Kalu lost for season

The veteran defensive end planted his right foot in the grass at the NovaCare Complex while he pursued backup quarterback Jeff Blake. When Kalu tried to make his next move, his knee twisted and he fell to the ground in obvious pain.

Practice was stopped and trainer Rick Burkholder rushed to Kalu. The first sign that the injury was serious was that Kalu was unable to limp off the field. Teammates Darwin Walker and Jon Bradley lifted him onto a motorized cart along the sideline.

Late yesterday afternoon, the Eagles announced that an MRI examination had revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament and that Kalu will need season-ending surgery.

"I really feel for N.D., because he's such a good person and a hard worker," Eagles coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "He was having a great camp. N.D. is a heck of a football player. I know that he'll continue to work hard in his rehabilitation process to get back on the field in 2005. "

After registering a career-high eight sacks as a reserve in 2002, Kalu started all 16 games for the Eagles last season at right defensive end. Though he recorded only 5 1/2 sacks in his first season as a starter, he remained at the top of the depth chart coming into this season and vowed to wreak more havoc.

Without Kalu, Reid said, the Eagles will turn to Derrick Burgess and Jerome McDougle to play right defensive end.

Burgess is a man who is well versed on the subject of season-ending injuries, but the Eagles know that he also can be a pass-rushing force if he is healthy.

After recording six sacks and starting four games as a rookie third-round pick in 2001, Burgess suffered a broken right foot in the season opener against Tennessee in 2002 and did not return. A year ago, three days before the season opener against Tampa Bay, he tore the Achilles tendon in his left foot in a non-contact drill at the NovaCare Complex.

Burgess was visibly upset by what happened to Kalu yesterday and did not want to talk about the injury. The 29-year-old Kalu is a defensive team leader and one of the most respected players in the locker room.

"I want to go check on my boy," Burgess said when he was approached by reporters.

Though Burgess is listed on the depth chart as the backup to Jevon Kearse at left defensive end and had most of his rookie success from that side, the Eagles had been giving him a look on the right side recently in practice.

McDougle, the Eagles' first-round pick in 2003, is second on the depth chart behind Kalu, but he did not participate in any contact drills at Lehigh because he was still rehabilitating from off-season shoulder surgery. He also missed the first eight games last season with multiple injuries suffered during the team's final preseason game. McDougle returned to practice late last week and probably will play Friday against the Baltimore Ravens.

"We've been through this before," McDougle said. "The guys on this team are strong. It starts at the top with the coach and it goes down through the team. "

The Eagles' other defensive ends are Jamaal Green, Ron Johnson and Colston Weatherington, who was signed yesterday because the team needed reinforcement along the defensive line.

Kalu is the first starter to go down for the season, but there is reason to be concerned about other players, with 25 days to go before the opener against the New York Giants.

Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins has participated in only one practice since camp opened and will remain out of the lineup Friday. Defensive tackle Corey Simon has recovered from a sore foot but is awaiting the results of tests to find out whether there is a serious problem with his lower back. He has missed practice the last two days.

Strongside linebacker Dhani Jones suffered a high ankle sprain in practice Sunday, and Reid said he will miss "a week or two. "

"It's by far the most injuries I've ever seen in a training camp," said Kearse, the Eagles' other starter at defensive end. "I don't think I ever saw this many injuries in a season when I was in Tennessee. "

The Eagles survived a long list of injuries last season, winning 12 games and making a third straight appearance in the NFC championship game. But this certainly could not be how they wanted to begin what they hope is a run to the Super Bowl.

Even Reid, in his sixth season as the Eagles' head coach and his 13th as an NFL coach, acknowledged that this is the highest number of injuries he has ever seen a team endure in training camp. "It's just one of those things," he said. "During camp, things are going to happen and you're going to have to work your way through it, and things will settle down."