Eagles Notebook: Barbre among Eagles with sub-stantial contributions

GREEN BAY - Some of the younger Eagles were awestruck by Lambeau Field, where the south end zone scoreboard displays the dates of the Green Bay Packers' 13 NFL titles. Allen Barbre was not.

Barbre played three seasons for the Pack, after they drafted him out of Missouri Southern State in 2007. His seven career starts all came for Green Bay in 2009. Barbre, 29, the Eagles' top offensive-line reserve, ended up playing most of yesterday's 27-13 Eagles victory over the Packers after left tackle Jason Peters, the fulcrum of the o-line, left with a quadriceps injury. Peters was injured on the first play after he returned from what the Eagles called a "head injury." Peters came into the game fighting finger, shoulder and pectoral muscle injuries.

"It's definitely cool to come back here and get a win, after being released here, and getting to play, that's awesome," Barbre said. He said he didn't get tired, and felt very good after he adjusted to being in there.

Left guard Evan Mathis, asked how big a deal it was to have to play much of the game without Peters, said: "It's not a big deal when Allen Barbre is your sixth man. Allen is incredibly talented. He can play guard and tackle, on both sides. You don't even think about it, when he comes in to replace any of us. He can fill in. He prepares like he's going to play. He has a head for the game. He's very athletic and very strong . . . He's a starting-caliber player."

All that being said, an extensive Peters absence would be a huge blow to the Eagles.

Barbre was one of several Eagles plugged into yesterday's game, a war of attrition for both sides. The Packers ended up using every offensive lineman they activated, and when third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien entered following a first-series Seneca Wallace groin injury, there was nobody behind Tolzien to play QB.

The Eagles' woes started when corner Bradley Fletcher, questionable with a pec injury, was not cleared to play. Fletcher had assured reporters all week he would be out there yesterday. Instead, Roc Carmichael got his first NFL start, in his third season. Then linebacker Mychal Kendricks went down with a knee injury on Green Bay's first series. Peters left twice, the second time for good. Rookie safety Earl Wolff, a standout in recent weeks, also exited with a knee injury.

"I think it speaks a lot about the depth, and you have to have it," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said, when asked about the subs stepping in. Kelly, as usual, had no information on the injuries or any prognosis. "I thought the guys that stepped up and came in did a really nice job."

Carmichael joined the Eagles in September, as did linebacker Najee Goode, who replaced Kendricks.

Kelly said Carmichael has come along well, which is reflected in the fact that Jordan Poyer and Shaun Prater, once ahead of Carmichael, are elsewhere now.

"It's tough," linebacker DeMeco Ryans said afterward, when asked about losing Kendricks. "Kendricks is a top player on this team, and our defense. The next man has to step up. I thought Najee did a good job stepping in today, not batting an eye . . . we didn't bat an eye."

Goode took an unfortunate roughing the passer penalty, when he tried to get his hands up in front of Tolzien and ended up swiping him across the face.

"I respect every call the refs make, but if I have another chance" to reach up as the QB is throwing, "I'm going to do it," Goode said.

Goode got a lot of work, continuing in his integral special-teams role as well as playing in every defensive package.

"We condition every day . . . that's one of the things we always excel at," said Goode, whose father, John, played for the Eagles in 1985.

The Eagles moved to 5-1 on the road, but this coming Sunday's game, their last before the bye, is against the Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field, where they are 0-4 this season and have lost their last 10 contests, dating back to Sept. 30, 2012.

Several Eagles mentioned that another divisional loss would be a serious blow to the 5-5 team's playoff hopes.

"We're not good at home and we're good on the road. We'd better figure it out, because we come home" for the next three games and four of the final six, Chip Kelly noted.

"This next game against the 'Skins, we have to win," LeSean McCoy said.

The now-5-4 Packers were the first winning team the Eagles have beaten . . . Riley Cooper has caught eight passes the past two games. Five of them have gone for touchdowns. His first TD yesterday, Nick Foles trusted him to adjust and run to an open spot, where Cooper made a highlight-film catch and rolled into the end zone.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian