Michael Vick is back. "Superman," he said, is not -- at least yet.

"I'm still going to be aggressive," said Vick, who is eligible to play Sunday after serving a two-game suspension. "Nothing is going to change about me on the field. I'm still going to be that same player -- dynamic in whatever way I can. Not doing too much. Superman may not be ready to return as of right now, but he will in the future."

The Eagles quarterback isn't sure exactly how he'll be employed against the Chiefs, if at all. Donovan McNabb is still questionable and coach Andy Reid is, as usual, keeping his cards close. Most expect Vick to be used in the Wildcat, especially if McNabb can't go and Kevin Kolb gets his second straight start.
 
"When we started doing it [in Atlanta] in 06, I thought it was the best thing smoking," Vick said today before practice. "It really helped our football team reach the plateau we wanted to reach. But down the stretch, it kind of wore itself out and it wasn't as productive as it was in the first half of the season. It can be a part of your offense, but not a major part of your offense. You have to throw it every now and then. This league is too complex and too fast and the coaches are too smart to line up and run it all  the time. I really don't wish it was here five years ago."
 
However he's used, Vick is excited to play for the first time in over 2 1/2 years and since he was incarcerated 18 months for running a dogfighting operation.

"Being in prison the last two years, I never envisioned myself coming back so soon and to even be standing here right now," Vick said. "I think  the commissioner has granted me this second chance and I'm taking advantage of it. I'm just thankful. I can't reiterate that enough. I was so excited last night to wake up this morning and come and play some football. Even in the walk through I was running fast."

Reid wouldn't say if Vick was the backup to Kolb -- Jeff Garcia is still on the roster -- or if he'll even play his new weapon.

"I'm not sure exactly how we'll use him, if he'll play and how much he'll play," Reid said. "I think he's in better shape than he was," against the Jets in the preseason finale.

Asked if there was a scenario in which Vick would not be activated for Sunday's game, Reid said, "We'll see. I haven't gotten that far with it yet."

McNabb, meanwhile, continues to rehab a fractured rib and won't practice today. His status for Sunday is still up in the air. If he can't go, Kolb will get another chance. Kolb will take all of the first team repetitions today at practice.

Reid said that McNabb has been able to throw, but "not with great velocity or length right now."

Reid was asked if next's week bye would factor into his decision whether to play McNabb. "I've looked at that," Reid said. "However, if he can function and not being in normal danger of playing the game ... then he can play."

Aside from McNabb, running back Brian Westbrook (ankle) and wide receiver DeSean Jackson (groin) won't practice today. Jackson went through the walk-through this morning. Reid said that the swelling in Westbrook's right ankle went down considerably. "We feel pretty good about [his playing Sunday]," Reid said. "We'll see how he does here the next couple of days."

Guard Todd Herremans (foot) and special teams player Dimitri Patterson (hand) are out for Sunday's game. Reid said that Herremans is scheduled to visit with the doctor next week. Herremans said last week that he hoped to be back by the NFC East opener against the Redskins on Oct. 26. 

Safety Quintin Demps (hamstring) and linebacker Joe Mays (shoulder) will practice today and both said they expect to be ready to play Sunday. Victor Abiamiri (groin) is also practicing.

Reid confirmed that Shawn Andrews is in Los Angeles and will be examined by back specialist Robert Watkins in the next few days. Andrews tweeted his departure yesterday.

Reid also said that Max Jean-Gilles will remain the starter at right guard for the time being. Stacy Andrews was demoted last week because, Reid said, he wasn't 100 percent back from off-season knee surgery.

The Eagles announced today that they have added former Penn State wide receiver Jordan Norwood to its practice squad. Norwood replaces Danny Amendola, who was picked up by the Rams.

Norwood was with the Browns through most of the preseason and was released earlier this month. He didn't have a catch in any of the preseason games. At Penn State, the soft-spoken Norwood tallied 158 receptions for 2,015 yards and 13 TDs in four seasons. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 171 pounds.

Yes, he's small, and, yes, he's only here to be on the scout team, but Norwood is a tough, tough kid. He took this hit from USC's Taylor Mays in last year's Rose Bowl, was knocked silly and came back later in the game.

Jordan Norwood tweeted today that he's off to Philadelphia and he could soon be a member of the Eagles' practice squad.

The exact tweet from the former Penn State receiver: To Philadelphia for me!!! Praising God for the opportunity. We shall see how it goes.

The reason the Eagles have a vacancy on the practice squad is because receiver Danny Amendola has signed with the St. Louis Rams. Amendola had an impressive preseason with the Eagles, but there was no room for him on the 53-man roster. Amendola may get a chance to be the Rams' top return man. 

