Packers Behind Philadelphia Lines: Five Questions With an Enemy Blogger

This is a slightly modified segment of one that was run on NFL FanHouse last year, in which a specific team blogger scours the internet and interviews a blogger of the opposing team.

I began this season by interviewing Sean Portnoy of Eagles Eye, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dan Benton: "Another year, another group of receivers for the Philadelphia Eagles. Who will be Donovan McNabb's go-to guy this weekend?"

Sean Portnoy: "Reggie Brown had a fine season in his second year, serving as the #2 guy when Donte Stallworth was in the lineup and the top receiver when Stallworth was injured. Brown doesn't have the size and/or speed to make you think he's a legit #1 wideout, but the way the Eagles like to spread the ball around, he doesn't need to catch 100 passes. It'll be interesting to see if Kevin Curtis can handle the transition from mostly being a slot guy to someone playing out wide and having to get separation from press coverage. McNabb's usual safety valve, L.J. Smith, is recovering from sports hernia surgery and a separate groin injury, so he may be limited on Sunday. The sleeper guy who could wind up being the second coming of Chad Lewis is Brent Celek, the team's fifth-round pick out of Cincinnati. The rookie tight end played really well in the preseason, and Andy Reid sometimes likes to play promising first-year guys right away in order to see if they can handle the "baptism by fire." Don't be surprised if Celek catches a couple of passes in the middle of the field on third down."

DB: "Although he had been struggling through some injuries, will the loss of linebacker Jeremiah Trotter hurt the Eagles defense?"

Portnoy: "The Eagles have decided to go younger and faster at strongside and middle linebacker, getting rid of Trotter and Dhani Jones and replacing them with Omar Gaither and Chris Gocong. While Gaither started at weakside linebacker down the stretch last year, Gocong's experience at strongside is limited to the four preseason games this year, as he's been converted from defensive end. Both looked pretty underwhelming against the Steelers in the third preseason game, biting on almost every fake and misdirection play. As long as they continue to do that, then the Eagles' D will suffer, not from missing Trotter (who also bit on everything) as much as from not getting the upgrade they wanted. Gaither's a smart guy, so I think he'll figure things out fairly quickly, but even though Gocong had a full year to study his new position while on IR, he's really learning on the job and I think he'll get abused in space early in the season. If he shows he can't cut after a few games, the team may turn to rookie Stewart Bradley, like they replaced Matt McCoy last season with Gaither."

DB: "Does Brett Favre, at 37 years-old, still pose a threat to Philadelphia's secondary?"

Portnoy: "Favre is a streaky QB, so he definitely can still causes any defense problems if he gets hot. But as you certainly know, he also makes a lot of bad decisions, and has made a number of them against the Eagles in recent years. I expect a similarly mixed performance from him again on Sunday: probably be hot early, and then throw a costly pick or two."

DB: "Should Green Bay expect a Brian Westbrook overload on Sunday?"

Portnoy: "[They] won't get a Westbrook overload because Reid is pretty much set on having him not get more than about 25 touches per game. He'll probably get between 15-20 carries and several catches, but even though the Eagles leaned more on the run down the stretch last year, I'll be very surprised if the offense doesn't return to about 60-percent pass attempts with McNabb back under center. The other impressive offensive rookie for the Eagles this preseason was running back Tony Hunt, who's a bigger, more physical back that the team has recently lacked. He's another first-year guy that could see the field on Sunday, especially down by the goal line. (If you have Westbrook on your fantasy team, and you aren't happy with his TD numbers, it's probably because Hunt will have vultured them.)"

DB: "Prediction time! Who wins, and what's the score?"

Portnoy: "While I'm not convinced that the Packers truly turned the corner at the end of last year (they beat crummy Detroit, Minnesota, and SF teams, plus beat a Bears team that didn't need to win in the final game), it's also true that the Eagles have not generally played well in season openers under Reid. (Last year, they struggled a bit before beating the Texans on the road.) So I expect a close game that could hinge on which quarterback makes that critical mistake late in the game, (or which performs better: the Packers' run game or the Eagles' run defense). I'm picking the Eagles to win, 24-20, but I wouldn't be shocked if the Packers won by a similar margin."

A special thanks to Sean for taking the time! Again, you can read his Eagles coverage over at MVN on Eagles Eye.