It's been a long time since Matthew Stafford suited up for the Georgia Bulldogs. He won a First-Team All-American nod and earned Second-team All-SEC honors in 2008 en route to becoming the first player taken in the 2009 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles would take Jeremy Maclin 18 spots later with the 19th overall selection. Malcolm Jenkins was also taken in that draft.
Jenkins won the Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints as a rookie. He joined the Birds in 2014 and hung around until 2019, winning another Lombardi Trophy almost eight years ago.
Since Matt Stafford played at Georgia, Loran's Best, Big Bad Bruce, Russ, Que, and Boom have served as Ugas VII - XI respectively. The Bulldogs have won two College Football Playoff National Championship Games since he left. He has played in 216 regular-season games over 16 years.
We told you he played in Georgia a long time ago, right?
Matthew Stafford's UGA affiliation won't save him from some Bulldog-on-Bulldog crime when the Rams host the Eagles on Sunday.
During his storied career, Stafford has suited up to play Philadelphia six times and won four times. That includes a Thanksgiving Day 45.14 massacre in 2015... Thanks for the memories Chip Kelly!
The Philadelphia Eagles have five former Bulldogs on their roster. All were part of one or both of Georgia's aforementioned recent championships.
We've said all that to say this. We love our Philly Dawgs, and we'd love to see some Dawg-on-Dawg crime this Sunday. Philly is favored. We expect them to win. Here's how we see the game playing out.
Quinyon Mitchell finally gets that first interception.
At this point, we feel like we are cheating. We've lost track of how many consecutive weeks we have said this. We do, however, know we've been wrong each time. Quinyon Mitchell, as great as he's been, still, has yet to tally his first career interception.
Sunday, we end the jinx (we hope). So, here we go again. We're going to keep bringing this up until it happens.
Why? It's simple. Quinyon Mitchell could realistically pick off a pass every week. We also don't want to see him pick one off after we stopped predicting this is the week he's going to haul one in.
Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Nolan Smith sack another former Dawg, Matthew Stafford.
The once-maligned Dawgs are coming along weekly, and everyone seems to be noticing. Jordan Davis is immovable. His coaches are happy. Jalen Carter has answered questions about his conditioning.
We're truly proud of Nolan Smith. He has improved as he has gotten more experience. He has 3.5 sacks on the season.
We're calling for a sack by all three in this one. Yes, we realize Davis provides more as a run defender, but we're feeling it! He gets in on the sack party too!
Matthew Stafford also played at Georgia, but that was a long time ago. We're hoping for some Dawg on Dawg crime in this one.
Nakobe Dean racks 15 tackles.
As complex as NFL defenses can seem, there are subtle nuances we can explain rather easily. Here's an example. Much of what you see with the Eagles defense is designed to allow linebackers to run and hit freely.
Nakobe Dean is enjoying a very good season. His tackling has improved. Expect him to run wild in this one. Zack Baun has been so phenomenal that he is receiving national attention. This will be Nakobe's night though.
Our prediction? He leads all Eagles tacklers with 15 stops.
The Eagles' defense continues its hot streak, holding the Rams to 250 yards or less on offense.
Cooper who? Matt who? Puka who? Expect another classic display by the Philadelphia Eagles' defense.
Yeah, we know Sean McVay is an offensive genius, but we're rolling with Vic Fangio in what could turn out to be a pretty cool chess match.