45-Man Roster Prediction Vs. Eagles
Defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins is predicted to be active for Sunday's Wild Card playoff game when the Packers travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.
Below is the Packers' entire roster. Players in bold text are those I predict to be inactive on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles for the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs:
- QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Graham Harrell
- RB: Brandon Jackson, Dimitri Nance, James Starks
- FB: Korey Hall, John Kuhn, Quinn Johnson
- WR: Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Brett Swain
- TE: Donald Lee, Tom Crabtree, Andrew Quarless
- OL: Chad Clifton, Daryn Colledge, Josh Sitton, Scott Wells, Bryan Bulaga, Jason Spitz, T.J. Lang, Nick McDonald, Evan Dietrich-Smith
- DL: Cullen Jenkins, B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, C.J. Wilson, Jarius Wynn, Howard Green
- ILB: A.J. Hawk, Desmond Bishop, Matt Wilhelm, Robert Francois
- OLB: Clay Matthews, Frank Zombo, Diyral Briggs, Erik Walden
- CB: Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, Pat Lee, Brandon Underwood, Josh Gordy
- S: Nick Collins, Charlie Peprah, Jarrett Bush, Atari Bigby
- ST: Mason Crosby, Brett Goode, Tim Masthay
Notes:
- If Cullen Jenkins is active on Sunday, it would be the first time in five games that he's played. The last game he participated in was Dec. 5 against the San Francisco 49ers. He is officially listed as "questionable."
- Frank Zombo, Atari Bigby and Korey Hall have all been ruled out of Sunday's game.
- The toughest decision was making Matt Wilhelm inactive. The decision, in my mind, came down to him, Robert Francois and Dimitri Nance. In reality, it comes down to whoever is going to have the biggest impact on special teams for the Packers.
- When Jenkins was healthy, typically it has been Jarius Wynn that's been inactive. But I think he's elevated his game to a point where he deserves to be active and can be part of the defensive line rotation in a minor role (probably on third-and-long situations).
- Josh Gordy was inactive last week against the Bears, so things probably won't change this week. Plus, the Packers appear to have plenty of depth at the cornerback position with Jarrett Bush, Pat Lee and Brandon Underwood all playing reserve roles.
- Nick McDonald was the only player on the Packers' roster to be inactive all 16 games of the regular season. That's not going to change.
- As a recent signee, Evan Dietrich-Smith is still probably behind Jason Spitz in the pecking order for a roster spot.
- Graham Harrell will be the designated "third quarterback."
Comments (12)
January 08, 2011 at 04:14 pm
Gotta like the combination of Walden, Jenkins, Raji and Mathews rushing the QB, with occasional blitzes by Woodson or Williams and i'd even throw Sheilds at Vick once in awhile. Capers is sure to mix it up and confuse Vick. If the O can get on a roll early, this one could be a comfortable win. This D won't give up 100 points in 5 minutes like the Giants D did against Vick.
January 08, 2011 at 06:18 pm
i wanna see a screen pass or two thrown to Starks
January 08, 2011 at 06:35 pm
I'm glad as heck that Starks gets a nod here,combined with the defense that should play well against the Iggles,IMO Starks will be the guy to kill time and create long drives in the weather.
Rodgers buys him a big dinner after his game and MM will find it hard to not give him the carries moving forward.
January 08, 2011 at 07:49 pm
I doubt we see only an occasional blitz from Woodson and Williams. Dom will bring Wood early and often, I say close to a dozen times for Wood alone. The Vikings put the blueprint out on how to contain Vick. Capers will bring the house all day!!!
January 09, 2011 at 06:15 am
But a blitzing Woodson is expected by the Eagles, so I believe Capers comes up with some other nifty blit packages. The thing you cannot do is overshoot and give Vick running lanes, so a lot falls on the down lineman to push the line and the LBs closing those gaps.
I will be a nerve wrack during this game, that's for sure. Go Pack Go!
January 09, 2011 at 11:10 am
Dom's kept Shields in coverage all season. He's got incredible speed to catch Vick in the backfield.
The delayed blitz ate up the Eagles in week 1, because it took away the hot reads first then put the pressure on Vick to make his progression.
January 08, 2011 at 09:33 pm
I have a prediction of my own for tomorrow...
I predict P-A-I-N for the iggles and their legion of D-bag fans.
GBP 4 LIFE
January 08, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Well said!
January 09, 2011 at 09:51 am
Pennsylvania Douche
January 08, 2011 at 11:54 pm
And Marshawn Lynch's performance on Saturday will provide a lot of material for the blogs and message boards, if/when the Pack are eliminated from the playoffs. We can only imagine what could have been if ML was listed next to RB.
January 09, 2011 at 09:32 am
I would like to see MM use Starks as the primary running back, I understand the risks playing an unpracticed rookie, blocking and ball security.
This is the playoffs, go all out, A-rod can not be the leading rusher and advance.
January 09, 2011 at 10:54 am
If I were to get my sole impression of James Starks off of internet message boards I would think he was the RB had 1050 total yards and 4 tds this season.