Allen: Hammy Issue No Big Deal

Eagles safety Nate Allen said Monday the hamstring injury he suffered Sunday night during Flight Night was of little consequence.

"I wouldn't even call it a 'tweak,'" Allen said. "It was more like a spasm. It's nothing, not even close to what I had i[earlier] in training camp. I'm going to give it a couple of days."

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Wideout Riley Cooper hasn't been around reporters much since breaking his collarbone in the early going at Lehigh. Sunday, Eagles coach Andy Reid said it would be a struggle for Cooper to be ready for the opener, but Cooper said he has his full range of motion back, but "bone has to heal." He also said he still has to strengthen the muscles around the area of the break.

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Quarterback Mike Kafka, who has been cleared to start taking snaps, said he is taking everything 'one day at a time." This answer was given to questions about his injury, his roster spot, playing against the Jets Thursday, and his all-time favorite '70s sitcom. I might have made that last one up. But whatever happened to Bonnie Franklin?

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To the casual observer, it might look like the Eagles are once again shuffling their linebacking corps because they never quite seem confident they have everything they need in their most troubled unit, over the past decade or so.

Shockingly, that is not how Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo sees it.

"They're athletic. They can run. They're tough. They're hungry. I think what [DeMeco Ryans] has added is, Meco has that experience ... Now, all of a sudden, the kids see how they're supposed to watch tape, how they're supposed to act on the field. Meco's a no-nonsense type guy, and a guy who's been in the league and done it ... You take that, mixed with athletic kids, athletic guys, now you have a good group," Castillo said Monday.

Castillo said veteran Akeem Jordan, elevated to the starting weakside spot Sunday ahead of Brian Rolle, has "had one of the better training camps since I've been around." He said coaches initially were milidly pleased to see Jordan making plays and leading the second defensive unit. Then they saw him making more and more plays, and started to think about moving him up.

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Marty Mornhinweg was not nearly as interested as reporters were in parsing the quarterback situation behind Michael Vick. Since Kafka has been cleared to take snaps again, that might mean Kafka gets into Thursday's last preseason tilt against the Jets. But Mornhinweg professed not to have given much thought yet to who is No. 2 and who is No. 3, after the decision to cut the fourth quarterback is made.Of course, now that three QBs are fully active on gameday, this decision is much less of a big deal than it once was.

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Mornhinweg said "consistency" was the key to King Dunlap winning the left tackle job over Demetress Bell.

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Linebacker Casey Matthews (high ankle sprain) believes he can be ready for the opener.