efeat. With No. 1 netminder Carey Price still on the shelf with a lower-body injury,

PHILADELPHIA - LeSean McCoys left toe turned an ordinary preseason game into one worth watching. When the NFLs reigning rushing champion missed a practice because of a minor toe injury, it raised some anxiety among Eagles fans and fantasy football owners everywhere. But McCoy is expected to play when Philadelphia (0-2) hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) on Thursday night. "In this league, you have to learn how to play through pain if you can," McCoy said. "And if you can, you have to go out there and work hard." Coach Chip Kelly downplayed McCoys toe injury which forced him to watch practice Sunday. "Hes fine. Its not as big an issue as I think anybodys made it out to be," Kelly said. McCoy set a franchise record with 1,607 yards rushing in 2013. The two-time All-Pro has his sights set on a 2,000-yard season this year. It wont be easy if his toe slows him down. "My track record, I dont miss a lot of games, I dont miss a lot of practices," McCoy said. So, there will be plenty of eyes focused on McCoy to see how much he plays and how well he plays against the Steelers. The third preseason game is the closest to a real one because starters usually play into the third quarter and then sit out the final game to be ready for the opener. Both teams are looking for improvement after so-so performances the first two weeks. Nick Foles and the rest of Philadelphias offence havent been too sharp. Penalties, turnovers and various mistakes cost them in losses at Chicago and New England. But this will be the first game starting wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper play together. The first-team defence is a bigger concern because it struggled both games. Theyve allowed three touchdowns on six drives in two games. "This is an evaluation phase. Sometimes evaluation looks painful, but sometimes it looks promising," defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. "Sometimes those growing pains that youre looking at hurt, you dont want them to happen, but they happen. The goal is that every day were punching through and we continually move forward with getting better in both growing assignments and techniques of the young guys and the backups and some of the older guys that are new to the scheme." The Steelers are eager to test themselves against Philadelphias up-tempo offence and face a 3-4 defence. Ben Roethlisberger and the offence will get to try their no-huddle approach on the road. On defence, rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier looks to build off his dazzling debut against the Bills. "Were excited about it, particularly some of the challenges that the Philadelphia Eagles present offensively with the no-huddle stuff and the up-tempo pace," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Theyre a 3-4 defence. Weve seen some 4-3 defences. Were excited about that and theyre capable of being multiple (formations), particularly on situational downs, third downs and so forth. They give you a lot of looks. Thats an exciting opportunity for us to check our in-game readiness." Roethlisberger is working hard on perfecting the no-huddle, which is becoming a regular part of more offences around the league. He threw for a pair of touchdowns during his three series of work in a win over Buffalo last week. "This week is the last week to get it right," he said. Shazier, the 15th pick in Mays draft, had 11 tackles and one interception in one half in his first NFL game. He missed the preseason opener because of a knee injury. "One week I might have 11 tackles; one week I might have five," Shazier said. "Im just doing whatever they want me to do." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org ___ Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi Air Max Clearance Online . In five games last month, Billings led all scorers with 11 goals, 27 assists and 38 points as the Rock posted a 2-3 record. Nike Air Max Sale Online UK . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. http://www.wholesaleairmaxukoutlet.com/ . Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet UK .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Air Max Clearance UK ." One game is checked off, 15 remain and the next one to get crossed out could come Tuesday night when the defending champion Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears released eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers on Tuesday, one of several moves they made to reshape their struggling defence. The Bears also agreed to a five-year contract with former Oakland Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston, a two-year contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants safety Ryan Mundy, and one-year deals with linebackers Jordan Senn and D.J. Williams. But the biggest move as they tried to shore up a defence that got shredded by injuries and ranked among the leagues worst last season involved Peppers. Given the way he struggled last season and the fact that his salary cap hit for next season was for more than $18 million, the Bears were expected to let him go or restructure his contract. "We appreciate Julius contributions to the Bears over the last four years," general manager Phil Emery said in a statement. "He was a leader on our defence starting every game since coming to Chicago. His accomplishments over his NFL career place him among the best defensive ends over the past 20 years. The Chicagoland community has benefited greatly from his quiet generosity. We wish him the best." Peppers is the second high-profile player to part ways with the Bears this off-season, joining record returner Devin Hester. Those moves come after they split with Brian Urlacher following the 2012 season. Peppers, who turned 34 in January, finished with just seven sacks, his lowest total in four seasons with Chicago and the fewest for him since he had a career-low 2 1/2 with Carolina in 2007. Three times last year he failed to register a tackle, and the Bears defence ranked among the worst in the NFL. But Peppers has been one of the best at his position during his career. In his 12 seasons with Carolina (2002-2009)) and Chicago (2010-13), he ranks second in the NFL with 118 1/2 sacks.dddddddddddd He has nine interceptions -- the most by a defensive lineman since 2002 -- and his 39 career forced fumbles are fifth most in the league during that time. On special teams, Peppers has 11 blocked kicks during his career. With the Bears, Peppers had 38 sacks along with three interceptions, nine forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. But he was inconsistent last season. At times, he showed that old burst. Too often, he was a nonfactor. The defence, overall, was a mess for the Bears last season because of injuries and poor execution. Williams, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, and Henry Melton missed big chunks of the season. Nickel back Kelvin Hayden and defensive tackle Nate Collins also suffered season-ending injuries. And the Bears couldnt stop the run or get to the quarterback. Chicago allowed a league-high 5.3 yards per carry, half a yard more than any other team, and tied Jacksonville with an NFL-worst with 31 sacks. Houston started all 16 games last season for Oakland and was one of the few playmakers on a 4-12 team. He led the Raiders with a career-high six sacks and got 16 in four seasons with them. Mundy made a career-high nine starts with the Giants last season after spending his first four with Pittsburgh. He had 70 tackles and a 91-yard interception return along with two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He also had seven special teams stops. Senn has appeared in 83 games with seven starts over six seasons with Indianapolis (2008-09) and Carolina (2009-13). He was primarily a special-teams player last season. Williams appeared in six games and made four starts at middle linebacker last season after signing a one-year deal with Chicago. A ruptured pectoral muscle tendon cut short his season. ' ' '