The Eagles have headed to the west coast a day early for their contest on Sunday with the Raiders.
They hope the early trip will help them adjust to the time change.
Normally they leave on Saturday, so that’s going to mean they will spend more time in Oakland than they normally do in other cities.
Andy Reid said he’s not so much concerned about the extra time, but his concerned about his team’s state of mind. He doesn’t want them to treat this like a mini-vacation.
‚ÄúYeah it really is the same. But, it‚Äôs a frame of mind. It‚Äôs how you handle that time, it‚Äôs not necessarily the schedule as how you handle that schedule. That‚Äôs the important thing here, from the time we get on the plane until the time we play the game, that you utilize that time wisely.”
Although he practiced Eagles guard Todd Herremans won’t play against the Raiders on Sunday. Niether will back up cornerback Dimitri Patterson. Defensive end Darren Howard didnt practice because of a toe injury but he will play on Sunday.
Wide receiver Kevin Curtis is listed as questionable this week, but he’s making the trip to Oakland which is a good sign and proof that’s he’s improving.
“It actually looked like he did a little better on the turf here and I think his knee feels a little bit better in there. That’s a good thing. It looked like he made some progress the last couple of days so we’ll just see how he does. He’s going on the trip and everything so we’ll just see how it goes.”
This will mean another start for rookie Jeremy Maclin who seems to be trying to see that Curtis never returns to the position.
He said McNabb’s body was a little sore from last week, but he didn’t really have much of a problem with his ribs.
“He was a little sore, not necessarily in the rib area alone, but sore from playing, on Monday. He’s worked through that and he feels pretty good.”
Reid also talked abit about Michael Vick.
“Every week he seems to get a little better and I guess you’d say get back in the swing of things. It was good to get him a few snaps in the base offense at the end of the last game. We did throw the ball there which I normally wouldn’t do, but I gave Mike that. He needed that work. He took [reps] both under center and from the shotgun; I thought that was good for him. It looks like he’s getting his speed all the way back now and he’s moving better. I think that really comes from dropping the pounds he’d put on and it looks like he’s playing pretty fast right now.”
