Jason Kelce – Centre
Jacksonville’s defensive line
“They’re tremendous. Their defensive line is among the best in the NFL. It’s not just one guy. They really have multiple guys and their backups and their backups would be starters in other places. A very, very deep defensive line. They’re good.”
On the Eagles Fans
“Eagles fans always travel well. We had two LA Games that were home games [because Eagles fans outnumbered home fans]. They love their Eagles and the travel better probably than any fan base in the NFL so we’re ready for them as well!”
Redzone offense
We need to “be more efficient in that area, which was one of the best areas of the field for us last year. Especially at this point in the season we were leading the NFL in redzone offense. That’s something we’ve definitely got to do better on. That’s something that the head coach has preached, especially the last two weeks, so we’re working really hard to get that corrected. If we get that corrected the points will follow and the offense will be better”.
Corey Clement – Running Back
Is This a Must Win Game?
“Definitely. Wen don’t want to come all this way, travel and go back losing. That’s a long, quiet 7 hour plain ride and we’re not looking forward to that. We’re trying to come out of here victorious”…”We need to find who we truly are. Last year is last year. I’m definitely tired of talking about last year because this is a brand new team. We definitely have a lot of potential. We just have to find it. We’re out here every day busting out tails so whenever we get an chance to optimise that opportunity it has to come on Sunday.”
Balanced Gameplan
Clement mirrored Kelce’s sentiment that the Eagles must be more efficient in the redzone and suggested the offense would be more balanced. Against a Jaguars defence the plays the pass well, but has struggled against the run he said, “you want to see an opportunity every game” ”When you do see some type of grey areas you do want to take advantage of that, so coming into the game we’re not really going to change around much. We want to keep it simple because when you keep things simple you allow guys to play fast, have fun and really remain confident with their play call.”
However, Clement had 100 yards receiving in the Eagles Super Bowl win so I asked him if he thought he could help in the passing game too against a the like of Myles Jack and Telvin Smith. “Whenever you get the chance to be out on the outside, definitely on the perimeter, Carson definitely likes his running backs out in the open getting a chance to make a move…its definitely vital to become more versatile rather than just running the football.”
Healthy?
Asked whether he was fully healthy after reportedly being on a pitch count Clement said “I never really was told I was going to be on a pitch count. I just show up every day really not focused on how many carries I’m going to get, how many touches so to say. I’m just only focused on how I’m going to win this game,”. If Clement is back healthy and ready to be the lead back this would be huge in allowing the Eagles to be more balanced.
Jason Kelce photo by Andy Neale