Norwood, released by Cleveland just before the start of the season, in indeed coming to Philadelphia, but only a workout in front of team officials tonight is guaranteed.

The 5-foot-7, 171-pound receiver caught 41 passes for 637 yards and six touchdowns last year for the Nittany Lions. The Browns invited him to training camp as an undrafted free agent.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb gave an update on his condition this afternoon through the team's media relations department, but could not say if he thought he'd be ready to play Sunday against Kansas City. He, of course, sat out Sunday's loss to New Orleans with a fractured rib.

"I wish I had an answer, but I don't," he said.  "I feel pretty good, better than last Monday. It's one day at a time. I think there is a process that is going on, and the progression makes you feel confident that things are going to be better. Hopefully, it will be quicker than later. I'm looking forward to being back out on the field."

Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb was still down but ready for another chance the day after his first NFL start resulted in some big numbers -- 391 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions -- and a lopsided loss to the New Orleans Saints.

"It hacks you off that there's this negative attitude and you realize that maybe there is eight plays in there if we just do one thing a little different, the game could have been different," Kolb said.

The fact that coach Andy Reid said Kolb would start Sunday against Kansas City if Donovan McNabb is sidelined for a second straight week was encouraging to the former second-round pick.

"You always want to keep proving yourself, so every time he continues to have faith in me, it gives me more confidence," Kolb said. "You know he sees something there and hopefully that turns into something. This week it has to. Hopefully I can turn into the starter that he sees and wants me to be."

Asked what he thought his strength as a quarterback was, Kolb gave an interesting answer.

"It used to be ball security, but that's what I have to get better at," Kolb said. "I have to get better at taking care of the ball and not giving up cheap ones like I did."

Kolb has thrown seven interceptions and lost two fumbles in nine career games.

His senior year at the University of Houston, he threw 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions in just 14 games.

You can read more about Kolb's day after in tomorrow's Inquirer.

Andy Reid loves the Wildcat, loves his Wildcat and won't let anyone take it away from him. The Eagles coach held his day-after press conference today -- this one coming after the an embarrassing 48-22 loss to the Saints -- and Reid was very defensive about his use of the Wildcat. 

"Let me help you with the Wildcat ... whatever term you want to give the thing," Reid said. "It averaged 5.7 yards per carry and was very productive. I think we had five first downs with it. ... There was some good things from it."

Reid was then asked why he used so much Wildcat when he has been such a long-time proponent of the west coast offense, which he ran plenty of yesterday.

"I decided it was another little wrinkle we could use," Reid said. "We've done a few gadget plays over the years and had some success with them. Every game we have one or two in there. I thought this could help us in the run game and the pass game in some areas. But again, just picking and choosing and using it in a limited way."

Reid ran 12 plays out of the formation, with wide receiver DeSean Jackson and running back Brian Westbrook lining up in the shotgun as the 'Wildcat.' The longest result was a 16-yard run from Westbrook. Most of the plays went for anywhere in between seven and zero yards.

Reid reiterated his statement after the game that he didn't lean on the Wildcat because Kevin Kolb was making his first start at quarterback. He said he would have used those very same plays if Donovan McNabb had been healthy to go. It's fair to ask if the reason had anything to do with the running game's impotence.

Reid could not confirm that McNabb was out for Sunday's game against the Chiefs, however. He said his quarterback was making progress with a fractured rib. "There's a chance," Reid said. "I can't tell you that he could take a hit today. I don't feel that way about it now." Reid disputed a report that McNabb was out for Sunday.

If McNabb can't go, Kolb will earn his second start. Asked if Michael Vick was Kolb's backup, should he start, Reid said, "I can't tell you that. I don't know that right now." Jeff Garcia, by the way, is still on the roster.

Vick, meanwhile, is eligible to play for the first time since Dec. 2007. He was suspended for the first two games of the season. Reid wouldn't specify as to how he'll use his new toy, although he said that he doesn't believe Vick is ready enough to play in an entire game.

"We haven't even started on the game plan yet," Reid said. "We'll see how he does this week and see what he can handle in there."

Westbrook sprained his right ankle, the same ankle he had surgery on in the off-season. "We'll see how he does [this week]," Reid said. The coach was asked, in light of Westbrook's nagging injuries and his age, if he had to consider that his running back just wouldn't be able to carry the load he once did.

"I think he'll work through these things," Reid said. "Hopefully, as time goes on here -- again, I'm saying this because he didn't play much during the preseason and training camp -- he should be able to work through these and then get himself right where he can make it through the whole game."

