For the Eagles, Monday night's primetime matchup figures to star two highly touted rookies. Head coach Andy Reid met the media Friday and updated the team's injury report. Both quarterback Michael Vick and running back LeSean McCoy will be out for Monday's game with concussions. Also out for the Eagles will be wide receiver Jason Avant (hamstring) and running back Chris Polk (toe).
This means that quarterback Nick Foles will get his second career start, while Bryce Brown will make the first start of his NFL career at running back. Foles' first start last weekend didn't go as planned, but Reid said the rookie's week of practice this time around was much improved from last week.
"I thought he was just more comfortable in there playing," Reid said. "He doesn't have any problems spitting all the stuff out, just knowing how to take your drops and make your drops work with the coverages and then the players that you're playing with, making sure you get a good feel for them. They've gotten time after practice and worked together; getting time before and then obviously the run-through."
Lining up in the backfield behind Foles will be Brown, who has not started a game since high school. Once considered a can't-miss college prospect, Brown's unusual college career ended with him becoming the Eagles' seventh-round pick. Reid said Friday that he'll monitor Brown's touches, spelling him with Dion Lewis if need be.
"You just watch him and talk to him on the sideline, and make sure he's doing alright," Reid said. "I know Dion can step in and play, so there's a time and a place where we'll do that."
Reid was also asked about cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha's comments Friday, during which the star corner acknowledged that he hadn't lived up to fans' expectations. Reid appreciated Asomugha's honesty and said players are holding themselves accountable for the team's struggles.
"I think if you talk to these guys individually they're going to tell you that they want to do better," Reid said. "Obviously nobody wants to play the way we've been playing; nobody wants to coach the way we've been coaching.
"We owe it to each other, we owe it to the city to play better. As long as guys own up to that, coaches and players, that's the way you get better. And you go work on the things that you're not doing well and get yourself right."
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