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ALAMEDA, Calif. Jeremy Maclin Jersey . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. Pashos missed four of the last five games with a hip flexor and has been limited in practice this week while splitting reps with rookie Menelik Watson. Coach Dennis Allen, however, hinted that Pashos likely will start and Pashos later confirmed it. That would be a big boost for the Raiders, who have allowed 36 sacks this season and will be facing one of the leagues premier pass-rushers in Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. "Hes as advertised," Pashos said Thursday. "For such a young guy, hes doing a lot of great things in this league. You have to be on youre A game. You have to be at your best." Oaklands offensive line has been banged up since training camp when starting left tackle Jared Veldheer suffered a torn triceps and was placed on the designated to return/injured reserve list. Veldheer practiced this week for the first time since then but has yet to be activated to the 53-man roster. Centre Stefen Wisniewski has also missed time while injured, as has his backup and one-time starting left guard Andre Gurode. Pashos, who signed with the team six days before the season opener, just shook his head. "Weve been plugging and going and guys have answered the bell," said Pashos. "We were warming up tight ends at right tackle, so think about that. (Offensive line coach Tony Sparano) has done an unreal job and still does it to this day." The Raiders have had three different players start at right tackle, including Pashos, Watson and undrafted rookie Matt McCants. Khalif Barnes was penciled in as the starter before the season but was moved to left tackle after Veldheer got hurt. Oakland has had a bit of a revolving door on the right side since then. Pashos started the first four games before his injury. McCants, who also wasnt on the Raiders roster when the team broke training camp, made three starts in Pashos absence but sat out last weeks loss to the Giants with a toe injury. Watson has also had problems staying healthy. The 42nd overall pick in the draft, Watson injured a calf muscle the week before training camp opened and missed most of the preseason. He sat out the first seven regular-season games, then was pressed into duty in the first half of Oaklands Nov. 3 loss to Philadelphia when McCants got hurt. "Tony allows us more of a veteran-type leadership that were lacking out there," offensive co-ordinator Greg Olson said. "We were excited about Menelik Watson but the guy missed all of training camp. Hes getting better every day but its just nice to have the veterans back out there." Watt was indifferent when asked about the Raiders offensive line during a conference call with Bay Area media. "I kind of go in with the mindset that it doesnt matter who I line up across from," said Watt, who has a league-leading 27 sacks since the start of the 2012 season. "Ive seen film on all of (their) offensive linemen. I just go play my game." Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor was also back at practice after sitting out Wednesday to rest his sore knee, though undrafted rookie Matt McGloin continued to take the majority of reps with the Raiders starting offence. Allen, however, said that Pryor would start if hes cleared to play. "He got some reps with the first team and well see how he looks tomorrow," Allen said. "All you can do is watch practice and go with what you see on the practice field. If he looks like hes at health then hell be ready to go." Notes: Allen said he called first-round pick D.J. Hayden into his office to check on the rookie cornerback, who has had a rough season so far and is out with a groin injury. "I wanted to make sure that he was doing OK, get his spirits up and get ready to go," Allen said. ... RB Darren McFadden (hamstring) was also held out of practice Josh Huff Jersey . Another is a bunch of groundballs. Finally, theres a game that lasts two hours six minutes. Pavano kept up his recent surge with an efficient six-hitter for the Twins in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. Malcolm Jenkins Jersey . The teams official Twitter account quoted coach John Tortorella on Friday saying that Kesler "has a sprained knee and is out at least a couple of weeks".PHILADELPHIA - By the time they reached the locker room after winning the NFC East title and completing a worst-to-first journey under rookie coach Chip Kelly, the Philadelphia Eagles already were thinking ahead to their playoff opponent. Theyll have plenty of time to reflect on their accomplishments later. "The way they shifted their focus to the next game just minutes after we won was most impressive to me," general manager Howie Roseman said Monday night on his radio show. The Eagles went from 4-12 to 10-6, a remarkable turnaround after a miserable ending with Andy Reid last year. The makeover started with the hiring of Kelly, the hotshot college coach who needed convincing to leave Oregon. While most people outside the organization expected this to be a rebuilding season in Philadelphia, players and coaches bought into Kellys way right from the start and accelerated the process. "It was evident to me on April 1 when I got here with these guys and got a chance to be with them for the first day that they were kind of the mind-set: Whatever it takes, what do you want us to do and where do we got to be and how are we going to do it, and thats a credit to them," Kelly said. "Thats why we are where we are, because they are the ones that play. They are the ones that go out there every single day. They are the ones that train. They are the ones that have done everything as a staff that we have asked them to do and the results are everything that they put into, and thats the great thing about this game is that you cant fake football. You get out of it exactly what you put into it and these guys put in an unbelievable effort and its paying off for them on the field." The Eagles advanced by beating Dallas 24-22 and will host the New Orleans Saints (11-5) on Saturday night in their first playoff game since Michael Vick threw an interception in the end zone in the final minute of a 21-16 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Jan. Mychal Kendricks Jersey. 9, 2011. Win or lose, its been a successful season. But nobody is thinking that way around here. "Thats not how we are built or wired," Kelly said. "Its whats the next challenge and whats the next opportunity, and the great thing about where we are right now is if you win, you get to play again. So I think if you get caught up looking back at what happened or where you were, I think thats just not how were wired." The Eagles are 2 1/2-point favourites over New Orleans. A wins sends them to Carolina (12-4) on Jan. 12. But they have to beat Drew Brees and the Saints first. Everyone from Kelly and Roseman to owner Jeffrey Lurie have already called on fans to be loud and make it an uncomfortable environment for the Saints, who were 3-5 on the road. "I think this is big for the city and for this franchise," NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy said. "Its amazing that this is Coach Kellys first year and we made the playoffs. Were going in the right direction, but everyone knows that each week is important. We cant get too hyped about this game. Were in the playoffs, but we should be in the playoffs. We should be the division champs. Now we have to go out there and get it done Saturday." It took some record-setting performances for the Eagles to get this far this fast. McCoy had a franchise-best 1,607 yards rushing and 2,146 yards from scrimmage. Nick Foles had the best TD-interception ratio (13:5-1) in NFL history, the third-highest passer rating (119.2) in league history and the clubs best completion percentage (64.04). The offence set team records for (442), total net yards (6,676), touchdowns (53), and gross yards passing (4,406). And, theyre not done yet. "Chip and the coaching staff have done a great job," Foles said. "The players have done a great job of buying in and when adversity happens, guys really stay together. We lean on each other." ' ' ' |
