Darren Sproles, ‘Big V’ will not play vs. Ravens

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By Patrick Del Gaone, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The 5-8 Philadelphia Eagles will look to snap a six-game road losing streak when they take on the 7-6 Baltimore Ravens M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. 

Darren Sproles will be held out of the upcoming tilt after the versatile halfback suffered a concussion as a result of a cheap shot from Washington gunner Deshazor Everett on a punt return last week. Starting back Ryan Matthews will be heavily relied upon, while Kenjon Barner and Byron Marshall are expected to split the duties normally assumed by Sproles.

"Ryan's Ryan, he's gonna get the work," Pederson said. "Kenjon and Byron kind of fill that Darren Sproles role just a little bit. But by no means do we limit anything with the game plan."

"[Marshall] is very capable, and understands our offense extremely well. It's one of the reasons why I brought him up, he's been in our meetings all year. He's listened to the terminology, he's seen the guys in front of him play, so [I have] a lot of confidence in him getting some reps in the game."

Quite frankly, Philadelphia's offensive line is in shambles. Currently, guard/tackle Allen Barbre (hamstring), right guard Brandon Brooks (illness) and right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee) all occupy spots on the injury report, while Matt Tobin (MCL) was placed on injured reserve earlier this week.

"Allen Barbre is doing well with the hamstring, he'll be listed as questionable, gametime [decision]," Pederson said. "If he can't go, it'll be Isaac [Seumalo]… [Isaac] has been great. He's smooth, athletic and smart. He understands the schemes. Obviously the live reps Sunday, we'll find out, but he's done a good job this week."

"He had played a couple games in tackle at college, and played well there. He's very capable of handling it. It's just a different position, you're more on an island, more one-on-one blocks. But he's had a great week."

Pederson noted that Brooks is expected to return against Baltimore after missing last week's game with an illness, but Vaitai won't be available on Sunday.

Given the state of the hog-mollies, the first-year coach was asked today whether any thought was given toward sitting rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.

"No, not at all," Pederson said. "I'm a big believer in, we finish this out the right way. We play our guys, we play the guys who've been there all season long, and he's been a big part of that. I don't wanna necessarily do that right now with him. I don't wanna send that type of message, not only to him, but to the team. He's a leader, and we go with the guys that have battled and got us to this point."

You can watch the full press conference from Pederson below.

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