Eagles' Jason Babin has to wait for MRI - after swallowing thermometer

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Jason Babin will miss about a week while recovering from a strained right calf, but the Eagles defensive end did not undergo a scheduled magnetic-resonance imaging exam on Sunday.

"He swallowed one of those thermometers, and you can't go through an MRI with that in your system, so they're flushing that out," coach Andy Reid said.

When you're finished cringing, it's not as painful as it sounds. The thermometer is not the standard instrument that checks fevers, but rather a pill-like thermometer that players swallow. It rests in a player's stomach, and a device then is used to gauge a player's core temperature based on the reading of the internal thermometer.

The process helps the team's training staff examine how a player is responding to the heat. Babin was, by coincidence, one of more than two dozen players to use one Saturday, when he suffered the injury. The pill must be expelled from Babin's system, so whenever that happens, Babin can undergo the MRI for the calf strain.

President Obama might be disappointed to hear this, but quarterback Michael Vick did not need to slide on his finest play of Sunday's practice. Vick dropped back, performed a play-action fake, and bootlegged to his left side. Then he scrambled about 30 yards, outrunning the defense and reaching the end zone for a touchdown in 11-on-11, scrimmage-like drills. The red jersey he wore meant he couldn't get hit, so perhaps defenders let up when Vick was running. Still, Vick showed his speed - and didn't need to slide.

There were more scuffles Sunday than on any previous day in camp, likely a result of the hitting and the heat. The most notable fight involved defensive tackle Derek Landri and offensive linemen Demetress Bell and Jason Kelce. Vick and defensive coordinator Juan Castillo even tried to get involved to break up the fight.

After one-on-one drills, offensive line coach Howard Mudd spoke to both the offensive and defensive lines, a rare convergence of the two groups that were literally at each other's throats throughout the afternoon.

Backup running back Dion Lewis had his second impressive day running the football in his effort to keep the No. 2 spot. . . . Kurt Coleman and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie made instinctive interceptions during 11-on-11 drills. . . . Time will tell whether it's irrelevant or ominous, but LeSean McCoy has fumbled twice in two days after losing only one fumble during the 2011 season. . . . The Eagles will practice Monday at 8:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. The wide receivers will sign autographs after practice.