On the Birds Beat-McNabb is Back - Thursday, November 13, 2008
159 Views :: 0 Comments :: :: Team - Eagles, Brian Seltzer

-The Birds worked out in the practice bubble today, and played crowd noise through the facility's speaker system.

-Today, QB Donovan McNabb did indeed return from yesterday's excused personal absence for a non-football matter, leading the first-team offense through this afternoon's practice.

-McNabb isn't taking the recent criticism targeted at the Eagles personally.  Throughout his 10 campaigns in this town, the QB has certainly experienced his fair share of ups and downs.  As a veteran on this squad, he's just trying to express to the rest of the roster that they need to focus on what the team itself is doing, and not what outsiders are saying.

-McNabb is confident that the Eagles can correct the latest issue impacting the offense, which is its inability to rush in short yardage situations.  He chalked up the problem to a temporary wall the Birds have run into.

-LCB Asante Samuel didn't practice today due to a hip injury.  He observed practice from the sidelines, dressed in his jersey and sweatpants.  He should be available Sunday at Cincinnati.

-Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson is surprised that his secondary, loaded with Pro Bowlers Asante Samuel and Lito Sheppard in addition to Sheldon Brown, has registered only 4 INT over the course of this campaign.  Also surprising to him is that his LB have not picked off a pass yet.

-With the Bengals boasting a talented receiving corps comprised of Chad Ocho Cinco (fine, I'll go along with it), TJ Houshmandzadeh, and Chris Henry, expect the Eagles to frequently line up in their nickel defensive back (5 defensive backs) formation on Sunday.  That means more reps for third corner Lito Sheppard, who's looking forward to the opportunity. He could see anywhere between 30 to 40 snaps, which would be higher than his per game average this season.

-Jim Johnson didn't exactly respond reassuringly when asked about whether the size of his interior defensive linemen warrants concern about their ability to stop the run.  The coordinator said flatly, "We are what we are right now.  We are what we are."  And he had nothing more to say about that...

-Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg seemed to imply the problems associated with the Eagles anemic rush offense are widespread, and cannot be pinpointed to just one specific area/player.  He said, "If there was one reason [for the struggles], those are easy to correct...there are several things that we need to get better at to have a good running game."

-A day after RB Brian Westbrook questioned his club's commitment to the ground game, Mornhinweg weighed in, saying "We're always committed to the run. Now, there are some situations where people are doing everything to take the run away.  There are situations where we are going to throw the ball first."

-RB Correll Buckhalter didn't dispute the notion that perhaps the Eagles need to exercise more patience in establishing their rushing attack.