NFL Betting Preview: Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles

Added on Sep 11, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

The first Sunday of the NFL football betting season is upon us, and we’ve got plenty of handicapping analysis to keep you in the chips. In this post, we’ll look at an afternoon start game between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles as the Kevin Kolb era gets underway in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’.

Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
September 12, 2010—1:15 PM Pacific

We picked on the Philadelphia Eagles and Kevin Kolb several times in the preseason and we’ll do it again here. Kolb may eventually be a good NFL starting quarterback, but during the preseason at least he looked like the proverbial ‘deer caught in headlights’ much of the time. Kolb’s struggles aren’t entirely his fault, as the Eagles are rebuilding the roster across the board—the team also lost Brian Westbrook and Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins in addition to Donovan McNabb, and that’s a ton of talent and leadership. In addition to Kolb, pretty much the entire offense is young with a ton of potential though not much experience. LeSean McCoy starts at running back and he could be a good one but he’s in only his second year in the NFL. Should Kolb struggle, the cupboard is bare behind him. Michael Vick is the backup—an aging quarterback who has relied entirely on his athleticism for his whole career and never learned how to read NFL defenses and hit the open man. Behind Vick is rookie Mike Kafka who, again, could be good but has no pro football experience.

The Packers don’t have any questions about their quarterback situation. Aaron Rodgers is already one of the best in the league which is scary since he’s yet to reach his full potential. Green Bay has good depth in the receiver corps, and Rodgers could hit emerging star tight end Jermichael Finley early and often. Just looking at the ‘x’s and o’s’ in this game Finley alone could be a game changer and at the very least gives the Eagles matchup fits. Rodgers will be well protected behind a healthy offensive line, and they’ve got some young talent at running back to keep the Eagles off balance. Not that keeping the Eagles’ defense off balance is particularly hard—they finished #19 in scoring defense last season and allowed 20+ points in 8 of their last 10 games. The Packers’ defense has some depth issues in the secondary, but with Charles Woodson—arguably the best all around defender in the NFL—their struggles on that side of the ball are relatively minor.

For some reason, however, the general public hasn’t quite caught on to the Eagles’ struggles nor have they quite grasped how good Rodgers and the Packers have become. In the latter instance, that could be because some still see Rodgers as a ‘plan B’ option in the post Brett Favre era. Favre was an icon in Green Bay, but the Packers made the right move in letting him move on after his first abortive retirement and turning the team over to Rodgers. The Pack offense looked to be in mid season form all preseason, and it’s hard to see the Eagles’ defense stopping them. Green Bay wins and covers in a game that goes Over the total.

Bet Green Bay -3 over Philadelphia
Bet Green Bay/Philadelphia Over 48