Eagles Notebook: Parkey takes 51-yarder in stride

HAVING HIS FIRST NFL field-goal attempt turn out to be a 51-yarder to tie the score in the fourth quarter was "pretty cool," Cody Parkey said afterward.

So was the rookie kicker from Auburn, who later hit from 28 yards, and managed touchbacks on five of seven kickoffs in the Eagles' 34-17, season-opening victory over Jacksonville.

Would he have rather tried the 28-yarder first?

"It doesn't matter, as long as we get 'em both on the board," said Parkey, who came to the Eagles in an Aug. 21 trade with the Colts - against whom he will kick a week from tonight.

"I didn't even honestly think about it," Parkey said, when asked his feelings as he ran onto the field for the 51-yarder (which matched previous kicker Alex Henery's career high, by the way).

"Once I go out there, I just kind of zone out. I know what my job is - put three points on the board - and that's what I was trying to do."

He said he has "hit that kick a million times in warmups, so I know I had plenty of leg."

Eagles coach Chip Kelly indicated he wasn't surprised.

"Honestly, I've felt good about him since he won the starting kicking job," Kelly said. "I love his demeanor, I love his attitude. I love the way he approaches training. He's a real serious guy . . . He's just kind of got a way about himself that I think gives confidence to everybody when we trot him out there."

Defensive end Brandon Bair spent the entire 2011 season on the Kansas City Chiefs' roster, and a few weeks on the Oakland Raiders' roster at the end of the 2012 season. Until yesterday, though, Bair, who served a 2-year Mormon mission before going to Oregon, had never gotten into an NFL game.

Bair, who turns 30 on Nov. 24, made his first chance count yesterday, swatting away a 36-yard Josh Scobee field-goal attempt to keep the score at 17-0 in the second quarter.

"We were on their right hash, and they had to kick across the middle. I just knew it was going to be an opportunity for us . . . Somebody else could have blocked that, but it came my way," Bair said.

Bair, who might have been the only guy in the NFL making his debut yesterday with three daughters and a wife in the stands, said he and Bennie Logan, lined up next to Bair, "blew up the guys in front of us . . . we just destroyed those guys in front of us" on kicks and punts. "We were getting into the backfield a lot, all night long. It just happened to work out perfect."

The Eagles had seven offensive linemen active yesterday. Evan Mathis (knee) and Allen Barbre (ankle) left in the second quarter. What would have happened if another o-lineman had gotten injured?

A few years ago, Andy Reid's answer when something similar happened was that he would have polled the defensive linemen for a volunteer, and maybe settled on Cullen Jenkins. Yesterday, Chip Kelly said a d-lineman wouldn't know the protections, so he would have gone for a tight end, probably Brent Celek.

Celek was surprised to hear this.

"I'm gonna go home and review all the calls tonight, just in case," Celek said.

In case you're wondering, Celek would not have had to put on a jersey with an approved offensive-line number. He would have had to declare himself to the referee as ineligible every play, though, if I'm reading Rule 5, Section 3 correctly.

From what Chip Kelly said, the Eagles might get Matt Tobin back from an ankle injury this week and not have to make a roster move on the offensive line. But they might have to make one at inside linebacker, with Najee Goode, who is DeMeco Ryans' top backup, leaving yesterday's game because of a pectoral injury. The Eagles lost inside-outside linebacker Travis Long to a torn ACL in the final preseason game. Casey Matthews is the only remaining sub inside linebacker on the roster. Emmanuel Acho is on the practice squad. It will be interesting to see who gets axed if the Acho man returns to the 53.

Rookie outside linebacker Marcus Smith, the Eagles' first-round draft choice, was active but did not play against the Jaguars.

Running back Chris Polk (hamstring) did not play . . . The Jags lost starting safety Johnathan Cyprien to a head injury in the first half . . . Fletcher Cox' 17-yard ramble with a fumble recovery was his first touchdown since high school, Cox said. He had the ball in his locker . . . Brandon Graham, often considered a pass-rush specialist, tackled runners for a loss twice yesterday and had a huge special-teams hit on an offseason workout buddy who went at him, Jags linebacker J.T. Thomas III. "I had a lot of fun, man," said Graham. "I don't know why [Thomas] did that. He's seen me lift, every day he's seen me work. I don't know what was wrong with him! Hey, it's all fun - I'm definitely going to get a text or a phone call later on. I definitely was excited, because he was talking so much trash before that play. Next thing you know, he tried to get me."

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