Carson Wentz facing a big challenge at Lambeau from Mike Pettine and the Packers’ defense

GREEN BAY — Trying to prepare for a Mike Pettine defense in a short week is like trying to get through Tolstoy’s War and Peace during your lunch break.

Pettine, the former head coach at North Penn and William Tennent high schools, who is in his second year as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator, uses a multitude of defensive back-heavy personnel packages with what Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh aptly calls “positionless players’’ — versatile guys who can line up anywhere, cover anybody and do anything.

“They do a great job of mixing their personnel groups,’’ said Groh. “They’ve got a number of different personnel groups and they try to splash the water over here and then bring guys from over there, or drop everybody out and put eight guys in coverage.

“Mike Pettine has been doing it a long time and they’ve got a lot of versatile players that go in there and try to mix their coverages up.’’

Carson Wentz and the 1-2 Eagles will try to decipher Pettine’s defense Thursday night when they visit Lambeau Field.

The Packers have long been an offense-based Aaron Rodgers production. Success or failure, winning or losing, usually has been determined by Rodgers’ right arm. Defense often seemed to just be along for the ride.

But that has changed, at least for the moment. The Packers have a new head coach (Matt LaFleur) and a new offense that Rodgers still is feeling his way around.

It’s been Pettine’s defense that has been largely responsible for helping the Packers get off to a 3-0 start. His unit has allowed just 35 points in the first three games. It has a league-high eight takeaways and 12 sacks.

“It’s a good defense,’’ Wentz said this week. “They play fast. They play physical. They do so many different things. It has a similar structure to what we saw last week with the Lions defense, just a lot more multiple.

“They mix it up really well. Bring a lot of different funky pressures. They’ll drop eight (into coverage). They kind of do everything. In a short week like this, you just have to get in there (in the film room) and study everything that they do.’’

The Packers have given up just one touchdown pass in the first three games. They’re second in the league in opponent passer rating (63.1).

Pettine wants to get teams in third-and-long or third-and-medium, and implement his pressure schemes, which puts a lot stress on opposing quarterbacks who have to figure out who’s coming and who’s not and from where.

But Wentz is considerably better than the three quarterbacks the Packers have faced so far — Mitch Trubisky, Kirk Cousins, and Joe Flacco. Particularly on third down.

Wentz is fifth in the NFL in third-down passing with a 127.7 rating and a 69.4 completion percentage. Five of his six touchdown passes have come on third down. Last year, he threw four the entire season.

Thirty of the Eagles’ 48 third-down situations have been six yards or more, which is the second most in the league. But Wentz has an impressive 99.9 passer rating on third-and-six or more. Ten of his 26 pass attempts on third-and-six or more have produced first downs.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Carson at the line of scrimmage, as far as being able to recognize coverage, recognize pressure, what defenses are trying to do and get our guys in the right play,’’ Groh said.

“This certainly is going to be a challenging situation for us, but Carson is playing at a high level.’’

Getting Alshon Jeffery back Thursday certainly will help, though it’s uncertain how much his calf injury will limit him. So will having tight end Dallas Goedert healthier. Goedert, who also injured his calf two weeks ago, only played nine snaps last week.

If he is able to play more than that Thursday, the Eagles will be able to counter Pettine’s DB-heavy packages with “12’’ personnel, featuring their two versatile tight ends, Goedert and Zach Ertz.

“Using ‘12’ personnel has always been a big part of this offense,’’ Wentz said. “It creates mismatches for us and helps us both in the passing game and the running game.’’

The Eagles used “12’’ personnel on just 18 of 141 snaps in their back-to-back losses to the Falcons and Lions. Goedert’s injury was the biggest reason for that.

But last week, on their second possession of the game against the Lions, they used “12’’ with offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai as the second tight end. Running the ball on seven of nine plays, the Eagles drove 75 yards for a touchdown.

But then left tackle Jason Peters got sick, and his replacement, Andre Dillard, injured his knee, and “12’’ personnel had to take the rest of the day off.

Ertz correctly pointed out that if the Eagles are able to run the ball effectively Thursday, it will make it difficult for Pettine to flood the field with defensive backs.

“They do a lot of stuff,’’ Ertz said. “When you have a lot of DBs on the field, you’re able to disguise things that most of the time you’re not going to be able to disguise because you don’t want some of those bigger linebackers being put in certain situations.

“Also, from a protection standpoint, you have to be on queue about who’s going to who each and every time, because there’s so many different options that they’re able to bring blitzes from.

“So we have to be on our stuff. And if they come out and play a lot of DBs early, hopefully we’ll be able to establish the run.’’

--Rodgers has been one of the best third-down passers in NFL history. He has a 106.3 passer rating on third down in his career, including 110 touchdown passes and just 29 interceptions, and has averaged 8.7 yards per attempt. But in his first year in Matt LaFleur’s offense, with a receiving corps that, with the exception of Davante Adams, isn’t nearly as talented as some of the units he’s had in the past, Rodgers and the Packers have struggled on third down. They are 30th in third-down offense with a 25.0 conversion rate. Rodgers has a 78.8 third-down passer rating, has no third-down TDs and is averaging just 6.4 yards per attempt.

--The Eagles are 25th in rush average (3.6) and 26th in first-down rush average (3.4). They’ve run the ball on 42 of 87 first-down plays in their first three games. Rookie Miles Sanders is averaging 3.1 yards on 19 first-down carries. Jordan Howard is averaging 3.9 on 14 carries.

--Jim Schwartz’s defense has not played well at the beginning of the first three games. It has allowed points on the first possession of every game. It has given up 21 points in the first quarter and 30 points on their opponents’ first three possessions. Nineteen of the 50 first downs they’ve allowed this season have come on the first three possessions. Opponents have averaged an astounding 6.4 yards per play on their first three possessions.

--The average drive start for the Eagles in their first three games has been the 30.7-yard line. That’s a 2.3-yard improvement over last year (28.4). The Packers’ average drive start in their 3-0 start has been the 31.6-yard line.

--Schwartz rushed five or more people on eight of 32 pass plays against the Lions. That included one play in which he used five defensive linemen. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 6 of 8 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown when Schwartz sent five or more rushers. The Eagles have blitzed on 27 of 121 pass plays in the first three games (22.3 percent). That’s a little higher than last year (15.8 percent), but in the same ballpark as 2017 (21.7) and 2016 (21.2). Opposing QBs already have thrown four touchdown passes against Schwartz blitzes. Last year, they gave up six the entire season when they sent extra rushers.

Periodically this season, draft analyst Ben Fennell will break down some of the top prospects in the 2020 NFL draft. Fennell is an Emmy award-winning producer, editor and researcher for several media outlets, including the NFL Network and ESPN college football. Today, he looks at his top five cornerbacks:

Jeffrey Okudah

6-1, 200

Ohio State

Fennell: “Okudah was created in a press-man petri dish. He has elite burst and closing speed. He takes good angles and recognizes routes. He has an excellent football IQ. An NFL comparison: the Cowboys’ Byron Jones.’’

Kristian Fulton

6-0, 200

LSU

Fennell: “Fulton can mirror routes and can play the ball. He has excellent makeup speed. A couple of significant negatives: he’s not a very good tackler and has character questions. An NFL comparison: former Redskins and 49ers corner Carlos Rogers.’’

Trevon Diggs

6-2, 207

Alabama

Fennell: “Diggs has elite coverage size and speed. In addition to playing defense, he’s going to be an immediate special teams contributor. Trevon is the brother of Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Negatives are that he tends to be grabby and doesn’t always trust his technique. An NFL comparison: the Ravens’ Jimmy Smith.”

Bryce Hall

6-1, 200

Virginia

Fennell: “Another guy with desirable size. Hall has excellent ball skills, but has questionable speed and athleticism. So, despite his size, press-man coverage isn’t really his strength. He’s better suited to be an off man/zone corner. He has long arms and a broad frame. An NFL comparison: the 49ers’ Richard Sherman.’’

C.J. Henderson

6-1, 202

Florida

Fennell: “Henderson is tall, long and fast. Has excellent press-man ability. He’s a very confident guy with an alpha attitude. If he has a negative, it’s that he’s inconsistent in run support. Also not a very good tackler. An NFL comparison: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.’’

Some other corners on Fennell’s watch list: Stanford’s Paulson Adebo, Utah’s Jaylon Johnson, Ohio State’s Damon Arnette, Michigan’s Lavert Hill, Clemson’s A.J. Terrell and TCU’s Jeff Gladney.