Westbrook, Dawkins, Thomas and Sheppard all out

The Eagles will be missing five starters, including tight end L.J. Smith, which we knew about. Westbrook is a surprise. So is Dawk. William Thomas is not a surprise at all, and nor is Lito.

The absences of Westbrook and Sheppard will hurt Philly the most, as now the Giants can afford not to worry so much about the run, and they can pass with more impunity. It will be interesting to see which cornerback lines up across from Plaxico Burress.

So Winston Justice gets his first NFL start, Quintin Mikell gets his second, and the Eagles are almost certainly no longer the betting favorites.

No word on Westbrook yet

Tom Heckert and Rick Burkholder were tight-lipped about the Eagles' franchise running back when we ran into them in the lower concourse of Giants Stadium a few minutes ago. There are less than three hours to kickoff, and though the Phillies have -- and deserve -- center stage right now, a B-West absence would be a big deal today.

McNabb's not wearing the brace

He's braceless, and looking better.

Donovan gets booed

The Linc crowd gave Reno Mahe a standing ovation for catching a punt last week, but when the offense was introduced just now, that same crowd booed Donovsn McNabb for running on the field.

Kelly Holcomb starts for the Vikings today

Tavaris Jackson is out injured, and Minnesota has turned its offense over to the Eagles' fourth training camp quarterback. I actually thought he was the second-best signal caller at Lehigh, assuming McNabb was the best, and that the Birds should have traded A.J. Feeley for the second time instead.

If Holcomb beat the Eagles Oct. 28 in Minneapolis, what irony that would be.

Dawkins out

Brian Dawkins said earlier this week thatb he expected to play, and he was sort of paired all week with Brian Westbrook as important players who were banged up but would almost certainly play.

Westbrook is in, but Dawk is inactive.

The Eagles' All-Pro free safety suffered a "neck stinger" last week making a tackle against the Redskins. Given the NfL's tougher stance on concussions, it makes you think that's what he might have. The Eagles didn't list him with a concussion, but I remember the play where he got hurt, and his reaction was consistent.

So Quintin Mikell gets the start this afternoon. I'm not sure this is as devastating a thing as it might seem to be. Q is a playmaker, and Dawkins has not set the world on fire in the first two weeks. What you really miss is his experience and instincts, making minute adjustments to the defense midstream.

The loss of Dawkins is certainly not the blow that the loss of Westbrook would have been.

Seems like sacrelige

The Eagles have pained the end zones at the Linc in their "throwback" colors, canary yellow and sea foam blue. the yellow needs another coat, I think, because the green underneath is schowing through.

My question is this: If the Canaries... er, Eagles... play great today, do they bring these uniforms back another week?

I wouldn't rule it out. If I recall correctly, that's how the Chargers' white uniforms came back into being.

13 minutes t kickoff

L.J. Smith was quiet during pregame warmups, and it seemed like Matt Schobel was working with the ones. We'll see if Smith starts.

Also, Tony Hunt was listed among the inactives a few minutes ago. He was dressed last week, but did not play, even in a couple of short-yardage situations.

Two hours to kickoff

The parking lots immediately surrounding the Lic were already jammed ehn I got here about 45 minutes ago, and smelling like a heart attack. Inside, this game has the feeling of a big event, with a different level of media celebrity walking around. (It was interesting to pass by Michael Wilbon and hear him ask a PR aide for something or other while he blared away on PTI on all the televisions. That must have been tough for him to get used to at first too.)

The naturally high stakes of a Monday Night Football game cannot obscure what is on the line for the Eagles tonight, however. This is as close to a must-win game as Week 2 gets. Philadelphia can ill afford to fall two games behind Dallas in the NFC East. On the other hand, a win tonight gets them back to zero again, especially since the Packers beat the Giants. The Birds would be second in the division with a chance to take out a suspect 2-0 Detroit team at home next week.

Anyway, there are no real surprises or news items yet, other than the fact that Shawn Springs is listed as a starter at Redskins corner instead of Fred Smoot, who started last week. We'll see if it stays that way.

God bless the Onion

Indeed, it is the finest news source in the land. I especially loved the the story that ran about a year ago, about the Chicago Bears feeding on their fans.

Anyway, the good folks at the Onion have finally turned their telescoping satiric lens on the city of Philadelphia's beloved Birds and it's can't-win quarterback.

Greetings from historic Lambeau Field

First, the news.

A.J. Feeley is on the inactive list at the third quarterback, meaning Kevin Kolb is the backup. Also inactive are cornerback Nick Graham, linebacker Pago Togafau, offensive linemen Max Jean-Gilles, Pat McCoy and Scott Young, and defensive linemen LaJuan Ramsey and Victor Abiamiri.

So Winston Justice is active for the first time ever... L.J. Smith is apparently playing, though he was downgraded to questionable yesterday. Sopmeone said they saw Brent Celek working with the first team in warmups... All the rest of those injured guys are acive, including Shawn Andrews.

I took a walk around this historic place about an hour ago, went to the Packers Hall of Fame and everything, and took in the sights and smells of the parking lot. I got to see Green Bay's three Super Bowl trophies, Vince Lombardi's desk, Reggie White's uniform and all that. it was great, of course, but the real spectacle is what's going in in front of us right now, the entire staium exulting together, in a hope that may well be ill-placed.

There's just a minute or two until kickoff. Brett Favre just rans out of the tunnel, and it's time to start this season.

GLew -- Get him while you can

There probably isn't a player in the Eagles locker room who is less media-friendly than Greg Lewis, but this week the team's fifth wideout has been a media darling.

"This week is special," Lewis said, when team PR director Derek Boyko expressed shock at his accessibility over the last few days. TV and print reporters have been gathered around his locker every day. "It's just this week, then no more."

