Brandon Graham will again make his entrance at the Linc this Monday night.

Graham activated, DeVan cut loose

Just after word came that Eagles DE Juqua Parker was doubtful for Monday’s game, DE Brandon Graham was activated to the 53-man roster. To make room for Parker, recent acquisition OG Kyle DeVan was released after only 9 weeks in Philadelphia.

This will be Graham’s first time on the active roster since his December of last year when he sustained an injury to his ACL.

Gotta stay healthy

Brent Celek did not practice on Thursday with a hip injury, but he participated Friday and Saturday so is a go for Monday.

LeSean McCoy was sent home from practice on Thursday with a stomach bug. He also practiced the past few days and the Birds have stated that he will play on Monday night.

Contract talks

There is an Eagle whose rookie contract will expire in the near future who the team is quietly speaking with about a new deal. And no, that player is not DeSean Jackson.

ProFootballTalk cites a league source as stating that Philadelphia is speaking to McCoy to come to terms that would replace his rookie deal, which expires in 2012.

What McCoy has on his side is momentum. He is in the midst of breaking team records, and there is no sign of a slow down. The Eagles know that they have a breathtakingly talented back who teams around the league would do anything for.

Unfortunately, DeSean Jackson, who was very vocal in his desire for a new contract with an initial hold out from training camp, has been relatively quiet in his production this season with an 18th best in the league 487 yards. This reality has not helped his case, nor did the very public holdout engineered by his boisterous agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Can this man please shut up?

After his butt whooping last week, Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is still giving excuses about the epic collapse of his team’s defense. Rather than sitting with his tail between his legs and learning a lesson in humility (I’m pretty sure that no one in that family is aware of the word or its meaning), Ryan just keeps on yapping.

The reason for the team’s loss is, according to Ryan, his own fault.

“I gave (the Eagles) a little extra motivation by my comments. As I told everybody before, nobody ever puts it back in there — an assistant coach shouldn’t be doing that. I let one slip out of there, and it gets away from me. I put too much pressure on our guys, which is not what we want to do.

“That’s why I felt the whole thing was my fault, which it really was. It doesn’t happen very often. It’s not going to be a weekly press conference where I screw something up. It usually happens the other way around.”

Sure, partially it was Ryan’s fault for coming up with an ineffective game plan for the Cowboys’ defense. But he is also overlooking the fact that the team overall stinks. Sorry to break it to you. Stop giving yourself so much credit, dude.

One more day to wait for Monday Night Football, Eagles fans.

Want more Philly Sports Muse? You can find me on Twitter at @sports_muse and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/phillysportmuse.

Damn you, Vince Young

The “Dream Team” is dead. Long Live the Dream Team!

You knew it would be what the media latched on to the moment Vince Young uttered the words “Dream Team.” And that they did.

No matter how much the team’s coaches, management and players tried to distance themselves from the phrase, no one would listen. The Eagles kept being referred to by that awful moniker.

Though some seem to think that the Birds and their fans let the term go to their heads, they clearly don’t know any Philadelphia sports fans.

We do not understand the term “Dream Team.” Though our teams have had more success in recent years than they have in decades, that success has never come easily. In Philadelphia, we never do anything in a “dream”-like way. We find the most difficult path to get to a point and pursue that road. It’s what makes us special. And perpetually bitter.

The “Dream Team” never existed. So can we please let the phrase die?

Mike Vick commented on Wednesday about the state of the “Dream Team.” He declared the term officially dead.

“I think the ‘dream team,’ that word is dead now. I mean, [we] can’t talk dream team anymore. And maybe it put pressure on some players, maybe it didn’t but I think just the fact that it was lingering around and people were talking about it creates a sense of pressure. So I think it’s over with now [and] we’re one of the teams that has to scratch and kick from the bottom now and try to figure out how we’re going to get ourselves back to a position where we can compete with the best teams in this league.”

Can we please put this blasted phrase to rest now? Probably not–that would just be too easy. » Continue reading “Eagles Briefs: Stop Using That Blasted Phrase”

What will you be doing at 1 pm come Sunday? Hmm, I wonder…

Football Sundays are back. This weekend, football fans will FINALLY have the opportunity to see the new-look Philadelphia Eagles will be able to do. The team will head to St. Louis to face the Rams, a team they haven’t played since 2008, when the Birds trounced the team 38-3.

Many members of the Eagles will be facing a familiar face in a different uniform in safety Quintin Mikell. Mikell was traded to the Rams in July. He has heard all of the talk about his former team and finds the hype surrounding Philadelphia and the various labels for the team dangerous.

“It’s a lot of pressure. When you come out and basically say, ‘We’re a Super Bowl team,’ that’s what everyone’s going to look at. When you have the expectation that you’re in it for the Super Bowl or nothing . . . you add unneeded pressure on yourself.”

Very true, but isn’t this the claim, or at least the goal, or every team, each and every season? » Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Eagles at Rams”

Danny Watkins. This fresh face needs just a wee bit more practice

Hello, football fans! Do you know what today is? Of course you do. Other than the fact that it is another rainy day that torturously isn’t Friday, it is the first day of the 2011 season. Oh glorious day!

Sure, it’s not the Eagles playing, but especially after this long and painful offseason, knowing that football is really, truly, finally here is a sublime feeling.

As we get closer to the Eagles’ season opener on Sunday there is lots of good old fashion football news to report. Signings! Injury reports! Changing lineups! How I love this time of year. » Continue reading “Eagles Briefs: Watkins Benched, Hanson Returns”

In addition to the cuts announced on Friday evening, the Eagles brought out their scissors to get the team’s roster to 53 by 6 pm on Saturday, as mandated by the NFL. The following players didn’t make the cut:

S Jamar Adams
RB Eldra Buckley
WR Chad Hall
CB Joselio Hanson
DT Anthony Hargrove
WR Johnnie Lee Higgins
T Austin Howard
S Marlin Jackson
DT Derek Landri
TE Donald Lee
LB Greg Lloyd
C/G Mike McGlynn
WR Sinorice Moss
DE Daniel Te’o-Nesheim
T Fenuki Tupou
T Reggie Wells
T Jose Acuna (released from the reserve/left squad list)

PUP:
DE Brandon Graham on the Reserve/PUP list (knee),

Released with injury settlement:
T Ryan Harris

T Winston Justice was activated from the PUP list. Though details have been released, Justice agreed to a restructured contract in order to stay with the Eagles.

A few comments on the cuts: » Continue reading “Down to 53: Which Eagles Players Made the Cut? (UPDATED)”