Eagles' Clemons out to fulfill pass-rush promise

The only breaks he ever seemed to get were the kind that prevented him from taking the field.

And now he's with a new team.

No, this is not Jerome McDougle's story. This tale belongs to Chris Clemons, the free-agent defensive end the Eagles signed to a five-year deal worth $12.6 million this off-season in the hope that he will improve their pass rush.

Clemons, who missed most of the preseason because of a right-calf injury, practiced yesterday as the Eagles started preparations for their season opener Sunday against the St. Louis Rams at Lincoln Financial Field. He expects to play in the opener and said he's going to have a productive regular season, despite an inactive preseason.

"Just show up on Sundays and take notes," Clemons said. "The proof is in the pudding. Unfortunately, the injuries came in the preseason, and I wasn't able to show the organization exactly what I'm capable of doing.

"Would [the fans] rather see me in the preseason or in the regular season? That's the question. Not to say that preseason isn't important, but at the end of the day, if you get hurt in the preseason, then there is no regular season."

Like McDougle, who is with the New York Giants after being released by the Eagles over the weekend, Clemons arrived in the NFL in 2003. Unlike McDougle, he wasn't a first-round draft pick. In fact, he wasn't a draft pick at all. The Washington Redskins signed Clemons as an undrafted free agent.

But the wheel of misfortune landed early and often on both Clemons and McDougle during their first five seasons.

Clemons spent his rookie season on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his shoulder.

A year later, he missed the Redskins' first 10 games with a pulled hamstring he suffered during the off-season. He played in their final six games that year, and his pass-rushing potential surfaced as he recorded three sacks, the same number McDougle had in five seasons with the Eagles.

Clemons played in 14 games in 2005 and recorded a couple of more sacks, but his season ended before the final game when he tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in a game against the Giants. A torn MCL in Clemons' right knee cost him the entire 2006 season.

His team and his luck changed in 2007, when he signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Raiders and made an immediate impact on special teams after proving in the preseason that he could be a productive pass rusher.

"They gave me an opportunity to get out on the field on third down and show what I could do," Clemons said. "It all started in the preseason. When I got my chance on special teams, I went out and played special teams the way they're supposed to be played.

"Then, once I started to get to the quarterback, they started pulling back my role on special teams. Not that special teams wasn't important, but we started playing more teams that threw the ball a lot, so it gave me an opportunity to get out on the field and rush the quarterback."

Clemons did his job exceptionally well, recording a career-high eight sacks with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He parlayed those numbers into a contract that will allow him to live comfortably the rest of his life.

But his first preseason with the Eagles has provided more questions than answers. During the team's first full week of training camp, Clemons gave the organization a scare when he was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital with dehydration. He returned to practice two days later and played in a limited role during the preseason opener at Pittsburgh.

Two days before camp broke, however, Clemons injured his calf.

"We were doing one-on-ones at Lehigh, and I was turning the corner," Clemons said. "Stefan Rodgers' body weight was shifting toward me while I was pushing off my back foot, and I just felt my calf pop in two different places.

"It was scary at first. We took it day by day, and for the first week it felt terrible. Then one day, when I did feel good and I went out and practiced on it, I felt it tweaking again. That was the reason [coach Andy Reid] pulled me out of the last preseason game."

Given Clemons' injury history and his slow recovery from the calf problem, there's a legitimate concern about how much he will contribute in his first season with the Eagles.

"It was disappointing, because I knew that . . . [the coaching staff] wanted to see me get out there and show that I'm still capable of doing what I did last year," Clemons said. "But at the end of the preseason, everything goes to zero and then you have to prove yourself during the regular season."

Proving time begins Sunday.