One final day of practice before the Birds depart for “The Land,” which is where LeBron James used to play. Now the best team in that city is the Indians, followed by the Browns.

Head ball coach Doug Pederson spoke today, providing the following relevant tidbits of information and an interesting quote about his new book, which was released today:

  • Jay Ajayi is out of practice with a lower body injury and also needs rest
  • Nick Foles will play Thursday
  • the starters will hopefully play the first half and run a two-minute drill before the end of that half (offense or defense, whoever is in the game)
  • Jason Peters and Darren Sproles will not play
  • Carson Wentz is “moving well” and “making good decisions” since returning to training, his arm is “live and fresh”
  • wants team to execute better Thursday night, eliminate penalties and turnovers
  • Wendell Smallwood and Matt Jones are literally the only two healthy running backs on the roster, depending what happens in the next 48 hours. That led to this exchange:

Q. If Jay Ajayi doesn’t play and the other guys don’t come back, I think that leaves you with just two running backs for the game right? (Dave Zangaro)
COACH PEDERSON: That’s pretty smart.

Q. I’m good at math. (Dave Zangaro)
COACH PEDERSON: Wow. [Laughter]

Q. What do you want to see from those two guys? (Dave Zangaro)
COACH PEDERSON: Well, again, consistency. I want to see how well they rebound and come back. It’s a great opportunity for both of them. And listen, they are both veteran players. They have played a lot of football in this league, and it’s one of those sort of battles that we’ve been keeping our eye on this training camp and it’s great for both of them. It’s kind of ironic that it would come down to maybe a game or two here that these two guys are competing.

It’s unfortunate for the other guys that are nicked up because we want to see them as well, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity for Wendell and Matt and for them to get some really extensive time in this game.

More:

  • Mack Hollins practiced a bit this week and may or may not be available Thursday. Pederson identified him as a “big part” of the special teams unit
  • Brandon Graham probably will not play Thursday, “just working himself back in. He’s progressing well, obviously, and just want to make sure he’s ready too for the beginning of the year.”
  • next couple of weeks are “going to be big” for Avonte Maddox and Sidney Jones as slot CB competition shakes out

Also, Doug talked a little bit about his new book and said he wasn’t hot on the idea originally:

“When the project was first introduced, I was against it. Quite honestly, I didn’t want to do it. And then I got to thinking, it’s a way for people I think to kind of see me in a different light a little bit. You guys see me like this as Coach, being around the team. I’m a very private person and I don’t talk about myself and my family a bunch. But it’s just a way for people maybe to kind of get to know me outside of football.

I didn’t want it to be like a sports book or anything. If it’s motivational or if it’s inspirational, if it’s spiritual, whatever it is, that’s the message kind of behind this project. I haven’t even checked — I don’t even know where to check, if it’s getting any kind of reviews or not. But I am excited for it and to see what people think about it. It’s another one of those things in my life that’s been a blessing and along this journey of where we’re headed and what we’re doing, and it’ll probably be my last one, too.”

Here’s video of Doug’s presser:

Nick Foles also spoke to reporters.

Notes:

  • body feels great, fortunate with shoulder, wants to settle down going into Thursday night’s game, get the feel for game day again
  • felt soreness for a few days, but it’s the shoulder that was surgically repaired in 2007, felt something and was scared at first, but now feeling much better than he was last Thursday
  • Shelton Gibson has grown a lot in the last year, improved his route running, break points, now getting on the same page with the quarterbacks
  • getting work in with Mike Wallace, getting a better understanding and familiarity with him

Video:

The end.