ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
Tracy White (54) and Chris Gocong hone their skills before a friendly crowd of fellow linebackers that consisted of (from left) Stewart Bradley, Omar Gaither and Joe Mays.
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Eagles Notes
Happy Andrews practicing again
More than 2 1/2 months after undergoing back surgery to repair a herniated disk, guard Shawn Andrews returned to practice yesterday and said it helped his morale.
"We have all these personalities and guys that are here for a common goal," said Andrews, a personality himself with a blond, Mohawk-style strip bisecting his head. "We all have a lot in common, and just to be back, a part of that is pretty cool."
It would be even cooler for the Eagles if the two-time Pro Bowl lineman could return to game action. That won't happen this week, but might if the Birds advance past Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game against the Giants.
"Shawn won't be active this week," coach Andy Reid said. "I've got to see how he does here. He's been cleared to participate, but I'm not going to just throw him out there. He hasn't lifted and played football and done all those things. He's in great cardio shape, but he's just got to take it one step at a time here and not rush."
Andrews, who had surgery Oct. 21 and was cleared Monday to practice, did what he called "a lot of footwork stuff" yesterday. If the Eagles win Sunday, he said, he will pick up the pace the best he can, given the team is practicing without pads.
"Hopefully, I think I'm going to just try to intensify things as far as having some of the guys lean on me and just kind of see where I am once they're leaning on me," he said.
The new guy
The Eagles put rookie guard Mike McGlynn on injured reserve with a torn hamstring and signed cornerback Dimitri Patterson, who was released Oct. 30 by the Chiefs.Patterson, a third-year veteran from Tuskegee, said he worked out for "a couple of teams," including the Eagles, after being cut. He said he realized that, given the team's depth in the secondary, his signing might be a move for the future.
"You could say that, no doubt," he said. "They've gotten this far with the guys that they have now. I'm not trying to come in and mess up the chemistry. I'm just trying to come in and mold and mix in with the guys they already have."
Reid said that the Eagles had been working backup tackle Winston Justice at guard, and that he was comfortable with Justice's playing the position if a starter goes down Sunday.
The Eagles also signed wide receiver Danny Amendola and guard Tim Duckworth to the practice squad and released wideout Drisan James and cornerback Jonathan Hefney.
Samuel sits
Reid mentioned before practice that running back Brian Westbrook (knee), offensive tackle Jon Runyan (knee), and fullback Dan Klecko (shoulder) would sit out, but didn't include cornerback Asante Samuel (hip), who also did not participate.Samuel had to sit out a few plays of Sunday's playoff win over Minnesota, but came up with the game's big defensive play on a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown.
In addition to Andrews and defensive end Victor Abiamiri (foot), safety Brian Dawkins (back) and linebacker Stewart Bradley (rib) participated in practice on a limited basis.
- Joe Juliano
McNabb's parting shot
After deftly deflecting questions about the effect of his Nov. 23 benching on his play the last few weeks, quarterback Donovan McNabb startled listeners at the end of his weekly news conference as he discussed the recent struggles of the Giants' defense."I guess during the course of the year you don't play as well as you did early on," he said. "None of them got benched."
McNabb departed the podium with a broad smile.
