No Maclin, Dunlap as Eagles Prepare for AZ
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
No Maclin, Dunlap as Eagles Prepare for AZ
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Eagles coach Andy Reid said left tackle King Dunlap (hamstring) and wideout Jeremy Maclin (hip) would not practice today, as the Eagles began preparations for Sunday's visit to Arizona.
Reid again indicated it would be unlikely for Dunlap to play Sunday. He did not give an indication either way for Maclin.
The 2-0 Eagles have a lot in common with the 2-0 Cardinals. Both teams have won close games back-to-back weeks, and in both cases, the opponent scored a late touchdown that was called back by a penalty. The New England Patriots then missed a field goal that would have beaten the Cardinals.
But Arizona's dynamic defense sacked Tom Brady four times Sunday and will seriously test the Eagles' reworked offensive line; Demetress Bell will play in place of Dunlap and Dallas Reynolds takes over for center Jason Kelce, whose season ended Sunday with a knee injury. Arizona defensive coordinator Ray Horton, a Dick LeBeau protege with the Steelers, has built a strong, aggressive unit.
"They have a great pressure package," Reid said. "They'll bring one or two extra guys, they do a lot of fire zone things, very similar to what Dick LeBeau did ... they're doing it well. They have a lot of confidence in it, they have a lot of good athletes."
Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt noted that while Kevin Kolb knows the Eagles' personnel and their offensive system, the defense has changed a lot under Juan Castillo.
Reid said Kolb "managed that [New England] game very well on Sunday. I thought he did a great job with that. He mixed it up -- they do a lot of different things offensively."
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Reid said that NFL Films president Steve Sabol, who died Tuesday, "battled a tough battle with that brain cancer, and he did it with a lot of pride and dignity."
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Reid noted that the Cards are riding a 6-game home winning streak.
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Left guard Even Mathis said the Eagles won't do anything differently up front, with Bell and Reynolds replacing Dunlap and Kelce.
Cant wait to see my boys come to the Desert I will be there so please come and represent!!!! Go Eagles shout out to my hometown Chester/Philly— dakee- That defense will be another tough test for vick and co. I see him getting hit a lot once again and getting pressured esp with the injuries on the oline. Calais Campbell is a beast and so is Docket getting great push up the middle.— peteike
- I will be there and i hope to see alot of other Eagles fans as well. FLY E A G L E S to 3-0— swayn3
- Cards have a 6 game home winning streak, but has anyone else realized that the Eagles have a 6 game winning streak in general going back to last year. I wish preseason wins weren't so meaningless, otherwise they would have an 8 game win streak, but who knows...two more wins, one in Arizona and one at home against the Giants and maybe they will have an 8 game win streak
— Philsfan2012 - The Cards' OL is awful. I see Kolb running for his life, and he can't run. Vick will get hit too, owing to his propensity to hold onto the ball too long, but this should be a pretty comfortable W.— JBirks
- The game will be decided by which offense manages to put a few plays together.— Dutch-wayne
- Trim the fat, Fire Reid.— Mr. Barffington
- north philly in the desert; we finally have a D that is nasty. let vic be vic and count the wins baby. kevin kolb will show sunday why we tradded him.— tjangellove
- Philsfan STOP with the winning streaks , just stop ... We all know that Eagles could go 18 - 0 , that includes playoffs , and then lose in the SB , and this season would be a total failure ... So Stop !!!!— ingy9
- Hey BARFF ... Go throw - up somewhere else !!!— ingy9
- There are NO comfortable wins for this Eagles bunch. They tend to play up or down to level of comp. Esp with MEAN and NASTY Ari Defense and Eagles influx OL. ANd dont forget Turnover Machine knows as Vick. THE Eagles are killing themselves with redzone or closer turnovers. U get to the Ten yard line or closer three time and come away with no points? U should def lose those games, esp against comp as strong as Ravens. Their offense was dominant week ago vs solid Bengals defense. I have always believed if Vick manages the game,Reid calls safe plays runs,checkdowns to playmakers, extend drives etc... That there is no way these Birds arent serious contenders for SB esp with this Def. ANd MIke Vick can be real real good at end of games if need be. Take chances only when u need to. 4th quater and losing.Keep the def fresh with long drives,more designed runs with BOTH rbs Bryce and McCoy, then screens to Shady and short passes to qck play makers Desean,Celek and D Johnson now— Over_Exposed
