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Enter the locker room and immediately to the left are the quarterbacks. Across from them, the defensive backs. Walk the length of the carpeted room and the players get bigger as you go along, especially on the right side, where the defensive backs give way to the defensive linemen.
Then you reach the far corner. That's where the buffalo roam - the offensive linemen. A doorway separates the starters from the rest of the blockers, and after a practice day during the season, they typically tend to their business apart from the media horde scouring the room for stories.
The offensive linemen make up the engine room of any successful offense, but they may as well be parked in a garage with the door closed because they are rarely noticed by the public unless they mess up.
Indeed, the Eagles' blocker who probably received the most attention last season was Winston Justice. In the fourth game of the season against the New York Giants, Justice made his first career start because veteran Tra Thomas was injured. It was a prime-time disaster for the young Justice. The Giants piled up a record 12 sacks, and defensive end Osi Umenyiora sprinted around Justice for six of them. Thomas returned to action the following week, newly appreciated because of his absence.
So the offense and defense run plays against scout teams. It is a chance for the linemen to visualize their opponents and further familiarize themselves with their moves. No longer can a blocker zero in on one defensive lineman because more and more teams use rotations to keep them fresh.
"It's like the pitch count in baseball," defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "So many games are won in the fourth quarter, or lost in the fourth quarter, so as much as you can, you want to keep those guys fresh for the fourth quarter. When we go into the fourth quarter, I want our best soldiers on the field and you want to press. If a guy plays 65, 70 plays, you go into the fourth quarter [and] he doesn't have much gas left."
Jon Runyan is the Eagles' most visible offensive lineman, and not just because the 34-year-old tackle stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 330 pounds. He has endorsement deals with McDonald's and Ford and is frequently a guest on television and sports-talk radio. His dry wit and durability - he has started 194 consecutive games - make him one of the team's more popular players. He believes blockers face more challenges than before because defensive linemen have become more specialized.
"The game has changed a lot in the 13 years I've been in the league," he said. "Before, [defensive linemen] had to do everything. Now you have guys to rush the passer, guys playing against the run. They used to have to do both. You have to study more because you're probably going against more than one guy."
Runyan and Thomas, 33, have been fixtures together on the Birds' offensive line for the last eight seasons. They have started 118 regular-season games together, more than any tackle tandem in team history. Together, they have 22 years of experience.
"If you get your opportunity and take advantage of it, you can play a while because there are a lot of tricks you can learn as you get older," Runyan said.
Runyan and Thomas have interesting theories on why so many blockers enjoy long careers.
"It's because you don't really have to do much more than block people," Runyan said. "A lot of those other guys, even if they're backups, are playing on special teams and putting themselves in position where they can get hurt. That has a lot to do with it. You're asked to do less. You're specializing. There aren't a lot of other things you're doing."
Runyan said the best way to avoid injuries is to keep moving.
"Don't stand around piles - that's the biggest one," he said. "That's when you can get rolled up from behind, that's how you get hurt."
Thomas said offensive linemen are not as susceptible to injuries caused by the chaotic nature of the game.
"We can control what we hit," he said. "I think a lot of the defensive injuries come from friendly fire. You know, they're hitting each other during tackles on top of piles and stuff. That's how a lot of them get hurt, gang-tackling. But on the offensive line, you can control what you hit and how you're getting hit. One of the main things we have to protect is our knees, getting rolled up on the line of scrimmage."
Defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley said offensive linemen have a slight edge in the trench wars because they know the plays that will be run.
"They know where they're going," he said. "They know what spot they have to get to, so we have to kind of read off their motions. That's pretty much the only advantage they have. They're trying to get their hands on us and we have to prevent them from doing that and get our hands on them first. You have to learn how to read certain keys so when you see an offensive lineman move a certain way, you know how to react. That's the biggest thing for us."
"They've probably helped the offensive linemen because they can hold more," he said. "They don't call holding quite as much. They let you grab up in here [the chest] a little bit. I don't think they ever put in rules that help the defense. There's a rule that you can't touch a receiver after 5 yards. Everything's changed a little bit to favor the offense."
Bunkley said life in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball is very demanding.
"You have to hold off guys who are 300-some pounds and at the same time try to get to the ball and make reads, see where things are at," he said. "It's a very tough position."
The linemen would not name names or get into specifics about some of the ways they might try to skirt the rules during the trench wars.
"Let's just say everybody tries to skirt the rules," Runyan said with a grin. "You're legal until you get caught."
In the violent world of linemen on both sides of the ball, though, there is an understanding among them that a certain line should not be crossed.
"I really think everybody has a mutual respect for each other out there," Thomas said.
Still, linemen do their best to prevent opponents from knowing about injuries they might have.
Runyan seemed amused when asked why lineman are not considered skill players.
"I think there's actually more skill involved because it's very technical," he said. "The players in what are called skill positions are in more of an athletic position. There's more skill involved in what we do."
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