Reid was also asked to clarify his decision to not play Stacy Andrews at guard on Sunday. On Friday he said there would be a three-guard rotation with Nick Cole, Max Jean-Gilles and Andrews. The only time Andrews got on the field was as part of the field goal and extra point units. Reid tried his best to explain his decision.

"The leg with time here is gradually fatigued," Reid said of Andrews' right knee which underwent surgery in January. "My feeling was as we went later in the week if we could hold him out some way of the game and allow that thing to strengthen up and bit maybe it pays off for us down the road."

Reid also explained why he carried ten defensive linemen and just four wide receivers in the game. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri came into the game with a groin injury and Reid wanted to make sure he had enough depth. Wide receivers Reggie Brown and Brandon Gibson both did not dress.

As for injuries, Reid said that Jackson has a groin strain and will be day to day. Cornerback Asante Samuel had a neck stinger in the game and should be OK. Todd Herremans is "making progress," Reid said, but the guard is out for Sunday's game. Cornerback Dimitri Patterson is slated to have hand surgery after he broke a bone in the game.

Running back Brian Westbrook has spent a lot of the second half getting looked at by trainers on the Eagles' sidelines. He appears to have injured his right ankle. Earlier he had the ankle taped and went back out on the field. He caught a short pass from Kevin Kolb but didn't look very explosive. He limped back to the huddle and eventually off the field.

He's currently getting re-examined, but has not gone inside to the locker room. Westbrook had off-season surgery to clean out bone fragments in that same ankle. His injury was confirmed later by the Eagles.

The Eagles, meanwhile, are about to lose their first game of the season. They trail the Saints, 41-22, with minutes just remaining.

Observations from the Eagles-Saints game:

FOURTH QUARTER

-- Reggie Bush runs 19 yards for a touchdown with 9:36 left. Saints, 41-20. Fans exit. Eagles will move to 1-1.

THIRD QUARTER

-- Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. The Eagles have had plenty of them this game. You're not going to win many games if you fumble kickoff returns. Ellis Hobbs put the football on the carpet on the opening kick of the second half and New Orleans recovered on the Eagles' 22. Three plays later and New Orleans scored when Drew Brees hit Heath Evans on the flat and the fullback took care of the rest making a nifty, side-stepping dive just inside the pylon. Eagles coach Andy Reid waited just before the extra point to toss his red hankie right on the back of the ref. Reid got one challenge right last week. He didn't fare so well this time around. Saints, 24-13.

-- Kolb made a rookie mistake on the Eagles' next possession when he tried to go to DeSean Jackson on a quick out. Kolb didn't see Saints linebacker Scott Shanle and he stepped in front for the pick. New Orleans wasted no time again and scored when RB Mike Bell soared into the end zone for a 7-yard TD. This. Game. Is. Close. To. Ova. Saints, 31-13.

-- More penalties from the Eagles, another bad throw from Kolb. He flung one behind Brian Westbrook. Some boos.

-- What a throw from Drew Brees to Devery Henderson on third and long. Sheldon Brown was covering, but there was almost nothing he could do to stop that completion from happening. The play went 38 yards and gave the Saints first and ten on the Eagles 40. The Saints settled for a field goal. Saints, 34-13. This quarter they have 19 plays from the line of scrimmage to the Eagles' 5.

-- Hobbs bounces back and bounces a kick return 63 yards. Kolb then showed some poise hitting the depenable Jason Avant on two big plays. First, he found Avant for a 14-yard catch on third and long. And then he heaved a 3-yard TD pass to No. 81 on fourth down. Kolb rolled to his right, Avant found a hole and scooped up a low throw. The play was reviewed but from this vantage point it was a clean reception. Saints, 34-20.

-- The Eagles nearly regained the momentum when it appeared as if Evans caught and fumbled the ball, but replays conclusively showed that he never had possession. The Eagles did eventually force the Saints to punt and still have life with a quarter remaining.

SECOND QUARTER

-- Just when it looked like Brees' and the Saints would storm to another score via the air, Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan made an alert play. On 3d-and-2, Brees rolled out and tried to hit tight end David Thomas. But Jordan, playing underneath, tipped the pass, was aware enough to locate the ball and grabbed the interception. Jordan, who had a good game last week, looked lost early in the game, but came back and made a nice play.

