Eagles Ready For Noisy Welcome In Arizona
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For years, Arizona was a desert wasteland in the NFL.
The Cardinals struggled for decades and road trips to the Cardinals home stadium were far from intimidating. However, Arizona's recent winning ways have given the Cardinals a decisive home field advantage, As the Eagles get set for their game in Arizona this weekend, Nick Foles knows he and his teammates will have to execute while dealing with a hostile crowd.
"It's really execution," said Foles. "You want to come away with touchdowns. They're in their home environment and that where momentum is. They're going to be feeling good."
Playing in a hostile environment is nothing new to Chip Kelly's squad. The Eagles have already picked up a win in a noisy indoor stadium when they defeated Indianapolis in week two. Tight End Zach Ertz says he isn't worried about communication issues in another indoor game this weekend.
"The offense that we run were we don't have a ton of communication in beneficial for us," Ertz said. "It helps in a dome or a loud atmosphere, so that's a big key for us."
This will be a rematch of a game won by the Eagles in South Philadelphia last year. It has been nearly a year since the two teams met, but Chip Kelly believes they can still learn from their victory over the Cardinals in 2013.
"We're going to look at the game from the year before," Kelly said. "We look at all the games they played this year and certainly our game against them last year, so it's just from an analyzing standpoint, but we're not going back and waxing nostalgic over plays we made or didn't make in terms of it. It's just cut and dry."
In addition to the crowd noise, the Eagles will be dealing with a potent Arizona offense. Cardinals Quarterback Carson Palmer is off to a strong start despite missing time earlier in the season, and Safety Malcolm Jenkins believes Palmer is playing at a high level.
"He does a good job of just distributing the football," Jenkins said. "He's got a bunch of receivers that can get open and stretch the field. He throws the deep ball well and makes smart decisions. They're efficient offensively."
Running Back Darren Sproles and Linebacker Mychal Kendricks practiced again on Thursday, and both are hoping to play on Sunday.
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