Turning the page from a tough loss like the Eagles suffered to the Chicago Bears can be difficult. But with another game on tap so near in the future, there really isn't another option.
"You have no choice (but to move on) if you want to be successful in the next game," said cornerback Dimitri Patterson. "Things are going to cross your mind from time to time, but the reality is you play on Thursday so you have to put it behind you."
Moving on, however, is not the same as forgetting.
"I think it's a wakeup call," said safety Quintin Mikell, "at this point right now, every game matters and every play matters. You can't come out and spot any team that's left on our schedule ... 21 points or whatever.
"That's one thing that we can take from this. When things are going good, you have to be just as focused as you are when things are going bad. So I think this was a learning experience for everyone and hopefully we'll get better. "
For the Eagles, especially members of a secondary that allowed Bears quarterback Jay Cutler to post the best day of his NFL career, perhaps the short week is a blessing.
"I personally don't mind the short turnaround on games because then it's about real football," Mikell said. "It's not all scheming. Teams don't have a whole lot of time to put together this crazy game plan, and really it comes down to just playing football, putting a hat on a hat, high school type football. I think that's really what it's going to be about this week, really just focusing on what we have to do, blocking and tackling and getting back to the basics."
The Eagles will go through a condensed week of practice that will be very light on the bodies. Consensus in the locker room is that the toughest aspect of the short week, by far, is getting the body back to where it needs to be for game time.
"It's football, so it's a rough game, a rough sport," said cornerback Joselio Hanson, who will slide back to his normal nickel role if Asante Samuel is able to play Thursday night - Samuel was a limited participant in practice Monday. "You have to just grit it out for this week, then we'll have a couple of days off next week.
"It's the same for (the Texans) too. They have three (fewer) days too, so it should be even."
"The toughest part is just the physical turnaround and just getting your body back to game speed and game playing conditions," agreed Patterson. "Recovery, that's the hardest thing."
Next up for the secondary is a stiff test in a Texans offense that will have Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was not suspended for his fight with Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan. The Texans boast a 5.9 yards-per-play mark on offense that is tied for third-best in the league, so the defense will indeed need to turn the page from the Bears game and prepare for a worthy opponent. The good news it sounds like they already have.
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 7:30 a.m., November 30
