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Eagles

Eagles' Frank Reich confident in 'Big V'

    by Paul Domowitch
    Published 

In the Eagles' first four games, Lane Johnson clearly was their best offensive lineman.

"He was playing out of his mind,'' center Jason Kelce said. "He was playing really good football this year.''

And now, he's gone, off spending the next 10 games in PED exile. His replacement Sunday at right tackle when the Eagles travel to Washington to play the 3-2 Redskins will be rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who will be taking his very first NFL regular-season snaps at FedEx Field.

Did I mention that the guy who will be on the other side of the line from him much of the day will be Ryan Kerrigan, a six-year veteran with 50 career sacks?

"You find out guys tend to rise to the occasion,'' Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Thursday morning. "No. 1, because of what they have within themselves, and No. 2, (because of) the confidence they gain from the players playing around them.

"Big V is stepping onto an offensive line that's a very good offensive line. And he's well-coached. I expect him to come out with a lot of confidence.''

Vaitai was a game-day inactive for the Eagles' first four games. Sunday will be the first time he'll be exposed to the ear-piercing volume of a hostile NFL crowd. And it will be his first live hitting since the preseason.

"It isn't optimal going against a pretty good pass rusher (Kerrigan) who, when they're in nickel, will be on his side,'' Reich acknowledged. "But honestly, when you're a player, you get excited about that. (You say), 'Hey, if I'm gonna go, I might as well go on the road and start off the right way. That's what a warrior's mindset is. And that's the way guys playing in this league think.

"This opportunity is going to be good for him. And I'm sure he's going to get better as the weeks go on.''