Doug Pederson strolled into Friday's press conference wearing his Eagles hoodie and sun visor and confirmed that cornerback Ronald Darby will be listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the 49ers. Pederson's biggest concern is making sure Darby returns back to football shape even though Darby is getting more reps in practice.
Pederson also confirmed Lane Johnson will stay at right tackle and Halapoulavaati Vaitai will replace Jason Peters at the left tackle spot for the remainder of the season. Isaac Seumalo will be the backup at both positions.
Jordan Hicks' season-ending Achilles injury opens up the door for linebacker Mychal Kendricks. The former second-round pick back in 2012, Kendricks was out against the Redskins with a hamstring injury but will start against the 49ers. He's been a big part of the team's success on defense this season and Pederson expects him to rise to the occasion.
Sunday's game brings with it some challenges of its own. There's a 100 percent chance of rain with winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour. Pederson announced that he would rather play in the snow than rain because of the increased possibility for mishandled snaps, handoffs, and ball security in general. However, the weather won't jeopardize the game plan against San Francisco.
"Obviously going into the game knowing that it could rain, it might change how you call the game a little bit. It just depends on the amount of rain but we try not to let it be a distraction for us," Pederson stated. "We know it's going to rain but we still have to go play and execute but it doesn't change necessarily the way we gameplan."
