When the Eagles take to Lambeau Field to face the Packers in their third exhibition game on Saturday, one couldn't blame them for having a bad case of deja vu. Mark Sanchez threw two interceptions and LeSean McCoy was held to under 100 yards rushing as Green Bay discarded Philadelphia, 53-20, that day in November.
With replacements under and behind center having been added this offseason in the form of Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, and Ryan Mathews, a greater focus has been placed on those matchups.
But the biggest test in Eagles head coach Chip Kelly's eyes will be between his rejuvenated secondary against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers played their harp last year for 341 yards and three scores, but cornerbacks (and victims) Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams were swapped this offseason for Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond, both of whom had an interception in Philadelphia's victory over Baltimore last week.
"I hope Aaron plays a lot because I'm really excited to see our guys go up against them," Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. "We took a pretty good beating last year down there, and we're excited about the challenge. We love competing against the best, like Aaron is, and they've got some quality receivers that hopefully they can play that first half and we can really get a good test of where we are."
Packers receiver Jordy Nelson brought down a touchdown in their matchup last season on four catches for 109 yards, but will be out this entire season after tearing his ACL in Green Bay's game at Pittsburgh last weekend.
But his deputy remains. Slot receiver Randall Cobb caught 10 passes for 129 yards last November. Who the Eagles line up against Cobb is one of the questions they still face after trading nickel corner Brandon Boykin and losing Earl Wolff to a knee injury.
"We're really looking to see who we want our starting nickel to be," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "It's going to be a good test for them. [Cobb is] one of the best slot receivers in the league right now. Obviously, with the quarterback he has, he's going to get a lot of targets."
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