The Eagles inserted an extended break into Wednesday’s practice so that players could get accustomed to the extra time they’ll have to wait around during halftime in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Justin Timberlake’s musical extravaganza will be taking the place of football while the Eagles make their adjustments and one adjustment that head coach Doug Pederson wants to see before Sunday is less sloppiness from the team. Pederson said on Wednesday, via the pool report, that that the second half of practice was “a little sloppy” and shared a bit more at his Thursday press conference.
“Number one, it’s been a couple days since we’ve been on the practice field, so it’s typical you’re going to have not quite as crisp of a practice,” Pederson said. “For me, it was just going around and talking to the leadership of the guys. It wasn’t to get the team together, get the coaches together and then start browbeating everybody. We’re so late in the season now that we understand how to practice. Just making sure that we understand the importance of one. That’s why I did the break, was to put us in that that situation, now we understand it. It was a very teachable moment for our guys, our coach and how to prepare for the second half of a football game.”
Quarterback Nick Foles said he thinks simulating the break “will really pay off” on Sunday and we certainly learned last year that it’s essential to remain sharp for all 60 minutes if you’re going to beat the Patriots.