Eagles - McDougle looks like a lock to make Eagles' roster; Clemons out?

Four weeks ago, what kind of odds would you have given on Chris Clemons not making the season-opening roster? A thousand-to-one? Two thousand-to-one?

Four weeks ago, McDougle appeared to be a dead man walking. Out of chances. Out of time. Out of luck.

Clemons? Well, Clemons was a rich man walking after signing a 5-year free-agent deal with the Eagles in March that included a $4 million signing bonus.

But with a little more than a week-and-a-half left before the Eagles have to reduce their roster to 53 players, McDougle just might be the one who stays, and Clemons, despite that hefty signing bonus, might be the one who goes.

McDougle, who has missed two of the last three seasons with injuries and has played in just 33 games since the team selected him with the 15th overall selection in the 2003 draft, continued his impressive summer last night with a sack, three hurries and a tackle for a loss in the Eagles' 27-17 win over New England.

Clemons, meanwhile, spent the game the same way he has spent much of the preseason and training camp. As an injured spectator.

"I'm just continuing to work hard," McDougle said after the game. "When the opportunity presents itself, I'm just trying to take the bull by the horns.''

The Eagles signed Clemons, who had eight sacks last season in a part-time role with Oakland, to beef up an anemic pass rush that had just 37 sacks last season and has registered more than 40 once in the last 5 years.

But as the saying goes, you can't make the club in the tub. Clemons was sidelined early in training camp when he was hospitalized for dehydration. Then he suffered a calf injury during the Eagles' last week at Lehigh and has missed the last two preseason games.

"He's been injured," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said this week. "He's not on the field. It's hard. I mean, it's tough for him right now. He's not on the field. Until we get him back on the field, we're not going to know."

Johnson also indicated that Clemons has been slow to learn his defense.

"He was still in a learning process," he said. "He wasn't quite there yet. That's just being honest. He's working at it, but he's not quite there yet."

Injuries have been the story of McDougle's NFL career. He missed all of last season after tearing a triceps tendon. Sat out the 2005 season after getting shot in the abdomen. Has also missed time with knee, ankle and hip injuries.

But finally, finally, he has managed to make it through a summer in one piece and is starting to resemble the player the Eagles hoped he would be when they drafted him 5 years ago.

"Just with the naked eye, it looked like he played well," coach Andy Reid said. "He rushed the passer well."

The Eagles notched four sacks of Patriots quarterbacks - not including Tom Brady, who sat out his third straight preseason game.

Juqua Parker started at left end and took most of the first-half reps there, with Darren Howard giving him an occasional breather. McDougle opened the second half at left end. On the Patriots' first possession, he beat right tackle Nick Kaczur with an outside rush and sacked Matt Cassel for a 7-yard loss.

"The other guys had been doing some stuff against [Kaczur], and I just fed off what they had been doing," McDougle said.

It's uncertain how many defensive ends the Eagles will keep on their roster. It remains to be seen what they will do with injured Victor Abiamiri and third-round rookie Bryan Smith.

Asked whether he thinks he survive the cutdowns, McDougle said, "The only thing I can control is what I can control and go out and play my butt off."

Did you notice?

* Asante Samuel sniffed out a reverse on the Patriots' first possession and nailed Randy Moss for a 5-yard loss.

* Lining up at fullback, Tony Hunt picked up two first downs on the Eagles' second scoring drive.

* The time the offensive line gave Donovan McNabb to throw on his 7-yard touchdown pass to Jason Avant in the second quarter.

* How quickly Quentin Demps gets the ball upfield on kick returns. Demps, who ran a 4.39-second 40 at the NFL scouting combine before the draft, is a decisive return man who almost always beat Patriot defenders to the 20-yard line. His 101-yard return for a touchdown pretty much guaranteed that he'll be the season-opening kick returner. *

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