Injuries: B-West, B-Dawk Remain Sidelined

Thursday came and went without much of an update on Brian Westbrook. Dressed in his jersey and shorts and wearing an Eagles sideline hat, the running back watched practice much like he did on Wednesday.

"That's a day to day situation," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said earlier in the day. "We'll see."

The strained knee that Westbrook suffered in Monday night's game was scheduled to be looked at further by team physicians.

Westbrook's official designation for Sunday's game against the Lions will come Friday when head coach Andy Reid holds his final media briefing.

Correll Buckhalter has taken reps with the first-team offense, while Westbrook has undoubtedly gotten plenty of mental reps as a spectator.

Westbrook has accounted for 53 percent of the total net yards the offense has produced over the first two games.

Knee swelling limited Westbrook's practice reps early last season but he missed just one game -- the Monday night win over Green Bay -- and finished the season with a career-high 1,217 rushing yards.

Dawk, Smith, Lito Remain Sidelined

In addition to Westbrook, the team practiced Thursday without cornerback Lito Sheppard, free safety Brian Dawkins and tight end L.J. Smith.

Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson seemed optimistic about having at least one of those defensive starters in the lineup for Sunday.

"We anticipate he's going to be there Sunday," Johnson said of Dawkins. "We don't plan on Lito right now."

Dawkins suffered a neck stinger as a result of a hit he put on Redskins tight end Todd Yoder in the fourth quarter. On Wednesday, Dawkins said his neck was a "little stiff" and that he was not experiencing any headaches or dizziness. Johnson expects to have Dawkins back on the field Friday.

Sheppard remains sidelined with an MCL sprain suffered in the season opener.

Smith, meanwhile, continues to fight a nagging groin strain that has hampered the tight end since training camp. The injury has limited his productivity as evidenced by his numbers through two games -- four catches for 26 yards.

"L.J. is a tough guy. He's been playing hurt," said offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. "Whoever is in there, we expect to play well."

Matt Schobel and rookie Brent Celek could see extended action this weekend depending on Smith's status.

Seven Added; Two Return

Seven players were added to the team's injury report Thursday although all of them participated fully in practice. Those players included kicker David Akers (quadricep), right guard Shawn Andrews (shoulder), receivers Hank Baskett (back), Kevin Curtis (quadricep) and Greg Lewis (hip), quarterback A.J. Feeley (hand) and defensive end Jevon Kearse (shoulder).

Meanwhile, strong safety Sean Considine and left tackle William Thomas were back on the field after sitting out Wednesday. Considine suffered a knee contusion Monday night, but returned to the game. Thomas exited Monday's game with back spasms, a condition he's battled on and off for the last five years.

Lions Injury Update

Starting tight end Dan Campbell missed practice for a second straight day due to an elbow injury. Backup running back T.J. Duckett (ankle) also missed practice again.

Starting defensive end Kalimba Edwards (ankle) sat out Thursday's practice. He was limited in Wednesday's workout.

Sarting nose tackle Shaun Rogers (knee) and running back Kevin Jones (foot), a former first-round pick, were both limited for a second straight day.

Added to Detroit's report were starting left tackle Jeff Backus (knee) and reserve linebacker Anthony Cannon (quad), both of whom did not practice Thursday.

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Thoughts on the Pre Season

The pre-season is winding down, and I thought I would give some of my honest opinions about some players on the team. Outside of the two turnovers forced, the Eagles defense did almost nothing right against Pittsburgh. Jim Johnson's aggressive blitzes, seemed to get destroyed by screen plays. Overall I think the team has been average during the pre-season, and they need a lot of things to come together for this season to be a success.

Things that worry me:

Chris Gocong- He had a terrible game against the Steelers. He took bad angles, missed tackles, did not move well laterally, and just seemed very lost at linebacker. This is very disturbing to see, because he is expected to be a starter, and Jim Johnson has praised him all camp. Maybe he just had a bad game, and he can work some things out for the regular season, but right now he is making me very nervous. I also don't like the fact that his backup is a rookie. They could move Takeo Spikes to SAM, and possibly start Matt McCoy at WILL.

