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Eagles’ Jason Peters thinks he might play a half vs. Ravens on Thursday | Early Birds

“I’m not sure, but I’m preparing myself like I’m going to play the whole game,” the 37-year-old tackle said Tuesday.

Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters said he feels 100-percent healthy following Tuesday's joint practice with the Ravens.
Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters said he feels 100-percent healthy following Tuesday's joint practice with the Ravens.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

You haven’t seen many Eagles offensive starters this preseason, and the sense from talking to coach Doug Pederson has been that you won’t, but left tackle Jason Peters dropped a hint to the contrary Tuesday, when discussing Thursday’s matchup with the visiting Baltimore Ravens. The Eagles and Ravens just concluded two days of intense joint practices.

Before we get to that, a brief word from our sponsor: If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here​. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @lesbowen. The email submissions have been lacking lately. I realize it’s preseason for you guys as well, but going forward, I kinda need you to pick up your game. Thank you for reading.

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— Les Bowen (earlybirds@inquirer.com)

Peters feeling good

Jason Peters doesn’t always make himself available to reporters, but when the Eagles’ 37-year-old, nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle decides to speak, he’s almost always worth a listen. Tuesday he paused for a moment, following the conclusion of two grueling days of joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens, who visit Lincoln Financial Field Thursday for both teams’ third game of the preseason.

J.P. said several noteworthy things: That he feels 100 percent healthy, that this Eagles offense ought to compare to “the top in Eagles history” if everything comes together, and that the work against the Ravens taught him that “we’re going to be pretty good.”

But the headliner was his response when asked if joint practices take the place of preseason games for him. Peters allowed that they give the starters better work than they usually get in preseason games. Then he said, “We don’t know, but I’m thinking I’m gonna play a half [Thursday]. I’m not sure, but I’m preparing myself like I’m going to play the whole game.”

Obviously, he won’t be playing the whole game. But a half? That would be more interesting than what we’ve seen the first two weeks of the preseason. If Peters plays a half, could we see something of Carson Wentz, all previous indications to the contrary? Maybe Peters was just going on past practice, hasn’t been tuned in to all the talk about not playing starters in the preseason. It’ll be interesting to find out.

Turns out, challenge was a stretch

Former Rutgers receiver Carlton Agudosi stretched his 6-foot-6 frame to the limit to catch a Clayton Thorson pass at the sideline during last week’s preseason victory at Jacksonville. Agudosi initially was ruled out of bounds, but Doug Pederson threw the challenge flag, and the officials agreed Agudosi had gotten both feet down. They missed something, though, Agudosi said this week.

Asked if he knew he was inbounds when he caught the ball, Agudosi said he did, but he said he also knew he had accidentally run out of bounds, then veered back in, before the ball got there. By rule, he was not allowed to be the first player to touch the ball after that. But he was. Presumably, the replay didn’t go back that far.

The other question on that play was whether Thorson was actually trying to hit Greg Ward just underneath Agudosi, which was how it looked to the naked eye. Agudosi said he wondered that, too, and asked Thorson afterward.

“He said at first he was throwing to the other guy, but just before he released the ball, he saw me and threw to me,” Agudosi said.

What you need to know about the Eagles

  1. Here is a link to the best darned Eagles podcast you will listen to on this site. Also the only Eagles podcast on this site, but let us not get mired down in details.

  2. Paul Domowitch and EJ Smith tell us several things, most notably that Nigel Bradham doesn’t seem real chipper about his chances of being healthy for the start of the regular season.

  3. Speaking of EJ, he scores the Eagles-Ravens practices as a draw.

  4. Ed Barkowitz talks to Trace McSorley, but doesn’t ask him about the string of interceptions he suffered in Tuesday’s joint practice. I’m frankly disappointed, though Eddie does a good job talking about how the Ravens see McSorley performing a sort of Taysom Hill-type role.

  5. Jeff McLane has practice observations, I suppose for the last time this preseason, since we’re only allowed to observe the very early stages of practice from now on. So you’ll want to keep these for your scrapbook.

  6. Domowitch tells us all about Daeshon Hall, the former Carolina third-round pick who is having a fine preseason.

  7. Bob Ford isn’t so sure the Eagles’ approach to the preseason is the right one.

  8. Alshon Jeffery dropped a crucial pass vs. the Saints in the playoffs last season, but he seems to have been forgive by Birds fans. It’s a different story than what happened to Mitch Williams, Mike Sielski writes.

From the mailbag

That is a fine question, Mark. I asked Doug Pederson what’s up with Jalen Mills during Pederson’s Tuesday news conference and he pretty much said he’s optimistic Mills will be ready for the opener, but he doesn’t really know. Doug kind of took a long and confusing verbal route to that point, so much that the Eagles didn’t print his answer in their transcript, afraid someone reading it would get confused or get the wrong idea. But I don’t think Mills can possibly be ready to be a starter for Game 1.

Ronald Darby is practicing now, with a big, clunky knee brace, but to me, the best setup in camp has been Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones outside with Avonte Maddox in the slot. I guess the biggest question would be whether the coaches think Darby is 100 percent back to where he was before his knee injury. I certainly wouldn’t say he is, off what I’ve seen. If Darby does start, I think it’s him and Rasul outside, with Jones in the slot. But Jones is really an outside corner, that’s where I think he will excel.