Jason Peters practiced on Wednesday and is expected to be “fine” after suffering a groin injury in the Eagles’ 30 to 17 Week 1 win.

That was the biggest takeaway from Doug Pederson’s Wednesday presser.

We didn’t get an update on cornerback Ronald Darby, who will reportedly miss four to six weeks with a dislocated ankle. Pederson said Monday that the team was gathering more information before commenting further. Today, he said that testing is finished and that the Eagles are just “waiting on results.”

More from the head ball coach:

Why did you decide to have permanent captains? (Carson Wentz, Chris Maragos, Peters, Malcolm Jenkins, Brandon Graham):

“I was speaking on this topic with team ownership and I just wanted to put the onus back on the players. I felt, going into year two, that giving them the responsibility – it was voted on by the team – it wasn’t my decision whatsoever to elect these guys. The team elected these guys. When you read their comments, they’re all very honored to be able to represent the team for the entire season. Obviously the sixth captain I will rotate on a weekly basis. We’ll have six every week.”

Context: There was some snark in the original answer, with Doug explaining that he already answered this question in a weekend Dave Spadaro piece

Why did you go with kicker Jake Elliott and are you concerned about specialist spots when two of them didn’t have a job a few weeks ago?:

“It’s the next man mentality. Obviously we brought him in here and he’s very accurate and has a strong leg. He’s young, but at the same time, we’re leaning forward. We’ll get him ready to play. We’ll get him out there in practice and watch him perform.”

Context: Doug basically ignored the second half of the question. 

On Alex Smith:

“A very cerebral guy. He’s a deep thinker. He studies, he prepares, and he’s very athletic. He’s probably more athletic than people give him credit for. He runs very well, he’s tough, extremely smart, doesn’t turn the ball over. It’s everything you want from a quarterback. When looking for a quarterback, yea you’d love to have all of those traits and characteristics.”

Context: I chopped the quote. The question was more about whether or not Alex Smith provided a blueprint of what they were looking for when they drafted Carson Wentz. It’s true that both quarterbacks are mentally very solid. Smith was stellar in the Chiefs’ Week 1 win at New England.

Is he still scripting the first 15 or 20 plays of the game?:

“Yea, it’s not necessarily 15 straight plays, obviously it’s more than that. It’s more the idea of what I expect and what we expect on first and second down. Coach Reid does the same thing. Listen, you can get off-script as early as play two, and really as early as play one if you have a muffed kickoff return and you’re at the one-yard line. Things can change drastically. But yes, I do do that.”

Context: They did this on Sunday with the early looks for Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery. The first play was a deep ball for Smith. The second play was intended for Jeffery, but ended up being a sack due to some great coverage by Josh Norman.

Similarities to Rasul Douglas and Jalen Mills:

“I think the biggest thing with Rasul is the fact that he’s been able to watch. He’s been able to see it from a distance, where Jalen was kind of thrust into the action right away and was king of learning on the fly. Jalen has obviously done an outstanding job to be in the position that he’s in. Rasul now, as this week goes, we’ll see where he’s at. But I think just sitting back and watching from afar has really helped him grow as a corner.”

Context: I think Rasul Douglas has a more difficult adjustment to the NFL than most people realize. West Virginia plays a base 3-3-5 “stack” defense that has been tweaked over the years to slow down Big 12 spread offenses. This is typically what it looks like, with three down linemen and an athletic secondary and linebacking corps that can provide a variety of looks. 

 

Andy Reid is 8-3 against former assistants, why?:

“It’s a tough task. His teams are always well prepared. They’re a disciplined group. They’re very consistent in how they go about their preparation during the week. It just comes down to preparation and hard work for them. That’s what he’s done in the past. I think, sometimes in my position, I don’t want to put any added stress or pressure on myself to go and perform. I have to continue to study the tape and plan accordingly and put our team in position to (win), just like last week. It’s that chess match. It’s our pieces versus their pieces. I just can’t get caught up in that record. I can’t get caught up in who’s on the other sideline and things of that nature. I have to focus on my job and getting our team ready to play.”

“He’s a guy that spends the time. There’s no short cut around that.”