Eagles Notes | Injury bug bites Sheppard

GREEN BAY, Wis. -

Lito Sheppard

's 2007 season began exactly the way his 2006 season started and ended, and that's not a good thing for either the Eagles or their two-time Pro Bowl cornerback.

A three-way collision late in the first half with teammate Sean Considine and Green Bay Packers receiver Ruvell Martin left Sheppard with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Sheppard did not return to the Eagles' 16-13 loss, and coach Andy Reid said afterward that the cornerback would undergo an MRI examination today in Philadelphia.

"I took the mass of that collision, especially being on the bottom of it," Sheppard said. "Hopefully, it's nothing too serious. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. For some reason, the first game of the season the last two seasons, it's just been going this way. I'm going to bounce back."

Sheppard missed three games last year after suffering an ankle sprain in the Eagles' season opener against the Houston Texans, and he missed the team's playoff loss in New Orleans because of a dislocated elbow suffered the week before in a playoff game against the New York Giants.

The cornerback also missed the final six games in 2005 with a high ankle sprain.

Sheppard's NFL career started with an injury, too. He missed the first three games of his 2002 rookie season with a quad strain.

"You hate to see that happen to him," safety Brian Dawkins said. "That was one of the things we talked about as we were in the training room together in the preseason. We have to keep [Sheppard] healthy for the season."

With Sheppard out in the second half, William James became the starting cornerback opposite Sheldon Brown and Joselio Hanson moved into the nickel role. Hanson also left late in the game after suffering a mild concussion on a running play by Green Bay's Brandon Jackson.

L.J. plays.

Tight end

L.J. Smith

, after being downgraded from probable to questionable on the Eagles' injury report Saturday, did end up playing against the Packers, but his time on the field was limited as he remains less than 100 percent because of a nagging groin injury.

"My plays were limited, and we figured that was going to happen," Smith said. "We talked during the week, and we figured if I was going to play that my reps would be limited just to keep me fresh and not wear out the [groin] muscle. So we did that and, hopefully, next week I can add more plays.

"Am I 100 percent? No, but I didn't really think about [the injury] when I was out there. Once you're out there, it's hard to really think about it because if you're thinking about it, then you shouldn't be out there. You should just be able to react and play football."

Smith caught two passes for 14 yards while sharing time with Matt Schobel and rookie Brent Celek.

Green Bay ball.

Celek insisted he was buried underneath a pile of players with full possession of the football on a fumble recovery by the Packers that led to Green Bay's game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining in the game. The scramble for the loose ball occurred after the Eagles'

J.R. Reed

fumbled a punt. The recovery was credited to the Packers'

Jarrett Bush

at the Eagles' 31-yard line with a minute remaining.

"We both dove on the ground for it," Celek said. "He had like one hand on it and I took it and I had it the whole time. Neither of us had possession until I took it. I had it the whole time under the pile, and I just heard [the official] holler 'green ball.' I don't understand it, but that's the way it was. I had it in a fetal position and nobody was taking it."

Favre's feat. Brett Favre equaled John Elway's record for most wins by a quarterback with his 148th, but the 37-year-old didn't seem terribly impressed.

"How can the quarterback who is one of 53 [players] be labeled with wins and losses and not the center or the safety or whatever," he said. "But that's the way it is and I'm glad there's a lot more wins than there are losses."

Inactives. Quarterback A.J. Feeley, guards Max Jean-Gilles and Scott Young, and defensive end Victor Abiamiri were among eight Eagles placed on the inactive list for yesterday's game. Abiamiri, a second-round draft pick from Notre Dame, may find it difficult to get on the field with four defensive ends ahead of him.

Feeley is still on the mend with a broken bone in his left, non-throwing hand, and making two guards unavailable left Nick Cole as a backup at guard and center. Defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey, cornerback Nick Graham, linebacker Pago Togafau, and tackle Pat McCoy also were on the list. The Packers had to put two starters on the inactive list - running back Vernand Morency and receiver Greg Jennings.

- Bob Brookover and Ray Parrillo