McNabb misses another practice

There is no red No. 5 out there on the practice field right now, and A.J. Feeley is again taking all the snaps with the first-team offense. It certainly seems less and less likely that DOnovan McNabb will start on Sunday against the Seahawks.

It's hard to imagine McNabb will play if he doesn't get some practice in tomorrow (Friday). It's not that he has a lot of on-field preparation work to do, as far as getting comfortable with the game plan -- he knows all that backwards and forward by now -- but a quarterback needs his timing. After two weeks on the shelf, it's hard to imagine The Eagles' coaches just throwing him out there and hoping for the best, at least not considering the way Feeley played against the Patriots.

Donovan and Q both out

After their walk through this morning, the Eagles went ahead and downgraded Donovan McNabb and Quintin Mikell from 'doubtful' to 'out' for the Patriots game tomorrow night. So A.J. Feeley will start at quarterback for the Birds against New England, and J.R. Reed will get his first NFL start at safety since he took a resting Brian Dawkins' spot for the last couple of games in 2004, when Andy Reid pulled a bunch of the starters in meaningless games.

This is by no means a surprise. McNabb was extremely doubtful as soon as he missed practice for treatment, and Q has the same injury that sidelined Tra Thomas for three weeks and Lito fo more than a month. The Eagles will be extremely lucky to have both of those guys back on the field against Seattle next week.

Is this No. 5's "For who? For what?" moment?

McNabb jogged back on the field. He's not in any clear pain. The X-rays on his ankle were negative. The team is struggling in a game they have to have. And yet he is not out there playing.

Contrast this McNabb with the one who played for almost an entire game with a BROKEN ankle. Maybe for Donovan, this team and this franchise just aren't worth that anymore.

McNabb back on the field for the second half...

... but with no helmet on yet. A.J. has his on, and has been throwing. McNabb does not appear to be playing.

Disastrous first half at the Linc

Three interceptions, a Ted Ginn, Jr. return for a touchdown, Quintin Mikell has a knee injury and... oh yes, Donovan McNabb left the game with an ankle injury.

The Eagles trail the NFL's worst team 7-3 at halftime, and No. 5 could be out. It's not over, but the mezzanine level of the Linc is almost completely empty, and nobody is sure if those folks are coming back.

Interesting fact: every one of McNabb's major injuries have come in the month of November.

Rod Hood... Michael Lewis... Brian Westbrook???

On Wednesday, Brian Westbrook inadvertently complained about his contract, saying, "The contract I signed back then (in 2005), it made sense to me at that point. Right now, I try not to get into the contract numbers and the contract talk right now."

Translation: "I'm not talking contract, because if I said what I feel, it would be a problem."

And so, it's a problem.

Westbrook practiced that day, but the next day he was out with knee swelling, the team blaming the move indoors to artificial turf. I'm 95 percent certain that there is nothing particularly rotten here, but that other five percent wonders at the timing of Westbrook's latest injury hiccup.

All indications out of the Washington game were that he was perfectly healthy. Then he cracks the front office with a backhand, making plain he believes he's underpaid, and suddenly he's questionable for the Miami game. It's probably a stone coincidence, but considering the fact that Rod Hood was inactive for a game last year for virtually no reason, and Michael Lewis shelved as well...

Now, if the Eagles try to make it without Westbrook this week, that doesn't mean he's getting sandbagged for speaking out. The Dolphins are bad enough against the run that the Birds coaching staff may actually believe that Correll Buckhalter can get it done on Sunday, and that they can get away with giving No. 36 an extra week of rest. That would be a mistake, of course, whether or not they turn out to be right. If he's at all physically able, Westbrook needs to be on the field, and he needs to get his touches. Need we remember the offensive futility of the Giants game? It wasn't all Winston Justice's fault.

I think Westbrook will play this week, and I think he'll have a good time. Since Purple Jesus has a real, honest-to-god knee injury, 36 will probably take over the league lead in total yards from scrimmage. And since he doesn't get enough carries to challenge for a rushing title, that's the most important category in which he can conceivably lead.

And if he finishes the season in that spot, just maybe the front office will look at that contract of his, and wonder what it might be like to have a sincerely discontent Brian Westbrook take the NovaCare Complex podium week after week in 2008.

Buckhalter inactive

The Eagles and Redskins announced their inactives for today's game, and running back Correll Buckhalter is not going to dress. According to the team's media relations director, Derek Boyko, Buck fell ill this morning.

