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Eagles Notebook: One sack vs. Lions negated, but Eagles still own league high

The Eagles' offensive line is improving so quickly, it actually ended the week with one less sack allowed than it had when the week began.

The Eagles' offensive line is improving so quickly, it actually ended the week with one less sack allowed than it had when the week began.

The team said that upon review, the NFL agreed with o-line coach Juan Castillo, who contended that when Michael Vick pounced on a fumbled snap last Sunday, ending what looked like it might be a handoff play, the Detroit stat crew was incorrect in awarding the Lions a sack. So the Birds enter Sunday's game at Jacksonville with a league-high 11 sacks allowed, instead of 12.

Boo-ya, indeed.

"We did many things very well up front, many things," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said, reviewing the Detroit effort. "There were a few that we didn't do well, and that's not just the line, everybody's involved."

Following the Mornhinwegian logic, the Birds ran 60 offensive plays last week. If they gave up five sacks, why, that's a sack every dozen snaps. Barely worth mentioning, really. What about the 11 plays out of every dozen when they didn't give up a sack?

Wait a minute, Marty didn't try to completely sell us on that one.

"However, you just can't do that [look at the successful plays], those other plays are there, and we've got to be more consistent," he said.

Darn. Way to spoil the fun.

The Eagles' offensive line is relatively inexperienced and still gaining cohesiveness, and especially with fullback Leonard Weaver down for the season, picking up blitzes has been an adventure, though Mornhinweg pointed out that last week, it was an adventure for the Lions, as well - when the Eagles weren't getting Vick creamed they were completing long passes and scoring 35 points, which is far from dysfunctional.

"Our mentality is, when they blitz, we score," Mornhinweg said. "Now we've just got to be more consistent there."

"Go ahead and do that," said center Mike McGlynn, who made his first NFL start last week. McGlynn was asked about the intense blitzing, which tends to come up the middle. "We'll score touchdowns off of it. You can only zero blitz [with no safeties in coverage] so much, until you get burned."

Right tackle Winston Justice, asked about the overall play of his unit through two games, said: "I think we need to get better. I think we have a lot to improve on. Picking up blitzes, technique, everything. We need to play at a higher level."

The blitz problem has been largely "just being able to read the defenses," Justice said. "I really believe that the more we play, the better we'll be at it, reading the defenses and going to the right people . . . It's all about going to the right person, sliding the right way."

That special something

Kick coverage improved dramatically last week, but returns were lackluster, the Eagles allowed a huge field-position change by taking a penalty at the end of a long Lions punt, and there was that onside-kick fumble that nearly gave the game away at the end.

"It's your mission to go out there and do it, and when you don't - a little '60s lingo - it's a bummer," special-teams coordinator Bobby April explained. "If you don't make that [onside kick] play, you're under a lot of stress. The defense, fortunately, boy, they came up like champs," forcing four successive incompletions.

Far out, right on, etc.

The real story

While reporters were talking to corner Ellis Hobbs, safety Quintin Mikell approached with a borrowed recorder and began asking questions.

Mikell wanted to know about Hobbs' abbreviated celebration following his interception of Lions QB Shaun Hill last week. Mikell said there seemed to be a problem with Hobbs' "swag" (swaggering walk).

"I was actually distracted by you trying to hold me down," Hobbs said. "Preventing me from pulling out my 'swag bag.' "

"Ohhhh. So it was myyy fault," his interviewer replied, nodding in mock agreement.

Birdseed

Michael Vick said Donovan McNabb was among those texting him with congratulations Tuesday, after he was named the starting QB . . . Vick, who isn't under contract after this season, said he hasn't thought about that, or about the contract escalators that could bring him more cash if he starts and does well . . . Brandon Graham (shoulder) and Austin Howard (back) were full practice participants yesterday . . . Bobby April said newcomer Joique Bell probably will have a limited role on special teams this week, as he learns the Eagles' setup.

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.

Follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/LesBowen.