Sean Considine- Did anybody ever explain to Sean how to wrap up, and tackle? I keep seeing this guy jumping on opponents backs, and be taken for a ride. That was terrible, and so was that wimpy hit on tight end Heath Miller. It looked like he hurt himself, more than he did Miller. To his credit, he did have two nice blitzes, one that caused an interception, and the he tipped a pass on the other. I heard all this talk, of Sean bulking up, but it does not seem to make a difference on the field. Every time I even look at him out there, I remember Duece McAlister running him over in the playoffs.

Mike Patterson- Mike got pancaked on that Willie Parker touchdown run. A lot of guys were at fault for Parker to go untouched into the end zone, but it all starts up front, and you can't get pushed around that easily. They paid Patterson a lot of money last year, and I think they may have jumped the gun on this one. Not only has he been a liability against the run, but I have not seen much pressure on the QBs from him. Time to step it up.

Jeremy Bloom- After a good game at Baltimore, Bloom has not played well since. Reports are that he is slowed by a toe injury, and John Madden proclaimed that Bloom "did not belong on the field". Ouch. Rumor is that Andy Reid is fed up with Bloom, and he is on the way out. It was a very bad sign for him, to see Greg Lewis returning punts, and Correll Buckhalter returning kickoffs for the entire first half. Bloom had better do something great on Thursday, or he is out of here.

Deep Threat?- Where is it on this team? Kevin Curtis has looked fairly good so far, but he, and McNabb have not hooked up deep yet. I also have not seen Curtis get any big separation, on any of the deep routes he has run. Reggie Brown has had a very poor pre-season. It almost seems to me like he is disinterested. Jason Avant has done a good job, but he is a possession receiver. The only deep pass, has been that big play to Matt Schobel. I wonder if maybe losing Stallworth is a huge loss for this team. Even though he was injured some of the time, and caught only 37 balls, you always had to respect his speed on the outside. So far I have not seen anybody on the team show they can do that.

Shawn Andrews- How bad is this injury? Are the Eagles just taking the cautious approach? I definitely know that the offensive line has looked really bad without him. Scott Young has looked really bad, and Nick Cole did not seem much better. Right now if Andrews could not go, I would feel best with Max Jean-Gilles in his spot.

Things I am glad to see:

Donovan McNabb- Five is healthy. I don't care if he says he is 75%, or 85%, he looks fine to me. He is throwing fairly well, he is moving fairly well, and most importantly he seems to have no problem planting that right leg. It was also good to see him bounce right back up from getting hit. While the national media may focus in on Donovan's health being a major issue, I think there is nothing to worry about.

Brodrick Bunkley- Despite the defensive woes, Bunk has been impressive. He made yet another tackle for a loss, and got passed All Pro Guard Alan Faneca. I think now that he has his head on straight, we will start to see a big impact from Bunkley on this defensive line.

Takeo Spikes- Some People have ripped Takeo Spikes, but I think he has played really well. I've seen him shed blocks to make tackles, he forced a fumble at the goal line, and has been the best linebacker the Eagles have so far. It is also great to see that he looks 100% healthy, and is running full speed all over the field. I think Spikes is going to be a play maker for this team.

Young Guys Who Have Impressed:

Kevin Kolb- He has really come a long way in such a short time. The kid is accurate, seems very poised, makes smart decisions, goes through all of his reads well, and spreads the ball around. I have have come a full 180 with Kolb. At first I hated the pick, and did not understand. Now I see that whenever Donovan McNabb's time comes, they will have a good QB follow him. I would like to see Kolb connect with somebody deep, but really no receivers have been able to do that so far this pre-season.

Brent Celek- This guy seems for real. Every game he makes some nice grabs, and he has now been running with the first team offense. Celek has made the team, and should be rotating in every now and then with the starting unit this season. This pick falls into the Eagles history of taking risks on late round draft picks, on guys who have a lot of potential. Well this pick looks like it will be paying off big time. I wonder how this will affect L.J. Smith's contract negotiations. Will this be the leverage the Eagles need to get him signed, or is Celek good enough to make the front office just let Smith walk?

