The Eagles had Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson on the practice field on Sunday, a good sign. There is still no definitive word on his availability for Thursday night. As with all openers, teams have to prepare for the unknown.
And there is plenty of that with this one, against a division rival. THE division rival.
“There isn’t any need for hype. This is the opener and it’s Dallas, a division rival,” center Cam Jurgens said. “We just have to prepare and play the best football we can play. They’ve got good players up front. Tough guys. We played Clark twice last year and he’s tough. He’s a veteran and he’s strong, so we will see how they use him in their scheme. We’ll learn as the game goes along and we will have things built in in case we see them trying to do new things.
“It’s always a chess match. That’s the nature of football and that’s what makes it so much fun.”
Tyler Steen knows Clark has been in the league for nine seasons, is known as a good run stopper, and a physical presence.
“He’s a big dude, real physical, powerful guy. He’s been in the league for a while and has the experience, so we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Steen said. “What is Dallas going to do with him? How does he fit in with that? What he’s doing in this game might be different than what he did in Green Bay. Dallas wants to confuse us and try to get us off our game, so we have to communicate well and play the way we play.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to us and executing what the coaches want us to execute.”