Familiar faces face Rodgers
Defensive line newbies have a history with Packers QB
Robert Quinn stares at the ceiling, trying to jog his memory.
The Eagles’ newly acquired edge rusher has played 10 games against the Green Bay Packers over his 12-year career. He’s gotten to Aaron Rodgers a handful of times, but how many exactly?
“Maybe seven?” Quinn asks, after breaking his gaze at the windows atop the Eagles’ locker room.
Close enough. He’s gotten to the Packers’ veteran quarterback 7½ times in his career, the most recent one coming earlier this season as a member of the Chicago Bears.
Whether it’s a good omen or a reminder of recent struggles, the Week 2 sack is the one that sticks out most when Quinn reminisces about the times he’s gotten to Rodgers.
“That’s the only one I got this year,” he said. “The one I got this year is against him. I don’t know what to take from that, either a slow start or a good team to get back on track. We’ll see.”
Each of the three defensive linemen the Eagles have added during the season have extensive experience playing against Green Bay. Ndamukong Suh started his career in the NFC North with the Detroit Lions and has played 12 games against the Packers. Linval Joseph has played them 15 times, more than any other team, mostly thanks to a six-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings.
That familiarity could be beneficial as the Eagles host Green Bay Sunday night, both in dealing with Rodgers and running back Aaron Jones.
“I’ve played them it seems like almost every single year of my career,” Suh said. “It’s good to have that familiarity, but they create different ways of doing different things. Teams want to change how they attack different defenses.”
“I dislike the Packers, very much so,” he added. “Whether I’m playing for the Eagles or somebody else. Without question, I have all the desire to get after that quarterback and create havoc for that offense.”
Suh has sacked Rodgers 5 ½ times. When asked about how many he remembers, he said the ones Rodgers has avoided stand out more.
“Aaron is very, very smart,” Suh said. “He gets rid of the ball, runs to the sideline, and he’ll look at you and laugh and throw the ball out [of bounds] so you can’t get a sack. He knows what he’s doing.
Obviously he’s got a quick, really fast release.”
If last weekend is any indication, Joseph will be instrumental in the Eagles’ ability to contain Jones on the ground. Rodgers revealed earlier this week that he’s dealing with a broken right thumb, and Green Bay has struggled to replace star receiver Davante Adams in the passing game.
Jones’ 778 rushing yards rank eighth in the NFL, and the Packers are fifth in rushing efficiency, according to Football Outsiders.
“I’ve played against this team my whole career,” Joseph said. “I feel like they’re running the ball more this year based on what’s going on with the wide receiver side. But at the end of the day, it’s Aaron Rodgers. They still have a very good team.”
Quinn was the odd man out for most of the Eagles’ win over the Colts.
The 32-year-old edge rusher logged just 10 snaps, marking the second time in three games Quinn has played 10 or fewer snaps since the Eagles traded a fourth-round pick to the Chicago Bears for him Oct 26.
The former All-Pro with 142 career starts said he’s adjusting to the part-time role and isn’t dissatisfied with his sparse playing time as long as the team is successful.
“You just have to know your role,” Quinn told the Inquirer. “Coming from a starter to playing this role, it took a while to adjust, to embrace it. But after a while, guys balling out, we’re winning, I’m going to do my part. Like I said when I got here, they were winning before I got here, I just want to do my part to continue on with what they’ve built up. Ten plays or 50, as long as we win, you can make do with it.”