They were already headed toward the tunnel when the big lightning bolt flashed across the South Philadelphia sky, sending the Eagles and Carolina Panthers sprinting off the field and officially signaling a lightning delay for last night's preseason football game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Still, for the 9 minutes, 59 seconds the Birds played before the bad weather altered the game plan, Eagles fans had to feel good about some of the improvements they saw over the preseason opener against Pittsburgh.

A week ago, the Eagles' new and improved defense raised a few eyebrows of concern when the Steelers took the opening possession and methodically marched downfield for a touchdown.

The run defense struggled to stop Steelers running backs Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall, and Dawkins looked all of his 34 years as he was beaten badly on a 19-yard touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes.

"Any time you have a preseason game, you take the good and the bad," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson had said, in assessing the first series against Pittsburgh. "Am I disappointed the way we played? Sure, that series."

Johnson will likely have the opposite reaction to his defense's start against Carolina.

The Panthers had two offensive possessions before the weather delay, and the Eagles sent them three-and-out on both.

Weak against the run?

On the first play of the game, Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams tried to run to the left, and Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson shot into the backfield and dropped him for a 1-yard loss.

Big-ticket free-agent defensive back Asante Samuel, who has been nursing a sore hamstring most of training camp, made a nice Eagles debut by busting up a short pass from quarterback Jake Delhomme intended for Muhsin Muhammad.

Delhomme threw a short pass to Williams on the third play. Eagles linebacker Omar Gaither had a bead on Williams in the backfield, but couldn't run him down.

Williams looked as if he would turn the play into a first down, but middle linebacker Stewart Bradley hit him a yard short of a first down and kept him from gaining another inch. The Eagles have gambled that the second-year Bradley can make that kind of big-play stop on a consistent basis.

The Eagles' second defensive series was just as impressive.

On first down, defensive end Juqua Parker got nice pressure on Delhomme, hitting him as he released a pass that fell short of receiver Jason Carter.

Williams had another encounter with Bradley on second down; this time, he was stopped for no gain.

On third down, Delhomme connected on an 8-yard pass over the middle to 6-3, 260-pound tight end Jeff King, but Dawkins dropped him immediately, leaving him short of the first down and forcing a second punt.

Johnson can't complain about Carolina's first touchdown because his unit was standing on the sideline when it happened.

When played resumed after the 58-minute weather delay, the Eagles moved deep into Carolina territory, but the drive stalled.

A fake field goal attempt went comically wrong as holder Sav Rocca flipped the ball directly into the hands of Panthers corner back Richard Marshall, who returned the interception 78 yards for a touchdown.

Obviously, the Eagles defense would not keep Carolina to three-and-outs on every possession, but even when they buckled on the third possession, the Birds came up big when the Panthers got into the red zone.

On a first-down play from the Eagles 10, Williams was dropped for a 3-yard loss by defensive tackle Broderick Bunkley. Williams gained the 3 yards back on second down, but took a big hit from safety Quintin Mikell.

The Panthers initially were given a touchdown on a 10-yard pass to Muhammad, who was smashed by Dawkins as soon as he made contact with the ball.

The Eagles challenged the catch, and, after a review, the referee reversed the call, ruling that Dawkins' big hit had knocked the ball out of Muhammad's hand before he established possession.

Considering the way the first-team defense started against Pittsburgh, you really wanted to see it rebound against Carolina. In 30 minutes, the Eagles starters held the Panthers to 25 plays, 90 yards of offense and three points. They held Carolina to 2-for-7 in third-down efficiency.

"Last game was a tuneup," Dawkins said. "It's like you're trying to crank the car up a bit more every week.

"We've given up a couple long drives. [Carolina] didn't score this time; Pittsburgh was able to score on theirs. So we just have to make sure we don't give up those long drives, and get off the field. Bring it out and get some turnovers, too."

Mother Nature delivered the lightning, but most of the thunder was courtesy of the Eagles' defense. *

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