If at first you don't succeed . . . Vaitai again

HALAPOULIVAATI Vaitai is facing a road game this week, the same kind of loud, chaotic situation that attended his less-than-successful NFL debut two weeks ago at Washington.

In between, Vaitai stopped the bleeding and gave a reasonable accounting of himself in last week's home victory over the Vikings - but really, that was all he did. The fifth-round rookie who is taking Lane Johnson's place at right tackle during Johnson's 10-game NFL suspension didn't dominate, he survived. But after Washington, remaining upright represented progress.

"After that first game, you're just trying to prove yourself, you know? Are you worthy enough to play in this league?" Vaitai said Thursday in his first session with reporters since the moments following the Washington loss. "I took that as a motivation. I just paid attention to little details, calmed down a little bit, (decided) not to worry about other things, just do your job ... I felt like I improved a lot."

"I think 'Big V' made really good improvements," Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Thursday. "He played aggressive, he played with confidence. He still got a little help (from tight ends and backs), but not as much help. He just seemed to get in a rhythm, so that was good for all of us."

Reich acknowledged that playing at home was part of Vaitai's settling-down process, along with playing with a lead. The first part of that isn't possible this week, but the second part is.

"I know what to expect now" on the road, Vaitai said. "I know it's going to be a loud stadium. I know what I have to do. I can't 'kick' too many times," setting so far back that a pass rusher can muscle inside him. "You gotta trust the process, and go from there."

It might help a little that Vaitai has played at AT&T Stadium, when he was in high school at Haltom, Tx., less than an hour's drive from Dallas, and at TCU. He is a native of the area.

"It's a very big, loud stadium. Like a concert," he said.

Vaitai said fellow Texan and eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters has been a steadying influence, urging him not to overthink. "Just go out there and kick to your spot, and that's it," Vaitai said. "It's really simple, he says. For him - it's simple for him."

Asked if he expects help this week from chip blocks, Vaitai said the coaches haven't told him what to expect.

"If they do, it'll be really great. If not, gotta win that block," he said.

The victory over the Vikings was reassuring to Eagles fans in many respects, not the least of which in how it showed Jordan Hicks really can be a difference-maker as a 4-3 middle linebacker, he didn't leave all of his impact behind in Bill Davis's more reactive 3-4.

"He's a smart player. He knows his way to the ball. He can execute the scheme," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "Jordan played one of the best games I've seen all year. I mean, he played at a different level in this game. He was covering and tackling in the open field. His tackle for a (6-yard, early second-quarter) loss on that one toss play was a big, big play in the game (right after the Eagles took at 8-3 lead).

"He was all over the place, and he was putting us in the right calls, too. There's a lot on the middle linebacker, and there's nothing we've thrown at him that he's not been able to handle."

Hicks' visit to AT&T Stadium last year was memorable. He ran an interception back 64 yards for a touchdown, then later suffered the torn pec tendon that ended his season.

DT Bennie Logan (groin) and special teams linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (hamstring) again didn't practice and are almost certainly not playing this week . . . DT Taylor Hart, brought back from the 49ers on waivers because of Logan's injury, was limited in Thursday's practice with an ankle injury, the Eagles said . . . Eagles RG Brandon Brooks was horrified Monday night, watching his former Houston Texans teammate Derek Newton go down with torn patellar tendons in both knees. "At first, I couldn't understand why they were putting on two air casts," said Brooks, who said he has spoken with Newton, who is "in good spirits." Newton underwent surgery to repair both injuries Thursday. He faces months in a wheelchair. Brooks said as Newton set to block, he tore the tendon in his front leg, then leaned back with all his weight on the other leg, and that one went, as well . . . Rookie CB C.J. Smith, who might be active for the first time this week in the wake of the season-ending quad tendon rupture suffered by Ron Brooks, said he has prepared well and doesn't think it will be a problem that he hasn't played since the preseason.

@LesBowen

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog