Eagles at a Disadvantage in London

Doug Pederson spoke to his players on Tuesday about their upcoming trip to London. He gave them all the details about the logistics of the team's travel schedule. 

Now, he hopes they can focus on playing the Jaguars. 

"So we're all set," Pederson said on Wednesday. "It's been a seamless process. Practice today and tomorrow here, and fly over just like we would on a normal road trip."

Of course, the Eagles don't have a normal trip coming this weekend; they're just trying to keep it as normal as possible before they take the seven-hour flight from Philadelphia to London. 

The Eagles will practice at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday. Their practice on Thursday is about a half-hour earlier than a normal week. Everything is pushed up a bit because they fly to London on Thursday evening. For a normal road game, the Eagles would fly out the day before. 

Once they land, the Eagles will immediately try to acclimate to London time, which is five hours ahead. That means on Friday, they'll practice at 2:30 p.m. local time. That's a 9:30 a.m. practice in Philly, but they want to operate on local time. The added days ought to help too. 

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said the biggest key to this trip is sleeping on the plane and then staying awake the next day. "It's not rocket science," he said. 

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Marrone should know. 

The Jaguars have done this trip a bunch. This will be their sixth time playing at Wembley Stadium. The Jags are 3-2 in that stadium but have won their last three straight there, including a blowout 44-7 win over the Ravens last September. In those three games, the Jags have forced eight turnovers while giving up just one of their own. 

Pederson credited an advanced team the Eagles send across the pond back when the schedule came out this spring. A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to prepare them for this trip. It's not like a bunch of other teams haven't gone before, but the Eagles needed to figure out how they were going to handle it. 

In many respects, the Jaguars have an advantage. Many of their players have done it all before and they know what to expect. The Eagles are just hoping their preparation will make Sunday's game as normal as possible. Then, they just have to get out there and play better. 

I know. One step at a time.

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