Brian Westbrook? Shouldn't be a problem, the Eagles coach said.

"I'm sure he [will] be," Reid said, when asked if he thought Westbrook would be in attendance Thursday when most veterans are scheduled to report. "Brian's obviously one of the leaders of this football team, so I would expect that he would be here."

Reid also said he was not worried about Westbrook's contract concerns shadowing the Birds' season. Westbrook has said he is unhappy with his current deal and does not think the Eagles' offer on a revised pact is sufficient. Westbrook fired agent Fletcher Smith last week and seems to be in the process of hiring South Jersey native J.R. Rickert, who now works out of the Albany, N.Y., area.

"We've always done a good job with those things, so I'm not worried about that. We've always been very fair and understanding to players we've approached about contracts . . . I'll leave it at that," Reid said (as agents for untold legions of disaffected ex-Eagles fainted from shock).

As for Lito Sheppard, Reid said he plans to meet with the disgruntled cornerback when he reports. Presumably, Reid wants to try to make sure everybody is in a mood to move ahead after an offseason when the Birds signed Asante Samuel and tried to trade Sheppard, at his request, but couldn't find a deal that worked. Although Sheppard fired agents Peter Schaffer and Lamont Smith last week and hired Drew Rosenhaus, there seems to be no momentum right now toward a holdout or a trade. Oddly enough, Schaffer, based in Colorado, is a mentor to and partner with Rickert, a graduate of Holy Cross High in Delran. Together, Schaffer, Smith and Rickert represent six players in this Eagles camp, not including Westbrook.

Reid again rebutted the widespread media assumption that Sheppard is now a backup, with Samuel playing left corner. In fact, Reid and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson have said Sheppard and Sheldon Brown will compete for the right-side job, and Reid said yesterday that Sheppard "will have an opportunity to start, just like the other guys do."

As the news conference began, reporters figured they would hear how disappointed Reid was that second-round defensive tackle Trevor Laws hadn't signed on time and thus would miss the start of rookie workouts. But Reid got the thumbs-up sign from Eagles spokesman Derek Boyko during the conference and announced that Laws had signed a 4-year deal, and Reid also announced that a foot injury suffered preparing for camp would keep Laws out of the rookie drills anyway.

Laws was in camp last night and was said to be walking normally. Reid seemed to anticipate he would be ready to go by the end of the week, when full-team practices begin.

The other drafted defensive lineman, third-round end Bryan Smith, tweaked a hamstring and was getting an MRI exam yesterday, Reid said. Then he quipped (yes, you read correctly) that d-line coach Pete Jenkins was "not going to have much to do" until the vets show up.

When the vets do show, the older ones will find tangible evidence of a kinder, gentler Andy. The man whose first Eagles camp, in 1999, is widely remembered as fierce and brutal, yesterday announced the formation of a "30-plus club." Reid said thirtysomething veterans, excluding quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and A.J. Feeley, and kicker David Akers, who are needed just about every day, will work both practices for 2 days, then take the morning of the next day off, throughout camp. He said he arrived at this accommodation with no prompting from his vets. "They didn't argue, though," he said.

The change clearly is aimed at benefiting Brian Dawkins, Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas - safety Dawkins and right offensive tackle Runyan turn 35 this season, left offensive tackle Thomas turns 34.

Why do this?

"Well, they're old," Reid said.

Despite this new system, "this will be an intense camp," Reid said. "I think there is good, and in some spots, great competition for certain positions."

Reid spoke of "high expectations" for a team that won its last three games last season to finish 8-8.

He said the team "had a great attitude" in minicamps, which he said he is eager to see continue.

"The guys worked hard, they challenged each other, we are fairly healthy. We never really made a big deal out of that, but it's good coming into camp when you're healthy, which is a little different than maybe the last couple of years. That's a positive," Reid said.

Birdseed

Quarterback A.J. Feeley, joking with reporters who were speculating about the potential for a lengthy Brian Westbrook holdout, concluded: "Dude, it's Brian Westbrook. He can come in whenever he wants" and still produce. Feeley also bemoaned the theft from his car a few months ago of the denim shirt he generally takes to training camp and wears every day. Replacement shirts are being auditioned, he said . . . Andy Reid told reporters he'd been away and he hadn't really been following this Brett Favre business, so "I really have no comment on it." (Feel free to insert your own snickering rejoinder here) . . . Reid was aware the Redskins had traded for defensive end Jason Taylor and the Giants had sent tight end Jeremy Shockey to the Saints. Reid said any discussions between the Birds and Dolphins about Taylor were "nothing serious." He said of Shockey: "I think Jeremy is a very good football player, but I will also say this: They won a Super Bowl without him. The young man that filled in for him [Kevin Boss] did a great job" . . . Reid said guard Scott Young, who skipped a mandatory minicamp in an apparent effort to get released, will report with the other vets . . . Reid said Donovan McNabb's throws will be limited to guard against a recurrence of the shoulder tendinitis that bothered him in the spring. *