*Throat clear* First, injuries *cough*

Good news on the injury front as Chris Clemons returns to practice, rookie DE Bryan Smith makes his first appearance on the field after getting over a strain, and the word on Asante Samuel is that he could be back by the weekend.

Na Brown Award - A new contender emerges

So far the darlings of the 2008 camp seem to be RB Lorenzo Booker who has put on a show with his speed and arsenal of moves and WR Jason Avant who caught anything thrown  in his general direction. However, neither really qualify for the Na Brown award since Avant was already here and Booker was higher pick. There is one guy who is turning heads, and being a 4th round pick like Na himself Quintin Demps just may get the prize.

Demps was advertised as a "ballhawk" coming out of school having led the nation in interceptions. So far in camp he's done nothing to disprove that moniker. Demps has had more than one "pick 6" and excelled in practice again yesterday

Earlier, Booker dazzled rookie safety Quintin Demps after making a catch, but Demps had a pick and a "sack'' in the same sequence. Andy Reid noted that Demps has shown the same nose for the ball that led the Eagles to draft him.

Demps has been working as both a safety and a corner in camp and has left  Andy Reid impressed

"You can see that he had a lot of interceptions in college, and you always want to see if that carries over to the pro game," Reid said yesterday. "In these practices, you see him getting his hands on the ball and making catches."

Not everyone's hands are impressing

Free agent TE Kris Wilson was advertised as a good player who was both misused in Kansas City and stuck behind a future hall of famer in Tony Gonzales. Out of Tony G's shadow and back at his natural position TE Wilson was going to challenge for a starting job with LJ Smith on just a one year deal... So far, Wilson has failed to impress.

Wilson was given a chance to make the roster and possibly build himself a future because Smith is on a one-year contract. But like so many passes over the last two weeks, it may have already slipped through his fingers.

"Obviously, nobody wants to drop the ball, but that's part of the game," Wilson said Thursday. "That's something that you constantly work on. Every day you come out and tell yourself to try to have a perfect day.

"You don't want to have any balls on the ground, but from time to time, it happens."

Reports from camp make it fairly clear that Wilson has slipped behind both Celek and Wilson on the depth chart at TE. In all likelihood the Eagles will only keep 3 TEs, so at this point Wilson looks like the odd man out.

Westbrook contract situation

Andy Reid was asked in his press conference if there was any news on the Westbrook negotiations and there was not. However, one Eagles rival feels like Westbrook is worth everything he wants.

"To be completely honest with you," Umenyiora said, "if Philadelphia really understood his value to that team, they would never even have allowed him to get upset with his contract. You take Westbrook off that team and nobody would fear them. I don't think they truly understand that.

"He should be one of the highest-paid players in the league. Period. I'm not saying this as a friend of his. I don't even know the guy that well. I'm just saying it because it's the truth."

I think they understand it just fine Osi...

Quote of the day

Andy Reid was asked how entering his 10th year as coach he maintains his energy level and enthusiasm for the job?

"I change my diet," he said.

What are you eating? "Too much."

AJ Feeley has earned his own place in the Urban dictionary. His name now has something to do with couches and hoes... (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

HHR also has an interesting take on the Brian Westbrook contract situation. Really, who owes who here? (Hugging Harold Reynolds)

Is it possible that we could see the fade pass entered into the Eagles offense this year? (Iggles Blog)

We all know how Eagles web guy Dave Spadaro feels about the Eagles... but what about entertainment and politics? (Poor Sports)

The word is that Victor Abiamiri's wrist injury could end his season, but what happened to the days of putting a club on your hand and playing? (Eagle Scout)

I'm sure Winston Justice really appreciated Osi Umenyoria's kind sentiments... (Bounty Bowl)

Just because you're a multi millionaire pro football player, doesn't mean you don't need online dating to find love. Right Mr Herremans? (Eaglesville)

At least we know that Desean Jackson knows how to take a hint. (Bleed Eagles Green)

If this year was last year... The Eagles would have won the Bears game thanks to a new rule change. (700 Level)

Santa may have deserved it, but LJ does not. (Santa Deserved It)

Here's a headline about Brett Favre I think we can all agree on. (Huge Tiny Mistake)

Speaking of Favre... if he went to Tampa Bay, Madden 2009 thinks he'd lose a playoff game to the Eagles (SI.com)

If Shawn Andrews is especting sympathy from his teammates at Lehigh, he's not getting it. At least not from Jon Runyan. (Eagletarian)

You know how I titled this edition of The Linc "Pacman forgot something?" Well what forgot was how to cover a WR.  Seriously, I don't know if I've ever seen someone faked this bad! (With Leather)

Finally. hands down no possible argument can be made... This is the hottest Bar on earth. (WWTDD)

Donovan McNabb checked in on his blog yesterday to fill us in on what he's up to Arizona this week.

Just wanted to check in from Arizona again. I've been out here this week working out with a few guys including Brian Dawkins, LJ Smith, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and Lorenzo Booker.

We have been getting after it from sunup to sundown. We start at Fischer Sports, a place I have been working out at most of the offseason. Brett Fischer – an Eagles fan from Bucks County - is a physical therapist, certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist. He has helped me through what he calls functional training. We mimic the motions that we use on the football field. For me it might be an emphasis on using my abdominals, hips and lower body to create torque when I throw the ball. For some of the other guys it might be trying to get explosion out of their cuts.

If I remember correct, usually Reggie Brown would head out to Arizona to work with McNabb. I'm somewhat surprised he's not there this year... that said, I don't read much into it.

A couple of days ago, Matt Mosley of Hashmarks busted out with several articles on the NFC East (Philly, Dallas, NYG, Skins).  They are all worth reading - know thy enemy know thyself - but we should bear in mind he wants to see controversy where there may not actually be any.

Consider his article on the Birds.  The first portion of the article is dedicated to McNabb's health in general and of McNabb's arm in particular.

This time, the problem had lingered for almost a month. In an offense built around McNabb's getting the ball downfield, a recurring shoulder problem sends up major red flags.

That's in direct conflict with Spadaro's assertion that DMac is probably fine:

From what I can ascertain, based on the talk toward the end of the June passing camp and from what I've seen, quarterback Donovan McNabb is finished with his rehab on his right shoulder and is in Arizona. From what I think, everyone concerned with McNabb's shoulder is confident that he is ready to go for training camp. I could be wrong, but that is my perspective.

Mosely also touches on the Eagles pursuit of Randy Moss and LJ's injury rehab (Russian Kettlebells?...).  He briefly explores Lito's contract situation and suggests we should have gotten a 3rd round pick for him while he "still had value".  Finally, Mosely asks if Reid can bounce back from the tough personal issues of last year:

The Eagles stuck with him through the tough period and he has more motivation than ever to reward them. He knows how important McNabb is to his team's success and he has gone out of his way to make his star quarterback comfortable. McNabb is a fierce competitor, but he's also a sensitive player who reads into every comment. That's why you don't hear a lot people on this coaching staff fawning over Kolb's progress even though he's actually taken some major strides.

In all, Mosely seems to like Philly's chances in the division this year.  His article spends a great deal of energy trying to find things that are wrong with the Birds, but finally ends on a positive note.  This team should be good - presuming it doesn't get bit by injuries again this year.

First up, LJ Smith says that last year was just one big fluke...

L.J. Smith called it an aberration. Something that rarely happens twice. A bout of misfortune coupled with Murphy's Law.

He was referring to the sports hernia injury that sidelined him for most of mini-camp last season and required a second surgery in August and the late knee injury that, in total, rendered him useless for most of 2007.

Oh, did he mention that 2007 was supposed to be the walk year of his contract?

"It's one of those things where I like to look at it as a fluke," he said. "You don't want to ever have to have something like that happen again in your career."

Another guy who spent most of last year banged up was Todd Herremans, who doesn't want to blame injuries for his performance

"I don't want to blame it on anything," he said. "There's no excuse for technique breaking down. If I was getting overpowered or if I looked like I had a weak leg or anything, I don't think I really did. I think my focus just came away from my technique and what I was supposed to be doing out there.

"The way I look at it is, I need to be on the field because no one's job is ever secure," Herremans said. "That's the nature of the NFL. If you miss a couple games and someone comes in and fills for you and they start playing really well, you might be lost in the shuffle."

Herremans will be facing competition for a his starting job from Max Jean Gilles, who drew special praise from Andy Reid when he filled in for both Andrews and Herremans at points last year. Good news for Herremans is that Max Jean showed up 10 pounds overweight to minicamp...

Finally, at a Volunteers of America dinner Andy Reid said some nice generic stuff...

“You always make your number one goal to win the Super Bowl,” Reid said.

“There’s nothing you want to change in the attitude of the city. With the Eagles, yeah. The culture of the Eagles – people (now) want to win, they have won and they have an expectation of that.”

Not likely... fairly generic stuff from McNabb, but it was interesting to read what he said about Desean Jackson simply because he never really talked about the kid in mini camp.

He lists some of the usual questions he's gotten and his answers

Q: Did the team do enough this offseason to compete for a Super Bowl?

A: We have enough to compete right now. If there is a chance to continue improving our roster after June 1 than we should look at that too.

Q: Without any new offensive weapons, how will the team improve this year?

A: Having L.J. Smith healthy is a good start. We need to be more productive in the Red Zone and that's a part of the field where the tight end is crucial. When L.J. was hurt last year we seemed to get away from that too much.

Q: What about DeSean Jackson?

A: He impressed me with his speed and ability to catch the ball. Hopefully he will be able to shorten the field for us with his return ability on special teams, and stretch the field on offense with his speed.

I suppose the June 1 line is interesting. Clearly McNabbb is still looking for more pieces.