In essence, the locker room at the NovaCare Complex is the players' office. They report there in the morning, where they'll leave to attend meetings, and then use the room to change in and out of their practice gear and shower.

At each open-faced stall, a couple of wooden shelves and drawers serve as resting spots for a variety of memorabilia and family effects. In general, the longer the players have been on the team the more items you can find at their locker. So, for instance, the lockers for Eagles veterans Brian Dawkins and Donovan McNabb are crammed with far more items than, say, rookies DeSean Jackson and Quintin Demps. McNabb, being against the front wall, has an electric outlet. He keeps a radio plugged in, usually tuned to an R&B station.

Upon entering, the equipment exchange area is immediately to the right, across a stainless-steel counter. McNabb's locker begins the lefthand row of stalls. Then it's A.J. Feeley, Kevin Kolb, kicker David Akers and punter Sav Rocca. The wide receivers/tight ends are the next grouping, followed by the running backs and then the linebackers.

Dawkins' two stalls begin the run down the right-hand side. He is grouped with his fellow defensive backs, followed by the defensive linemen and then the offensive linemen. Dawkins' second stall is taken up almost completely by his memorabilia celebrating Wolverine, the Marvel Comics figure he identifies with.

About a football field away from Dawkins, on the back wall, is a silhouette photo of three Eagles players about to run onto the field before the Oct. 23, 2005 game against the Chargers. The players are in silhouette so the photo doesn't appear dated ó the team doesn't have to worry about changing it as players come and go.

There are five televisions down each side of the locker room (10 total) and each stall has a special place for mail and a trash bin for medical tape. Laundry bins are arranged in the middle of the locker room, wall-to-wall, for towels and soiled jerseys. Sometimes the players even think to put stuff in there.

A players lounge is located to the back/right-hand side, around where the linemen have their lockers. It's an off-limits area to reporters where, for instance, the offensive linemen can retire to and play dominoes. The shower is up closer to where McNabb and the QBs dress, on their side.

Media members are allowed access for a small period of time every day, usually a half hour to 45 minutes before practice, then the same after practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the main practice days. As they're moving to different lockers, players are heading back and forth from the shower and then dressing. The showers and training room are off-limits to reporters and still cameras are banned from the locker room.

On the day before a home date, equipment managers put each player's equipment in a duffle bag and bring them all over to the lockers at Lincoln Financial Field. At some point after the game the equipment is carried back.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the locker room, which is at least 200 feet long and no more than 25 feet wide, is that it doesn't smell like one, even on the hottest preseason day with 80 players walking in after practice. That's because of a ventilation system that pumps fresh air into the room and a deodorant system that squirts a mist into the air every 15 or 30 seconds, both out of several outlets mounted on the wall, and an abundant amount of natural light that's provided by a high ceiling, about 40 feet to the peak, that features large skylight panels. Lighting fixtures snake downward on long stalks from the distant ceiling.

For a visual look at the inside of the locker room, visit go.philly.com/lockerroom.

- Ed Barkowitz and Les Bowen