Hobbs is done after being put on I.R. Wednesday.


First, I received a text message telling me that Ellis Hobbs would be out for the season because of a severe neck injury that required surgery; which was a bit of a shock because I'm not sure that most believed it to be that serious.

Then, not a half hour later, receive a text message telling me that nickel corner Joselio Hanson would miss the next four games after being suspended for testing positive for a diuretic.

And just like that, a position that was thought to be overflowing with talent was cut down just as thin as the linebacking crew that has caused the Eagles defense so many problems this season.

And to make matters worse, Akeem Jordan missed practice, and could miss the Chargers game, with a hyperextended knee while Moise Fokou missed practice with the flu.

In the place of Hobbs, the Eagles signed cornerback -- and former Mr. Irrelevant -- Ramzee Robinson, who played in 19 regular season games for the Detroit Lions over two years in 2007 and 2008.

In place of Hanson, the Eagles have called up conerback Jack Ikegwuonu who was a fourth round pick of the team last season. Ikegwuonu was called the steal of the draft last year, but has appeared to suffer greatly from a torn ACL that caused his stock to plummet in the first place.

He'll get a chance to prove his worth as the dime corner behind Robinson, who has much more playing time and experience than Ikegwuonu.

Macho Harris, who played cornerback in college, could be asked to do it again for the next month until Hanson is able to return. Quintin Demps played some corner for the Eagles during his rookie year with some success, so he will most likely be asked to do it again in addition to taking back kick return duties, which were formerly held by Hobbs.

Hobbs had been doing fairly well returning kicks, but Demps is much more of an explosive returner if he can hit the hole. He has breakaway speed that Hobbs lacked, but is really a feast of famine return man. He'll either simply get you to the 20, or break it away into enemy territory.

This is still a good defense, but the loss of depth at the corner position could certainly prove to be a challenge for Sean McDermott and his crew. If the passing defense is going to be able to sustain itself for the next month, the front four are going to have to do a much better job getting pressure on their own and force some errant throws.

Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown are going to be asked to play a lot more in the base defense, and the Eagles could use the nickel a lot less than usual, but the guys they have are there becaues they believe they can get the job done in this exact situation.

Through all of the bad news, there is some good news to report.

Chris Gocong came back to practice today and is expected to play when the Eagles head west to San Diego. Jordan is questionable at this point, but it's good to have at least one of the original starters in the lineup.