Clemons, the free-agent signee from the Raiders, returned to the training-camp practice field yesterday morning, 2 days after he was hospitalized for heat-related symptoms. Smith, the third-round rookie from McNeese State, joined his teammates yesterday afternoon for the first time since minicamps, having strained a hamstring just before reporting.

They bolster a defensive end rotation that will be missing prospective starter Victor Abiamiri at least into the regular season and perhaps all year. (Abiamiri walked briskly past reporters after getting treatment yesterday, wearing a removable cast on his right wrist. "Feeling good, feeling good," he said in response to queries.)

Also, Darren Howard, 31, and Juqua Parker (nee Thomas), 30, are getting every third morning off, thanks to being charter members of Andy Reid's new "30-plus" club. Yesterday's a.m. workout was one of those mornings, and Reid was missing so many defensive linemen he changed around his practice. The Birds didn't hit and didn't wear full pads while working mostly on red-zone passing. Reid is noticing that absences make more of a difference than they have in recent years, when the 80-man roster was really 86, with six NFL Europe exemptions.

"We're normally stockpiled at defensive line and we wouldn't be in this type of situation, but that's what it is right now and you move on with it," the Eagles' coach said. "If you have to make a little adjustment like we did this morning, it's no big deal. We still got a lot taught and, at the same time, the guys will come out and put the pads back on [today] and be ready to go. You even get a little bit more fire out of them than you would have if you banged them today."

Clemons, meanwhile, said the reduced numbers at his position had something to do with his trouble on Tuesday. Clemons, 26, is from Griffin, Ga., and played collegiately at Georgia, so he has seen a warm day or 2 in pads. He said he took way more reps than usual Tuesday, and as he stood in the sun, he started to feel it.

"I remember parts of practice, and I remember sitting there getting water thrown on me," said Clemons, who said he had no recollection of his ambulance ride to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he stayed until dinnertime Tuesday.

"Once I got to the hospital, I was fine. It was one of those things where I couldn't tell what my body was doing," Clemons said. "The thing about it is, your mind is just rambling everywhere. You just feel like you're out of breath."

Smith had been on the physically unable to perform list, as had rookie defensive tackle Trevor Laws, who returned 2 days earlier. Now the only Eagle on PUP is rookie corner Jack Ikegwuonu, who is expected to miss the season recovering from knee surgery.

"Just real frustrating," said Smith, who has a lot of ground to make up as he bids for a spot in the DE rotation. "But then you really don't want to make anything worse. You've got to be smart and let the trainers do their job. If you do what they say, eventually you'll go back out there."

This morning will give Smith his first work in pads, his first chance to hit.

"I'm looking real forward to being back in pads, make some tackles, make some plays," he said.

Quote of note

"I want them to keep their game high, every play. There's no time to relax. I know it's hard in there. You've got people coming from all different directions. You've got a lot of big bodies beating on you. It's important that you're mentally tough and that you utilize your strength throughout the practice. You can't be like a thermometer, where you start up here and end down here." *