Parker will miss his second game with a hip flexor.


The Eagles' final injury report of the week came out Wednesday morning, and in total it includes seven players: Jorrick Calvin (back), Nick Cole (knee), Trevard Lindley (knee), and LeSean McCoy (shoulder) are all probable to play. Riley Cooper (knee) and Asante Samuel (knee) are questionable, and Juqua Parker (hip) has been ruled out.

So far this season, every player listed as probable has played. So there's no reason to worry about Calvin, Cole, Lindley or, most importantly, McCoy. They will all be suited up and good to go.

Parker, as we expected after not practicing all week, is out. But Cooper, who also did not practice all week, is only questionable. He's not expected to play, but it's looking like he will be a game-time decision.

Samuel is the key here. He practiced all week on a limited basis and, although he's listed as questionable, he does expect to play. The "questionable" listing means that, like Cooper, Samuel will be a game-time decision.

With Parker out, Brandon Graham will make his second consecutive start and his fifth of the season. Graham had a decent game against the Chicago Bears as he pulled Jay Cutler down once, but he's going to have to get pressure much more consistently if the defense is going to slow down the Houston Texans' passing offense.

If Cooper cannot go, head coach Andy Reid has already said that Chad Hall will get the nod. Hall has been active for a couple games this season while guys were banged up, and he's lined up at receiver and running back. Hall can also return punts in a pinch, so having him on the field gives Reid flexibility in a lot of different areas.

If Samuel winds up missing his second game, we will once again see Joselio Hanson. Hanson got abused by the Bears receiving corps, so seeing him lined up against the much bigger Kevin Walter or Andre Johnson is enough to give Eagles fans nightmares.

Hopefully Samuel is ready to go and Hanson can take back his natural spot in the slot. With Samuel and Dimitri Patterson on the outside and Hanson in the nickel, they should at least be able to contain Walter, Johnson, and Matt Schaub.

The Eagles play the Texans Thursday night on NFL Network at 8:20PMEST.
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Losing Vick and McCoy would cripple the Birds' offense.


Last season, Donovan McNabb broke one of his ribs and was forced to miss two games. This season, Michael Vick has apparently injured his rib cartilage and could be forced to miss for just as long, if not longer.

"Michael Vick has a rib cartilage injury," Eagles head coach Andy Reid told the media Monday in Philadelphia. "There are no broken bones, but he does have a rib cartilage injury. It’s up high in the second and third ribs."

The injury occurred when Vick made a dive for the endzone and was sandwiched between two Redskins defenders. The hit was clean, but the way both guys hit him simultaneously put a lot of pressure on his midsection and clearly had him in a lot of pain.

Reid would not give a timetable for his return, but it wouldn't make sense for him to do so anyway. All Reid would say is that the injury is "going to be one of those day-to-day, week-to-week [injuries]."

Even if he knows exactly when Vick can play, it doesn't make sense to tell Mike Singletary and the San Francisco 49ers before he has to. This way, the Niners will have to prepare for Vick and his potential replacement, Kevin Kolb.

In the same breath, Reid dropped the bombshell that LeSean McCoy has a broken rib. Again, he would not give a definitive answer on whether or not he would play this week. He did, however, say that it's possible they could pad McCoy and he could play through it.

The injury apparently happened early in the game (second quarter), and McCoy sucked it up and played through it. Injuries are certainly never good news, but to hear McCoy played through a broken rib, and played at a high level, should certainly endear him to the city.

And to top off the terrible news, Reid let everyone know that Riley Cooper and Asante Samuel suffered concussions. He did say they were not as bad off as Kolb and Stewart Bradley after the Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers, but -- and I'm sensing a theme here -- Reid would not give a timetable for their return.

With Cooper likely out of commission, It's possible the Birds sign another receiver, or grab the one they've got off the practice squad. That would mean releasing someone, so it's more likely they just hope for the best out of the three active receivers they've got, and possibly activate Clay Harbor and use him as another receiving option.

If Samuel is forced to miss time, Joselio Hanson would step in as the starter and likely split time with Dimitri Patterson. Trevard Lindley would likely be active as well to play in the team's dime package.

UPDATE: Via Howard Eskins' Twitter account: "I'm told Michael Vick likely out at least 2 weeks and could be 3 [weeks] which takes Eagles into bye week."
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WR Riley Cooper signed a four-year deal Tuesday.


With the announcement Tuesday that fifth-round pick wide receiver Riley Cooper is finally on board, the Eagles can now turn their attention to signing first-round pick Brandon Graham and second-round pick Nate Allen.

Allen, more than likely, will be the next guy to sign. Second-round picks don't command a whole lot of money and it's basically just about figuring out the slotting. Graham, on the other hand, could turn into a major pain.

