PACKERS RETURN HOME TO PLAY THE EAGLES
The Green Bay Packers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday at Lambeau Field in their preseason home opener.
This will be the 15th time Green Bay and Philadelphia have met during the preseason. The Eagles lead the preseason series, 8-6.
The last time the two teams met was during the 2014 regular season, a 53-20 Packers victory at Lambeau Field that gave Green Bay a 25-14 lead in the regular-season series.
The Packers and Eagles last played each other during the preseason in 2002, a 20-13 home victory by Philadelphia. It is the Eagles’ first trip to Lambeau Field during the preseason since 1983.
Green Bay will play its final two preseason games at home for the second consecutive year and the fourth time since 2000 (2002, 2003).
The Packers’ final preseason contest comes on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 6 p.m. CDT, when they host the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field in the 55th annual Bishop’s Charities Game.
WITH THE CALL
Flagshipped by Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV and in conjunction with WGBA-TV in Green Bay, the game will be televised over the 16-station Packers TV Network throughout the state of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, northeastern Minnesota, the Quad Cities, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo in Iowa, Omaha in Nebraska, Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau in Alaska and Honolulu in Hawaii.
The top-notch broadcast team includes CBS’s Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) alongside fellow CBS broadcaster Rich Gannon (analyst), with Rod Burks of WTMJ-TV and Olivia Harlan serving as the sideline reporters. An informative half-hour pregame show will air prior to the game, hosted by Lance Allan of WTMJ-TV, and featuring former Packers tackle Mark Tauscher.
In addition to WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee) and WGBA-TV (Green Bay), preseason games will be televised over WKOW/ABC, Madison, Wis.; WAOW/ABC, Wausau/Rhinelander, Wis.; WXOW/ABC, La Crosse, Wis.; WQOW/ABC, Eau Claire, Wis.; WLUC/NBC, Escanaba/Marquette, Mich.; KQDS-TV/FOX, Duluth/Superior, Minn.; KGCW-TV/CW, Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); KWWL-TV/NBC, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa; KCWI-TV/CW, Des Moines, Iowa; KMTV-TV/CBS, Omaha, Neb.; KYUR/ABC, Anchorage, Alaska; KATN/ABC, Fairbanks, Alaska; KJUD/ABC, Juneau, Alaska; and KFVE-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In its fourth season, in conjunction with the Packers TV Network, Telemundo Wisconsin (WYTU-TV in Milwaukee, WACY-TV/My32 in Green Bay/Appleton and on Charter Cable elsewhere in Wisconsin) will broadcast four preseason games with Kevin Holden (play-by-play) and Epigmenio (Epi) Guerrero (analyst) calling the action.
Milwaukee’s WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since November 1929, heads up the Packers Radio Network that is made up of 50 stations in five states. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team’s broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 21st season calling Packers’ games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 17th season of broadcasts together.
PACKERS LOSE TO THE STEELERS IN PITTSBURGH
Green Bay led into the fourth quarter but suffered its first loss of the preseason, 24-19, at Pittsburgh this past Sunday.
Green Bay’s first-team offense took the ball 80 yards in 10 plays on the opening drive of the game. RB Eddie Lacy capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run and RBJames Starks converted the two-point try with a run up the middle to give the Packers a 8-0 lead.
Lacy averaged 5.0 yards on six carries for a game-high 30 yards. In two preseason games, Lacy has gained 66 yards on 11 attempts (6.0 avg.) with one touchdown.
QB Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay’s quarterbacks with a 114.2 passer rating, completing 4 of 5 pass attempts for 57 yards in two drives of work.
WR Randall Cobb recorded the longest reception of the game for Green Bay, a 30-yarder to Pittsburgh’s 30-yard line on the first drive of the game.
QB Scott Tolzien saw the most action of any of the Packers' quarterbacks, completing 11 of 19 passes for 102 yards and one touchdown. The score was a 21-yard completion to TE Richard Rodgers late in the second quarter that combined with a two-point conversion to give Green Bay a 16-9 lead going into halftime.
Rodgers, who had three receptions for 30 yards, tied WR Jeff Janis (three receptions for 25 yards), for the team high. Janis leads the Packers in both receptions (five) and receiving yards (56) through two preseason games.
So far this preseason, Tolzien has registered 209 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 96.0 while completing 21 of 35 passes. His 96.0 quarterback rating ranks No. 4 in the NFL this preseason (min. 14 pass attempts per their team’s games played).
