be surprised in the least to see GB win. I do think that the Eagles need to put up at least 27 to win this game. I think that GB has a much better chance of stopping the Eagles' O than the other way around.
The Eagles should also hearken back to the Atlanta game as a blueprint for this one on offense, where their misdirection and commitment to running led to a blowout.