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SUNBURY-ON-THAMES, England – Corey Clement said that he felt like a zombie. Zach Ertz said that he was delusional. Malcolm Jenkins said the entire team was sleepwalking. And then, little by little, a field of zombies in epaulettes turned into a group of football players.
The Eagles flew from Philly to London during the night of Thursday to Friday. They held team meetings at the hotel and then traveled by bus to the Hazelwood Center rugby field for a two hour training session in the early afternoon.
"Today's day is a bit difficult, but once we arrive and move, it's like every day," said Malcolm Jenkins.
"Getting off the plane to go directly to meetings and going straight to practice is a bit difficult. The couple periods pass, you feel a little better, find your legs.
"Everyone is sleepwalking, to be honest. Everyone is still asleep. But the little energy we have is up to the DJ. Had a good little playlist of old-school hip-hop. It gave us a little life. "
No matter what it takes.
The Eagles practiced in Philly Thursday and in the suburbs of London less than 24 hours later.
They will face the Jaguars on Sunday at Wembley in the US's first off-season game in the franchise's history.
Looks like Friday was a mental as well as a physical challenge.
"Ignore it," said Wendell Smallwood. "Tell your mind what you need to do. You have to come here and practice and ignore being tired and being tight and just sucking.
"If you just decide you're going to do it, it's easy."
Zach Ertz did not want to hear about London, did not want to talk about London.
Not with the Eagles 3-4 with three losses in their last four games and in desperate need of a win.
Once Sunday comes, you have no excuse to know if you are tired or not. You have to go and run and put everything behind you, everything you've been through during the week. We are facing a very good defense in the red zone. It will not be easy. The Jaguars are a phenomenal defense at all three levels. This is probably the best defense we will face all year.
Tomorrow we will have time to visit the city if people want it, but in the end it's a business trip, as I see it. We must win Sunday. I do not have time to go there and have a good time in London and see Big Ben and all the sights. I am here to win a football game because we have an urgent need right now.
By all accounts, the practice resumed once everyone woke up and turned into a very good session.
"It was an excellent practice," said Smallwood. Doug (Pederson) said, "I do not know why you think you're tired, maybe it's the biggest energy you've had all year. "We were just having fun."
It just took a moment.
"Getting off the bus, everyone looked tired, but once we got here, it seemed like everyone was revitalized, revitalized and ready to go," said Carson Wentz. "I'm sure in the next few hours guys are going to fall pretty well, but the energy was pretty good at training."
It's a team of veterans with a group of guys who participated in the Super Bowl last year.
They know the situation. They are 3-4. They have little chance. They know that this week can not be in London.
We must beat the Jaguars.
"There were a lot of built-in excuses that the guys could have done but the guys were fighting it all," Ertz said. "It was not easy, but we did it.
"We may all have been a little tricky at first, but we turned that artificial energy into real energy at the end of the practice. I do not think anyone was hanging around.
"The guys understand what's at stake right now. All external factors, it will not matter Sunday.
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