LB Julius Peppers , DE Datone Jones and DT Bruce Gaston each registered a sack while Gaston also recorded a team-high two quarterback hits.
Jones’ three sacks this preseason are tied for the most in the NFL with Washington Redskins LB Houston Bates and Cleveland Browns DL Xavier Cooper.
CB LaDarius Gunter led Green Bay with three passes defensed against the Steelers and is tied for No. 1 in the NFL with four passes defensed this preseason (New York Giants DB Trevin Wade and Buffalo Bills CB Ronald Darby).
S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix led the Packers with six tackles (three solo).
In his first NFL game, CB Damarious Randall recorded an interception, picking off a deep pass intended for Steelers WR Martavis Bryant on the first play of the third quarter. It gave Green Bay the ball at its own 48-yard line and the ensuing drive resulted in a 55-yard field goal by K Mason Crosby , his only field-goal attempt of the game, to put Green Bay up 19-9.
FB Aaron Ripkowski registered a team-best two special teams tackles.
The Packers had nine players miss the game due to injury: WR Javess Blue , CBDemetri Goodson , DB Kyle Sebetic , LB Clay Matthews , LB Nick Perry , TDavid Bakhtiari , DT Mike Daniels , TE Justin Perillo and WRJared Abbrederis .
THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Eagles:
Regular season, all-time: 25-14
Preseason, all-time: 6-8
Preseason, all-time, in Green Bay: 6-6
All-time, postseason: 1-2
Streaks: The Eagles have won the past two preseason meetings.
Last meeting, regular season: Nov. 16, 2014; Packers won, 53-20, Lambeau Field
Last meeting, preseason: Aug. 10, 2002; Eagles won, 20-13, Lincoln Financial Field
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 101-55-1, .643 (incl. 7-6 postseason); 10th NFL season
Chip Kelly: 20-13, .606, (incl. 0-1 postseason); 3rd NFL season
Head to Head: 1-1
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 4-2 vs. Eagles; Kelly 1-1 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 10th year as the Packers’ 14th head coach.
Joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
Led the Packers to their sixth consecutive playoff appearance last season, joining New England as the only two NFL teams to do so over that span. Has also led the team to seven playoff appearances in the last eight years (2007, 2009-14).
Has guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring each of the past eight seasons (2007-14), joining the Patriots as the only other team to accomplish the feat; Packers finished first overall in scoring in 2014.
His .656 winning percentage during the regular season (94-49-1) ranks No. 3 among active NFL coaches (min. 50 games).
Was named Packers head coach on Jan. 12, 2006, his first head-coaching job after 13 years as an NFL assistant.
CHIP KELLY…Is in his third year as the Eagles’ 21st head coach.
Led the Eagles to a division title in his first season as head coach; became just the second head coach in league history to do so.
Since 2013, Kelly led an offense that ranks second in the NFL in total net yards per game (407.0), points per game (28.6) and rushing yards per game (142.5).
During that time span, the Eagles have led the league in total plays of 20-plus yards and passing plays of 20-plus yards.
Was the head coach at the University of Oregon from 2009-12 and led the Ducks to a 46-7 (.868) overall record during his tenure.
Led Oregon to a BCS bowl game in each of his four seasons as head coach, including an appearance in the BCS National Championship game in 2010.
THE PACKERS-EAGLES SERIES
This marks the 15th preseason meeting between the two franchises, with Philadelphia owning an 8-6 record over the Packers.
The two teams first met in the preseason in 1941 in Milwaukee. The first time the Eagles visited the Packers at Lambeau Field was in 1949. This will be Philadelphia’s 13th preseason trip to Wisconsin, but only the fifth time the two teams will sqaure off at Lambeau Field.
This will be the first preseason clash since 2002 and the first with both Kelly and McCarthy at the helm.
Philadelphia has won the past two preseason matchups, including the last time the two met at Lambeau (1983).
