Eagles Notes

Not so. Rory Segrest, the special-teams coach, said this week he hadn't given his units a specific number to aim for when the season begins tomorrow against St. Louis.

"Our main goal is to just make sure we're putting our offense in a position to be successful," Segrest said. ". . . We don't say that we're going to have to have this many returns out past the 50, or whatever. Again, if each guy does his job, and he executes his assignment, that kind of thing will come.

"Obviously, we're after big plays. We want to make some big plays there, but in terms of having that specific number, we don't have that specific number because, obviously, every time we go out we want to be successful . . . and put our offense in the best position possible."

The Eagles' two return men, rookies Quintin Demps and DeSean Jackson, have their own views on this.

"They're all team goals," said Demps, who scored on a 101-yard kickoff return at New England and returned a kick 51 yards against the New York Jets in the preseason. "I had those kinds of goals in college [UTEP]. But in college, you can't get fired."

Jackson has personal goals. His everyday swagger shows that he wants to make an impact as a rookie. He had a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Patriots. So, how many punt-return touchdowns would he like this season?

"Three or four punt returns," Jackson said. "That is something I've thought about. If I don't get them, I won't be mad."

When Jackson was at Cal, he wanted to set specific goals for himself on returns, then gave up on the idea.

"I've never been one to go out and say, 'I want this many yards or do this,' because every time I did that, it never really came out the way I wanted," he said. "So I learned just to go out and be satisfied with what I get. Just put in the hard work, and everything will pay off."

Little things add up

"Just small things, like the 30-and-over club and letting guys get their legs up underneath them," running back Brian Westbrook said. "Small things like that make a difference on the football team. When you have some older guys who are playing at some key positions, they need their legs. Hopefully, those types of things will help us in the long run."

Westbrook won't turn 30 until next season, so the "30-plus club" didn't offer him any immediate relief this summer. Veterans in the "club" worked two days and had the morning practice off on the third day. It helped safety Brian Dawkins, who will turn 35 next month.

"I know he's helped me out tremendously with the 30-plus thing," Dawkins said. "I've been better off because of that, and I think he did some things differently. We went after it like we always do, but he pulled back at times and allowed a lot of the guys to get their legs back under them and all that good stuff. But we'll see if this is the right mixture, and see how we come out against the Rams here."

Extra points

- Tim Panaccio