Silent, because on a day when Brian Westbrook and Shawn Andrews made noisy news, Sheppard slipped quietly into the Eagles' training camp.

Storm, because that's what could be brewing in the mountains if the Eagles' plan to fit three star-quality cornerbacks into two starting positions turns into the collision of high- and low-pressure systems.

"You never know how people are going to take things," cornerback Sheldon Brown said yesterday as veterans reported to camp at Lehigh University.

Roynell Young, another cornerback, was the Eagles' original Silent Storm in the 1980s. But Sheppard, who had skipped minicamp, fit the profile yesterday, at least as far as the silent part.

Westbrook, who is dissatisfied with his contract as the star running back, pulled up to the front of his dormitory about 5:30 p.m. and held court with reporters for more than 10 minutes. He wasn't loud, but he was adamant about his position.

Andrews, the star offensive lineman who had missed the last part of off-season workouts for "personal" matters, created a bit of a stir with his absence on the first day of training camp, apparently for some of the same reasons.

Oddly enough, Sheppard was the guy who had seemed most likely to make noise, at least in the spring after the Eagles signed free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel to a six-year, $57.1 million contract.

That left Sheppard, Samuel and Brown for two starting cornerback spots. And with Sheppard dissatisfied with his contract, and skipping minicamp, speculation ran rampant that the team would trade its 2002 No. 1 draft pick.

But that didn't happen. And yesterday, Sheppard avoided dozens of reporters staked out in front of the players' dormitories and attended coach Andy Reid's first full-team meeting at 7 p.m.

"From my standpoint, the key is coming out of training camp with three guys," Brown said of the logjam at cornerback. "There's always injuries. You need depth. That's how I look at it from my personal standpoint."

Asked about the possibility of a distraction at training camp, Brown said: "I don't want to get in anybody else's business. When it's my time, I take care of my business, so I'd rather not comment on anybody else's business."

Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has said the team will have plenty of playing time for three cornerbacks, especially with NFL offenses running so many three-wide-receiver sets.

Brown was asked whether he thought one of the cornerbacks could accept a role as a reserve.

"You have to put your ego aside," he said. "It depends on the player and how long the player will accept that. Anything's possible as long as we continue to communicate."