-- What an interesting possession from the Eagles. During a long, clock-churning drive, the Eagles ran out of the Wildcat formation on seven of 15 plays. On one play, tackles Winston Justice and Jason Peters lined up wide as DeSean Jackson took a direct snap. As confused as the Saints defense looked -- and maybe the refs -- the wideout ran for only four yards. It gave the Eagles a first down, however. Running back Brian Westbrook also lined up in the Wildcat on several plays and had success, one time running for 16 yards. Kolb had nice throws during the series, one time standing in there on a blitz and hitting Jason Avant for a first down. He almost had a third-and-goal pass intercepted, however, when he tried to go to tight end Brent Celek again.

-- David Akers kicked a 23-yard FG, but was run into by Tracy Porter. That's not an automatic first down and the Eagles took the three points. Eagles 10, Saints 10.

-- Despite all his great attributes, Jackson can make some not-wise decisions. On a long Saints' punt, Jackson fielded a punt that he should have just let roll into the end zone. Instead he tried to make something out of nothing and the Eagles were called for two illegal blocks in the back. So instead of starting on their own 20, the Eagles started a late-in-the-half drive from the 3-yard line. And then on third-and-five, Kolb threw a little behind Jackson -- not terribly -- and the wideout couldn't make the catch over the middle.

-- The Saints just needed two plays to strike back when Brees hit Reggie Bush for 29 yards and then connected with Marques Colston for a 25-yard TD. On the first play, it looked like Saints RT Jon Stinchcomb could have been called for holding Chris Clemons, but there was no flag. In the past, that would have drawn a penalty nine times out of ten. Saints, 17-10.

-- Kolb continues to impress. With just 37 seconds left before the half, Kolb directed the Eagles 65 yards and to a 32-yard David Akers FG. The Eagles had one shot at the end zone with nine seconds left but Kolb threw after Jackson broke on a corner route and the ball sailed out of bounds. Jackson threw his hands up in apparent disgust (Ahh, receivers ...). Kolb received a nice ovation when he left the field. Saints, 17-13.
 

FIRST QUARTER

-- Brees and the Saints' offense did as one would expect the league's No. 1 offense to do: they marched down the field in just eight plays -- needing only one third-down conversion -- and scored an opening-drive touchdown. Brees picked apart the Eagles' defense, using a mismatch with tight end Jeremy Shockey against the Birds' linebackers. The Saints scored when Brees hit a wide open Marques Colston in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard score. Eagles safety Quintin Mikell let Colston go and Asante Samuel was nowhere to be found. Saints, 7-0.

-- Maybe all those worries about Kolb were unfounded. On the first drive of his first NFL start, the quarterback tossed a beauty of a 40-yard strike to Jackson, who coasted the rest of the way for a 71-yard TD. Kolb and Jackson basically beat the Saints' zone defense with a perfect route and a perfect throw. Right tackle Winston Justice delivered a nice block to give Kolb ample time. I guess Kolb has earned a few more possessions without calls for Jeff Garcia. Saints 7, Eagles 7.

-- Special teams player Dimitri Patterson left the game with a hand injury. His not being around seemed to have caused some confusion for the Eagles on a punt when Joselio Hanson had to run out on the field as the gunner just before the snap. Whether it had something to do with Sav Rocca's not-so-good 34-yard punt is unknown. It couldn't have helped matters. Clemons was whistled for an unsportsman-like penalty on what was supposed to be the original punt. The Eagles have looked sloppy.

-- There was more slop on the Saints' ensuing drive. They drove down to the Eagles 5 and a faced third and 8. The Eagles had only 10 men on the field and there was mass confusion on defense. Somehow New Orleans didn't exploit the mismatch and Brees threw to Colston underneath for just a 3-yard gain. The Saints settled for a 23-yard FG from John Carney. Saints, 10-7.

The worst-kept secret in sports history became official when the Eagles released their list of inactive players for today's home opener against the Saints. Quarterback Donovan McNabb is out, so that means Kevin Kolb will get his first career NFL start.

Apparently, McNabb's fractured rib did not reach the amount of "stickiness" that would have been required for McNabb to be healthy enough to go. So his third-year backup gets the call.

Kolb came out on the field around 11:15 a.m. to warm up. He threw of bunch of passes to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and at least looked the starting quarterback part.

The Eagles' other inactives are: QB Michael Vick, WRs Brandon Gibson and Reggie Brown, S Quintin Demps, LB Joe Mays, G Mike McGlynn and G Todd Herremans.

Victor Abiamiri (groin) will start at defensive end. Max Jean-Gilles will start at right guard.

Kickoff is set for a little past 1 p.m. It's a perfect day for football. The skies are clear and the temperatures will hover around 70 degrees at kickoff. The Eagles are a 2-point underdog, according to most lines.