PREFERS TEMPLE'S OFFENSE TO PRINCETON'S
The Eagles still were waiting on the arrival of guard Shawn Andrews Sunday afternoon. At his late-morning news conference following the Eagles' morning practice, Andy Reid said he expected Andrews to report to Lehigh ``sometime today, but I'm not sure exactly when.''
Even if he does report today, it could be a while before he gets back on the practice field. Even though Andrews has been given medical clearance to play, Reid wants to make sure the two-time Pro Bowler has a handle on his depression. Andrews also needs to pass the team's conditioning tests before he can return to the field. Right now, he's still on their reserve-did not report list and doesn't count against their 80-man camp roster.
``I want to see him first before I make any judgments there (on his return),'' Reid said. ``I know he's been working out. But I just want to sit down and talk with him face to face. Make sure everything's set up for him here so he can be successful. I'm going to gradually feed him back in. But I want to see how he's doing. That's my primary focus.''
With the Eagles breaking camp Wednesday, there's a good possibility Andrews won't start practicing with the team until after Thursday's second preseason game against Carolina.
Said Reid: ``He wants to come back. I'm sure there's some apprehension there. But I know he wants to get back going, get back with the guys.''
Some other Sunday news:
Cornerback Asante Samuel, who has been sidelined for the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, returned to the field Sunday morning, but appeared to tweak the hamstring again. He participated in about two-thirds of the morning practice, then walked off the field and indicated to an assistant trainer that the hamstring was bothering him. Much to the chagrin of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, he didn't take any more reps in the morning practice.
In his news conference, Reid made no mention of Samuel re-injuring his hamstring. He said they took Samuel out because ``we're easing him back in. He feels good and I want to make sure he keeps feeling good.'' But he didn't look good on the sideline after he went out.
Samuel's absence from the field is making it difficult for him to develop any kind of chemistry with the rest of the secondary, particularly the other two cornerbacks, Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard.
``You can't get a feel (for each other) until you get in a game, where you communicate,'' Brown said. ``You do develop some chemistry in practice. But the reality is you've got to play together in a game.''
Asked at his news conference whether Samuel will play Thursday against Carolina, Reid said: ``There's a chance, yeah. There is a chance. How much, I don't know that.'' Judging by Samuel's apparent concern for his hamstring Sunday morning, the best guess here is that Samuel will sit out yet another preseason game.
Left tackle Tra Thomas didn't practice Sunday morning. Back spasms. ``It happens periodically (with him),'' Reid said. ``He made it through this much of camp without it, which he hasn't done in the past. It usually happens sooner than this. If I'm looking for a positive in the situation, that would be the positive.
As he left the locker room after the morning practice, Thomas was asked about the back. Without slowing up, he said, ``Feeling good, feeling good, feeling good.''
Left guard Todd Herremans moved over to Thomas' left tackle spot in the morning practice. Scott Young replaced Herremans inside.
The Eagles made a roster move Sunday, releasing defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen and signing rookie DT Mike Marquardt. von Oelhoffen has been on the shelf with a knee problem and the Eagles basically needed another body at tackle. Marquardt, out of Arizona State, already has been released by two teams this year -- Cincinnati and Carolina. The Eagles left open the door for the possibility of re-signing von Oelhoffen if his knee heals. Right now, the two backup DTs to starters Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley are rookie second-rounder Trevor Laws and Dan Klecko.
Highlights from the morning practice:
--Wide receiver Jason Avant made a nice catch early in practice on a deep pass from Donovan McNabb that was tipped by safety Brian Dawkins.
--Wide receiver Greg Lewis, who had three catches for 38 yards Friday against the Steelers, made a nice over-the-middle reception for a touchdown in 11-on-11 red zone work.
--Cornerback Sheldon Brown had a nice interception on a McNabb pass for Kevin Curtis on a play out of a two-tight end, two-wide receiver set. Brown had a good practice, almost intercepting several other passes.
--Brian Westbrook and Lorenzo Booker were paired together in a two-wide receiver, two-running back set. Westbrook and Booker both flexed out wide to the same side, with the idea being to force the defense to cover at least one of them with a safety or linebacker.
--DeSean Jackson, who had five catches Friday against the Steelers, continued to work a lot with the first-team offense since Reggie Brown still is out with Achilles inflammation. He made a nifty one-handed grab in the endzone against Joselio Hanson.
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