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers FB John Kuhn is a native of York, Pa., and played at Shippensburg University…Packers dir. of player engagement Rob Davis became the first player ever from Shippensburg to play in the NFL...Packers DL coach Mike Trgovac held the same position with the Eagles for four seasons (1995-98)…Eagles LB Brad Jones was orginally drafted by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft and played for Green Bay from 2009-14...Eagles G/T Allen Barbre played in Green Bay from 2007-09 aftrer being selected by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...Packers DC Dom Capers was the DBs coach for the USFL’s Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars from 1984-85…Eagles OC Pat Shurmur’s uncle, Fritz Shurmur, was Green Bay’s DC from 1994-98…Eagles S Chris Maragos was born in Racine, Wis., went to William Horlick High School and played at the University of Wisconsin...Maragos was a teammate of Packers QB Scott Tolzien at Wisconsin. Eagles G John Moffit also played at Wisconsin at that time...Eagles DT Beau Allen went to the University of Wisconsin...Eagles DC Bill Davis served as a defensive assistant/quality control coach for the Packers in 2000. Davis coached with Packers HC Mike McCarthy on San Francisco’s staff and with Capers in Pittsburgh and Carolina. Davis was on staff in Pittsburgh when they selected Packers QBs/WRs coach Alex Van Pelt in the 8th round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Capers was the DC in Pittsburgh during the same time period (1992-94). Davis, Trgovac and Packers assoc. HC/offense Tom Clements coached with Eagles ILBs coach Rick Minter at Notre Dame…Clements and Van Pelt were on the Buffalo staff when Eagles T Jason Peters played for the Bills…Eagles TEs coach Justin Peelle played for the Dolphins in 2006-07 when Capers was on Miami’s staff…Packers safeties-secondary coach Darren Perry coached for Pittsburgh while Eagles RBs coach Duce Staley played for the Steelers from 2004-06. Kuhn was also with Pittsburgh while Staley was there...Packers asst. dir. of pro personnel Tim Terry played at Temple University…Packers TE Andrew Quarless , RBs coach Sam Gash and Perry played at Penn State...Packers RB Eddie Lacy and S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix played for Alabama while Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland served in the same role in 2011-12. Stoutland held the same position at the University of Miami while Packers CB Sam Shields played there (2006-09)…Packers strength and conditioning asst. Thadeus Jackson helped train Eagles LB DeMeco Ryans while both were at the University of Alabama…Eagles special teams coordinator Bill Fipp and Packers asst. OL coach Mike Solari coached for the 49ers in 2010. Solari also coached alongside Peele for the 49ers in 2011…Eagles WRs coach Bob Bicknell and Solari were on the same Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff in 2007. Bicknell coached for the Cologne Centurions while Packers pro scout Chad Brinker played RB during the 2004 season…Eagles QBs coach Ryan Day and OLBs coach Bill McGovern coached at Boston College while Packers DT B.J. Raji played there from 2004-08. McGovern and asst. DL coach Mike Dawson coached at the University of Pittsburgh in the fall of 1999 while Packers asst. LBs coach Scott McCurley was a player…Eagles asst. strength and conditioning coach Keith Gray was a graduate asst. at Auburn in 1999 while Packers secondary/CBs coach Joe Whitt Jr. was a player…Former college teammates include Packers WR Jordy Nelson and Eagles RB Darren Sproles (Kansas State), Packers LBs Clay Matthews and Nick Perry and Eagles QB Mark Sanchez (Southern California), Packers LS Brett Goode and Peters (Arkansas), Packers LB Mike Neal and Eagles G/T Dennis Kelly (Purdue), Packers DT Mike Daniels, T Bryan Bulaga , and DB Micah Hyde and Eagles G/T Matt Tobin and C/G Julian Vandervelde (Iowa), Packers S Morgan Burnett and Eagles T/G Andrew Gardner (Georgia Tech), Packers CBCasey Hayward and S Sean Richardson and Eagles WR Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt), Packers WR Ty Montgomery and LB James Vaughters and Eagles TE Zach Ertz and S Ed Reynolds (Stanford), Packers FB Aaron Ripkowski and Eagles T Lane Johnson (Oklahoma), Packers TE Richard Rodgers and Eagles LB Mychal Kendricks (California), and Packers DT Josh Boyd and Eagles DE Fletcher Cox (Mississippi State).
LAST MEETING, PRESEASON
Aug. 10, 2002, at Lincoln Financial Field; Eagles won, 20-13.
QB Brett Favre completed 6 of 10 passes for 53 yards and one interception while QB Craig Nall connected on 5 of 16 passes for 62 yards.
RB Tony Fisher led the Packers in rushing with 55 yards on nine carries (6.1 avg.) with a long of 28.
QB Tim Hasselbeck saw the most time for the Eagles as he completed 5 of 6 passes for 66 yards and one touchdown (152.1 passer rating).
Eagles RBs Dorsey Levens and Brian Westbrook helped ignite the ground game as they combined for over 100 yards and one score.
