IT'S HARD TO believe Eagles veterans reported to training camp just 3 weeks ago yesterday.

A few things have happened since then. A lot of situations have changed, some not for the better. Three weeks back, we were wondering how many training-camp practices it would take to sync up the rebuilt offensive line. Now we're wondering how long into the regular season that syncing will take, and if the group that was supposed to start there will ever play together in 2009.

Three weeks ago, the question about Joe Mays was whether he could hold on to a roster spot, not whether he was an adequate replacement for Stewart Bradley at middle linebacker. And the tight-end position looked pretty solid, with rookie Cornelius Ingram a standout through organized team activities and the early days of rookie workouts at Lehigh. Now, Bradley and Ingram are recovering from their ACL surgeries, and the Eagles are trying to figure out what they have and what they might need at those positions.

As the Eagles await tonight's preseason game at Indianapolis, though, the news hasn't been bad everywhere. One of the biggest questions last month was whether the Eagles were deep enough at running back, with Brian Westbrook coming off ankle surgery and Correll Buckhalter having left for Denver in free agency.

Today, this is not nearly as pressing a concern. Second-round pick LeSean McCoy seems on track to be the biggest impact rookie running back of the Andy Reid era (remember, Westbrook was allowed only 46 carries and nine catches in his first season). McCoy carried 10 times for 55 yards in last week's preseason opener against New England, and caught a pair of passes for 12 yards.

Westbrook is practicing with the team and says he feels good, though it still isn't clear whether he will get any preseason game action. That isn't a huge deal - remember, the mystery in June was whether Westbrook would be a full-time practice participant before it was time to start the season. He still has more than 3 weeks to get ready for the opener.

Plus, Eldra Buckley, the running back the Eagles grabbed off waivers from the Chargers earlier this year, looks like a keeper. Buckley is a 5-9, 215-pound bowling-ball type, who seems able to grind out tough yards. He gained 23 yards on eight carries, including a TD run against the Pats, but perhaps more impressive was that he caught all six passes thrown to him, for 56 yards and another touchdown. We all know that in Andy Reid's offense, a back who can't catch can't play.

That was kind of what Buckley looked like in OTAs, as balls clanged off his hands regularly. Not nearly so much lately, though. And if you're going to get a running back from the waiver wire, San Diego isn't a bad place to look. Can't fault Buckley for not pushing aside LaDainian Tomlinson or Darren Sproles.

"I had fun" against New Eng-land, Buckley said this week.

"As long as I get better at [catching the ball], I'm doing all right," Buckley said. "I felt I caught the ball real good, but that was only one game; you've got to keep doing it."

Although fans across Eagles Nation are rolling their eyes as they read this sentence, Lorenzo Booker also performed well last week, running three times for 13 yards and making a nice catch-and-run that gained 25.

The running-back position has looked good enough that when a report surfaced yesterday about the Eagles looking into signing unemployed 34-year-old veteran Warrick Dunn, it seemed jarring. A month ago, fans were agitating for such a move. Now, it would be a surprise.

Sure enough, Dunn's agent, Jim Steiner, told the Daily News yesterday that the "looking into" was old news, something that happened before camp started.

Now, if Dunn could play tight end, that might be different.

On the defensive

 

The Eagles are still looking for defensive ends who can contribute to the rotation and possibly start opposite Trent Cole, who remains sidelined with a shoulder injury. Tonight's game means lots of reps for guys involved in that equation, especially with vet Darren Howard out with a groin strain.

Victor Abiamiri, a second-round pick in 2007, was in line to compete for a starting job before he injured a pectoral muscle getting ready for camp. Abiamiri returned to the field this week and is expected to play tonight.

"I'd be lying up here if I said he hasn't missed a considerable amount of time, because he has," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said recently, when asked about Abiamiri. "He has to get himself going here and mentally and physically help this football team."

Abiamiri, perhaps the Birds' most imposing defensive end at 6-4, 267, said he was being kidded in practice about having "fresh legs."

"I'm in pretty good shape. But you can never really simulate game shape," he said.

Last year, Abiamiri broke a wrist on the first day of contact at Lehigh and ended up missing all of the preseason, plus the first 5 weeks of the regular season.

"I think this year, only missing 2 weeks instead of 2 months will make it a little bit easier," he said.

On Aug. 4, the Birds added defensive end Jason Babin, a first-round pick of the Texans in 2004 who was a flop as a 3-4 linebacker. Babin, 6-3, 267, thinks he can play in a 4-3 as an end.

"It's been a rough road, trying to get back there," he said. "Covering wide receivers and running backs wasn't really my forte."

So far in camp, his forte has been getting offensive linemen angry enough to want to fight him. If the NFL had a Lady Byng Trophy, Babin probably wouldn't win it.

"In my position, you can't just come in and go with the flow," he said. "You've got to stand out. Let everybody know that I'm here to play football."

Against the Pats, Babin intercepted a pass but didn't get his feet down in bounds. *

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.