Lane Johnson will start week 1 if they haven’t handed down his suspension yet. Philly.com:

Barring some kind of procedural mishap in the testing process, and none has been claimed by Johnson or his representatives, then Johnson will miss the games at some point this season because he tested positive for a banned substance, his second such transgression. That suspension might not be in effect at the start of the season, however, so Pederson is preparing for either situation. A far more interesting question than whether Johnson will eventually be suspended – he will – is when exactly the Eagles would rather he serve his time. They can’t control any part of the process right now, but once the NFL confirms that the B sample from Johnson’s drug test matches the A sample, the team might certainly have a preference regarding whether Johnson should appeal the suspension…Let’s use the hypothetical of a team that has a veteran quarterback who will start the season, but also has a rookie quarterback, considered the very future of the franchise, who just might be playing by the end of the season. Contractually, it seems very unlikely the veteran will return the following year and, since the team is not expected to contend immediately, there is a good chance the rookie will get an opportunity to develop once that expectation is proved to be correct.

Either way, they’re prepared. Philly.com:

“The conversations are such that we’ve got to have . . . a plan ready to go” [Doug Pederson said]. “I’ll tell you this: If he’s ready to go, then he’s our guy. You just go with that, because he’s got plenty of reps in training camp. And that was part of the reason why getting Allen (Barbre) over there and getting ‘Big V’ (rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai) some reps and all that (was important). But we’ve got to cover all our bases one way or the other, and just have a plan when we get to that point.”

The o-line will have to establish chemistry as they go. PhillyMag:

One potential problem the Eagles may face up front is communication because of the lack of continuity they’ve had, which wouldn’t reveal itself too much during these weeks of vanilla schemes and little game-planning. It remains to be seen who will start at left guard when Barbre moves to right tackle, as Seumalo’s pectoral injury has created an opening for Wisniewski. Little nuances – the double-team blocks weren’t as good as they have been before,” Kelce said. “We haven’t really had time to surface them the way we have with where we need to be at. But I think it’s coming along great. Now that we have a full week to get our legs back under us and focus on Cleveland and get ready for that game, I think it’s only going to get better from here on out.”

Beau Allen and Taylor Hart and making their defensive mark. Philly.com:

“When we got brought in, we got labeled as two-gappers,” Allen said, referring to the defensive style the Eagles previously used. “For whatever reason, that kind of stuck. When people think of two-gappers, they think of big guys who stay on blocks and maybe aren’t as athletic. I guess what I’m trying to say is there’s a different perception between guys that two-gap and guys that are playing in the defense that we play. But we’ve known all along that we could do this.” In the two-gap defense, a lineman is responsible for the gap on both sides of an offensive lineman. There is a lot of reading and reacting required of the linemen. In Jim Schwartz’s 4-3 defensive scheme, the linemen just need to get upfield as quickly as they can. Hart called the two systems “total opposites,” but count Schwartz among those impressed by the inherited players. Schwartz said Hart is “very slippery.” Although Hart is not stout at 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, Schwartz has seen him slip past linemen to win in the pass rush. Allen, who played nose tackle n the previous defense, is 6-foot-3 and 327 pounds. He’s “a load in there,” Schwartz said, and is hard to move. And then when he can move north-south, an opposing linemen will have a hard time containing him. That was evident on Saturday when Allen bull-rushed his way through the Indianapolis Colts line for a sack.

Going into pre-season week 4, the team is still pretty banged up. PhillyMag:


Wendell Smallwood has not yet cleared the concussion protocol, Doug Pederson announced Tuesday afternoon. Isaac Seumalo, who is battling a pectoral injury, will not play in the preseason finale on Thursday against the Jets, but he’s expected to be ready to play next week. Vinny Curry (knee), Leodis McKelvin (hamstring) and Taylor Hart (knee, ankle) should also be good to go for the regular season opener against the Browns. With most of the Eagles’ first-team offense sitting out this week, Chase Daniel will start the game and most likely play for the entire first half, while McLeod Bethel-Thompson will play in the second half. Lane Johnson will play on Thursday, and if he isn’t suspended before the regular season, he is expected to start for the Eagles against the Browns.