It's possible that the real difference between this week an any other is not that the Greg Lewis is talking to the media, it's that the media has something to talk to Greg Lewis about. He's at the top of the depth chart for punt returns now that Jeremy Bloom has been cut.

The same question over and over again -- "When's the last time you returned punts?" -- has given him a chance to put his off-beat sense of humor on display. The other day, the Daily's Les Bowen asked him the question, and he replied, "In a previous life."

Here was his answer to the same question today, posed by somebody or other:

"27 years ago," he said. "I did it one time in high school. In an all-star game. I scored a touchdown. No, I didn't."

Really? Never done it regularly?

"I've never done it regularly. 27 years. That's how old I am, and that's probably when I did it last, 27 years ago. I'm not a math major, but I think that's like zero or something."

Did you volunteer to return punts, or did the coaches approach you?

"I'm always a volunteer. I volunteer my services for everything. Anything that's needed, whether it be a defensive tackle, or a center or a holder or a punter or a returner or a receiver. I'm like a jack of all trades. I'm pretty versatile.
I feel like I'm great at everything I do. So you can take it for what it's worth."

How about returning kickoffs?

"I returned kickoffs in college. Then they cut me. They didn't realy want me returning because I was too sweet."

I don't know where Lewis got his disdain for the media -- it was there long before I stated covering the team -- but his explanation during the preseason was "I'm married now." Some liked him better when he was surly and silent. Personally, I like the smartass, off-the-wall answers. They're good for a blog post or a notebook item every now and then, and from a team's fifth wide receiver and sometime return guy, that's realy all you want.

So I hope this is not just a one-week thing. It seems like Lewis is having a little fun -- some at our expense -- so I'm thinking maybe in the weeks to come, he'll try to go back to being the old GLew, but be able to help himself.

Birds get Kimo

The Eagles jumped on defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen -- formerly of the Jets -- today, signing him to a one-year deal. To make room for him on the roster, they placed Ian Scott on limited IR, meaning he cannot play for the Eagles this year at all. Should he be deemed healthy, he could then be signed by another team. Von Oelhoffen made some plays against the Eagles on Thursday night, and I remember thinking, 'I'm glad I don't need to spell that name every week.'

Should have known the Birds would end up with him.

I doubt this will be the last roster move involving the Eagles or the players the Eagles cut. The practice squad designations are supposed to come down today as well. I'm sure guys like Gaddis and Barksdale are cinches to be on it, provided some other team doesn't have so dire a need for DBs that they can put those unpoished guys directly on their active rosters.

The cut list, for real for real

This is copied and pasted directly from the email sent out by the Eagles:

CB Rashad Barksdale
WR Jeremy Bloom
FB Jeremy Cain
DT Jeremy Clark
WR Zac Collie
LB Tank Daniels
FB Jason Davis
CB Dustin Fox
S C.J. Gaddis
WR Michael Gasperson
S Erick Harris
C Jasper Harvey
T Jacob Hobbs
RB Nate Ilaoa
P Dirk Johnson
DT Mauricio Lopez
DE Marques Murrell
WR J.J. Outlaw
T Jonathan Palmer
LB Dedrick Roper
WR Bill Sampy
TE Lee Vickers

That means Akeen Jordan is an Eagle, as is Marcus Paschal, Nick Graham and Ian Scott, all of whom were on the Spadaro list. The discrepancies are way too huge for the fiasco list to have been anything but what the Eagles said it was: an educated guess. There's no way the front office changes its mind that drasticaly just to save face for a public relations mouthpiece. So in effect, the team comes off looking fine, at the expense of the website guys. We'll see who, if anyyone, pays for this mistake.

Anyway, it's time to get cracking on the story for print.

Cut day, and Spadaro's gaffe

I haven't gotten the official word on the Eagles' 22 cuts/roster moves yet, but since the Tom Heckert conference call is in less than two hours, I'm guessing that email has got to come out soon. By now, most have seen the list accidentally posted on philadelphiaeagles.com, the team website spearheaded by Dave "On the Inside" Spadaro. The story was quickly recinded and apparently the website operators have done their gestapo thing, eradicating all the forum posts that reference the misstep.

Here's the posted list of cuts, for those who have not seen it:

Nate Ilaoa, Jason Davis, Jeremy Cain, Jeremy Bloom, J.J. Outlaw, Michael Gasperson, Zac Collie, Lee Vickers, Jonathan Palmer, Jasper Harvey, Jacob Hobbs, Pat McCoy, Marques Murrell, Mauricio Lopez, Ian Scott, Akeem Jordan, Dedrick Roper, Dustin Fox, Nick Graham, Marcus Paschal, Erick Harris, Dirk Johnson.

The Eagles have claimed this was just a work in progress, a placeholder for the real list until the moment the real one is released. Now, Dirk Johnson has already confirmed that he was cut, lending some validity to the working list. The rest of the names seem pretty believeable, with a few surprises worth mentioning.

First, I'm surprised to see Ian Scott on the list. If anything, I thought they's put him on the PUP list and buy him another six weeks to get healthy. Also, the fact that neither Rashad Barksdale nor C.J. Gaddis is on the cut list, but Nick Graham and Marcus Paschal are. I would have guess the other way around for that one, even though Barksdale and Gaddis were draft picks.

Jeremy Bloom is not a surprise at all. In fact, most thought he had a less-than-50-percent shot at making the team after the Jets game, and some gave him little or no chance. Personally, I don't see how he makes it. Able returners fall out of the trees after cut day. Before Thursday's game I thought he'd make the team, but after seeing what the Jets' young, unproven returner did, I changed my mind.

When I get the real list, I'll throw it up.