Eagles vs. Steelers: Vince Young and the 3 Biggest Backups of Note

Andy Reid has said that his starters for the Philadelphia Eagles will play the entire first half of Thursday night's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Whether or not the Steelers intend to match that playing time remains to be seen.

But one thing is for sure: The backups will see plenty of playing time in Week 2 of the preseason.

So, let's take a look at some of the key backups for each of the teams.

Here are four backup players who will be relied on by their teams in 2011.

4. Riley Cooper, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Jeremy Maclin has been cleared to return to practice, and the Eagles think they can have Steve Smith ready by the start of the season.

But if they don't have Smith, or if Maclin has a setback, the Eagles will be relying heavily on Cooper, who is currently their fourth wide receiver.

Cooper has good hands and knows how to make plays.

He just needs to stay sharp during the preseason and he should be fine.

3. Byron Leftwich, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Leftwich is Ben Roethlisberger's primary backup QB.

If Big Ben goes down, Leftwich is the guy that will need to step up and keep the Steelers on their path to return to the Super Bowl.

And with Big Ben's rough style of play, injuries are always a concern.

Therefore, Leftwich needs every snap he can get in the preseason to prepare for the worst.

2. Ronnie Brown, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles traded for Brown to be a mentor to young RB LeSean McCoy. But they also want him to have a strong year as McCoy's backup in 2011.

Brown knows how to work in a two-back system, but still had a down year in 2010.

The Eagles will be trying to put him in the best position to succeed this season. He'll need all the reps he can get this preseason to try to learn a new offense.

1. Vince Young, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

With Michael Vick's style of play, his risk of injury is always high.

Therefore, it's imperative that the Eagles have a good backup QB in case the worst happens with Vick.

After trading Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia is relying heavily on Vince Young to step up and be the backup.

He can learn a lot from Vick, who plays a very similar style to Young.

This preseason will show us if the Eagles are in good hands with Young, or if fans should be crossing their fingers praying Vick stays healthy.