So that means J.R. Reed will be back returning kickoffs today, a move that was anticipated regardless of illness.

The other Philly inactives are all pretty pedestrian. Paschal, Pago, Kimo, Max J-G, Scott Young, Reagor. So that also means Victor Abiamiri will play his second career game, in front of an almost-home crowd (he's from Maryland). Good for him.

Sheppard goes "full Lito" on Marquand Manuel

The funniest moments of the Eagles' open locker room sessions this previous week came (as they often do) from Lito Sheppard, who got on a riff about the Florida-Tennessee game in 2001, a 34-32 Gator loss.

Somebody made an off-hand comment that te Florida defense wasn't great in that game, and Lito wanted to clarify: "It wasn’t so much of a bad defense, it was just one position that stood out. We gave up 300 rushing yards on the same play.

"The same thing happened (three times). Gap-fill defense, strong safety coming down, got shook, out the gates three times in a row.

"The running back (Travis Stephens), he had 200-some rushing yards that day. If you look at it, he had three long runs. Y’all want to go back to that game, look at his three long runs, those three long runs were the same play.

"Y’all might think I’m exaggerating or lying. Just go back and watch that game."

We naturally asked who the strong safety was, and Lito naturally demurred.

"I can’t say all that."

It took me and Google about 15 seconds to figure it out once I got back to the media work room. The mystery guest's name is Marquand Manuel, and he is actually a reserve safety for the Carolina Panthers as we speak, after being released by the Packers Sept. 2. So Lito missed out on his reunion twice, since the Birds played their preseason game against Carolina while Manuel was with Green Bay and they played their season opener against the Packers when Manuel was a Panther.

Given my man Marquand's career arc, it's no guarantee that he'll make it to an NFL field in 2008. But if he does, and the Eagles play him, I wonder if they'll run that play.

From deep in the end zone at FedEx Field...

Thank the lord for internet air cards. The Redskins have one of the only press boxes in the NFL without wireless internet access (how can this be, in 2007?), so the C-P will get its money's worth with the Sprint PCS connection today.A lack of wireless is just one item in a litany of evidence of the 'Skins' general disdain for the media, both home and visiting. Another is the location of the press box, in the corner of one of the end zones. There is literally no way we'll be able to mark down and distance with the naked eye when the line of scrimmage crosses midfield. On the upside, if Antwaan Randle El catches a TD pass on a fade route to our corner, he might jump into our arms.

So I was surfing around waiting for stuff to happen, and came across a list of midseason all-stars put together by Yahoo's Charles Robinson. Given the Eagles' overal performance so far this year, I wasn't sure they'd be represented at all, especially since this team is more All-Pro-size than Pro Bowl, with just one or two honorees per position. And yet, three Birds caught Yahoo's eye.

Robinson has Shawn Andrews as one of two all-star guards, along with Minnesota's Steve Hutchinson. He calls Andrews "the best run-blocking guard in the NFL under 25." He also has Brian Westbrook as the honorable mention running back, behind Purple Jesus himself, Adrian Peterson. Also an honorable mention was Trent Cole at defensive end, behind Green Bay's Aaron Kampman and the Chiefs' Jared Allen.

Another name of ocal interest, Woodbury High School graduate and Viking offensive lineman, Bryant McKinnie, was also an honorable mention, meaning Robinson believes him to be the third-best offensive tackle in the NFL. I don't know about that, after watching him hold Cole all game long, but it's nice to see a South Jersey produt get national pub.

Speaking of national pub, I was looking at ESPN.com's preview material on women's college basketball, which had Willingboro High School graduate and Maryland senior Crystal Langhorne as an easy first-team All-America pick, one of the best five players in the country. That was not a surprise, of course. I believe she was in the same boat last year, though overshadowed both times by Tennessee's incomparable Candace Parker. Interestingly, Rutgers senior and Paterson-Eastside grad Essence Carson was a second-team pick, getting the nod ahead of her teammate, classmate and fellow Jersey product Matee Ajavon, of Shabazz. On that same preview page, there was also a feature story on Virginia senior Sharnee Zoll, a Highland graduate who is on pace to break te school assist record set by Dawn Staley, argiably the best point guard in the world for a while.

I knew those class of 2004 Jersey girls would turn out to be world beaters. But enough reminiscing about my old life as a high school girls' basketball writer. It's time to watch them rehearse the national anthem and check the referee's microphone four times in 20 minutes. Oh look, there's Shane Lechler warming up. It's game time (minus an hour and 45 minutes)!!!