Punting Dual:

I am officially on the Sav Rocca bandwagon. The Aussie can just flat out boom the football. Dirk has played very well this pre-season, but Rocca has just been better. He barely even knows the rules, and he seems to be learning very fast. I heard that the winner of the punting job, will get all of the punting duties this Thursday. So if you see Sav out there, then you know he won. I feel bad for Dirk, because no matter how great he does, it seems like fans will hate him, if he wins this job. Andy Reid said it the other day, that no matter what Rocca will have a job in the NFL. If the Eagles cut him, somebody will definitely pick him up.

Shawn Andrews Injury Worse Than Thought?

From Andy Reid, all we've gotten is that Shawn Andrews has a sprained ankle and is getting better.

“He's making progress,” Reid said in a statement Wednesday. “He will not play this week. We'll see how he does next week.”

From Andrews, we got a lot more.

Andrews, speaking publicly for the first time since hurting his ankle on the fourth day of training camp, spoke ominously Wednesday about his injury, which, he hinted, is far more serious than a simple sprained ankle.

“When the doctor said what he said to me about different situations, it was a tearjerker,” Andrews said. “Sometimes things happen when you have a 300-pound body on a leg that's been broken. It's tough. ... Pain's not the issue. It's out of my hands. It's out of my doctor's hands.”

What does all this mean?

Good question.

Andrews walked Wednesday without crutches but was wearing a supportive boot on his right foot, on which he had surgery in September 2004.

Citing Reid's rule prohibiting players from speaking to the media about injuries, Andrews was intentionally vague, joking that he was afraid Reid would spank him if he told the truth.

“He's a massive man,” Andrews said. “I don't want that.”

Was Andrews joking about everything else? He is a noted practical joker, but he certainly seemed serious when talking about an injury that may be jeopardizing his season.

Andrews, a first-team All-Pro right guard and Pro Bowl starter last year, said he hurt his ankle on the final play of practice at Lehigh on Aug. 4.

“I was in pass protection and I felt a little something, and I was very concerned,” he said. “I told the trainers, and here I am in the boot.”

Four days later, when the ankle didn't respond to conventional treatment, the Eagles sent Andrews to a specialist in Philadelphia. At the time, Reid was vague about the diagnosis, saying, “Right now, we're calling it an ankle sprain.”

Beyond that, nothing is certain.
..Read more at the Burlington Times>>

Injury Bug

All-Pro guard Shawn Andrews is out indefinitely and tight end L.J. Smith aggravated a sports hernia, adding to the list of injured Philadelphia Eagles.

Andrews is bothered by a right ankle injury, the same one he hurt in Week 1 of his rookie season in 2004. He was examined by an ankle specialist on Wednesday and returned to camp Thursday with a walking boot and crutches. It's uncertain how long Andrews will be sidelined.

"(His ankle) will continue to be monitored and evaluated over the next several days," coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "He will rest it during that time."

Smith, who had surgery for a sports hernia in the offseason, left the field after a non-contact drill during the morning practice. Rookie running back Tony Hunt also left the morning session with an ankle sprain. Both players were to be re-evaluated.

Six-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins also remained sidelined with a sore Achilles' tendon.
>>SI.com

This is why I hate the preseason. Terrible news for L.J. Smith. I hope it is nothing too serious. The dreaded Sports Hernia has done enough damage to Philadelphia already. Now I am starting to worry if this ankle injury will linger into the season with the Big Kid. A big man with bad wheels is never good.

Interior Trio Key To The Running Game

You read and heard me raving about the play of Jackson, Andrews and Herremans last year and there was good reason for it.

They were the big reasons the Eagles running game dominated down the stretch. Jamaal Jackson, Shawn Andrews and Todd Herremans won the battle with every group of defensive tackles and nose tackles which they battled with and paved the way for the Eagles to go to the playoffs. If you see a offensive team running the ball consistently and the backs always have the ability to cutback for yardage, the center and two guards are doing a great job.
..Read more at GCobb.com>>