The top 15 picks are always the hardest to get into camp, and Graham recently made it seem like he wouldn't mind holding out for a few days saying he'll work hard at camp "when [he] gets there."

That's not exactly what the Birds want to hear from their first-round pick, and they'd rather avoid a holdout for the second year in a row. Jeremy Maclin only missed the first week or so of camp, but it was clear in the first month of the season that the missed time affected him.

Had he been in camp on time, he could have been much more of a difference-maker much sooner and just had an all-around better season. Graham, selected six spots higher than Maclin, needs to learn from history and get to camp on time.

At least for Maclin the competition at wide receiver wasn't too steep. But for Graham, the competition at defensive end is always intense. The Eagles have overloaded on guys, and it's like Graham could get pushed to the middle of the pack if he's unable to get into camp on time.

Trent Cole has hit spot on the right side locked down, so guys like Darryl Tapp, Juqua Parker, Victor Abiamiri, and Alex Hall are all going to be fighting for one spot whether or not Graham is on the field.

That's not exactly a group of All-Stars, but it's a group defensive coordinator Sean McDermott likes enough that he'd feel comfortable keeping Graham on the bench if he feels he's not mentally or physically ready to go by the time the season starts.

I've given my thoughts on the most recent signing, Riley Cooper, before, but it's always interesting when a fifth-round pick can make such a stir in OTAs that everyone is talking about him knocking off a veteran the Eagles are familiar with like Hank Baskett.

I haven't gotten a chance to see him in person yet, but you can bet I'll be paying attention to him from the sidelines at Training Camp. He's got the athletic ability that can translate into one hell of an NFL receiver, and the college highlights to back it up.

He might not win the fourth receiver spot as a rookie, but he's going to be exciting to watch progress throughout the season.

Andy Reid has a history of hitting with fifth-round picks (Omar Gaither, Trent Cole, Brent Celek, and perhaps even Macho Harris and a guy with a lot of potential in Cornelius Ingram), and Cooper looks like he could be next in line if he translate what he did in shorts in OTAs to pads in Training Camp.
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Will Hank Baskett be able to earn back his old job?


It's still a bit odd that the Eagles actually have a surplus of receivers, but that's the issue they'll be facing during training camp.

There will have to be some talented guys released or stowed away on the practice squad, but deciding who that will be could prove one of the more difficult decisions this coaching staff will have to make.

As of now, fifth-round pick Riley Cooper and Hank Baskett, in his second stint with the Eagles, are the two guys fighting it out for the fourth receiver spot. DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Jason Avant are the unquestioned top three (in that order), so fourth is the best either of these guys will do.

It's anyone's job for the moment, but Cooper certainly produces the most intrigue as a rookie over a guy in Baskett who is unlikely to have a breakout season after years of being a role player.

But no matter who wins the fourth job, it's likely the other will simply be relegated to the fifth spot and will have to play a lot of special teams -- something that would fit either of these guys who are known for their willingness to play the most inglorious of roles.

However, Jordan Norwood, who was active and played in one game last season, as well as Dobson Collins, who spent 2009 on the Eagles' practice squad, and Chad Hall could all make a push for that fifth spot.

Norwood and Collins boast experience, however minor, but Hall would really be the guy to watch here. He's got some added value as a return man and could look like a great opportunity to take Jackson off punt return and not risk an injury.

But if we really want to throw a wrench in this whole thing, we'll have to consider the possibility that Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg see Cornelius Ingram as more of a receiver than a tight end.

If that's the case, it would be very hard to see him not make the squad as at least the fifth receiver based purely on potential if nothing else.

The Birds did go out and draft Clay Harbor, a guy they really seem to like, in the fourth round and have also kept Martin Rucker around. Rucker is a guy they picked up off the street last season, but just the fact that he has stuck around for this long, even on the practice squad, shows the coaches believe he can play.

There's no way this team heads into September with four tight ends, so moving Ingram to receiver and making the battle for fourth a do-or-die type scenario is a very real possibility.

Obviously, there is a lot of time to see what these guys have. Cooper could completely shut down once the pads come on, Baskett could light it up, Rucker could look terrible and get cut, Ingram could tear his ACL again (fingers crossed that doesn't happen), etc. etc. so I'll have to wait until Training Camp to make any real predictions.

However, if I did have to guess right now, I would probably put my money on Baskett and Cooper both sticking around as the fourth and fifth receivers respectively, while Rucker is once again tossed on the practice squad or cut and Ingram is kept around as Brent Celek's backup.

Harbor would then become the third tight end and backup fullback -- a position he's seen a little bit of time at during minicamp and OTA's. So, basically, the guy is an H-back.

Either way, this is going to be one hell of a camp battle that I can't wait to watch unfold.
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