Eagles vs. Texans Week 13 Inactives: Samuel, Parker still out

The Eagles and Texans have announced their inactives for their Thursday Night game:

Eagles: WR Riley Cooper, T Austin Howard, CB Brandon Hughes, QB Mike Kafka, TE Garrett Mills, DE Juqua Parker, CB Asante Samuel, G Reggie Wells

Texans: LB Xavier Adibi, TE Owen Daniels, WR Dorin Dickerson, TE Anthony Hill, QB Matt Leinart, DE Jesse Nading, OG Shelley Smith, OG Kasey Studdard

The inactives for the Eagles are all the same as last week with the exception of Chad Hall replacing the injured Riley Cooper. Just like last week, Joselio Hanson will start in place of Asante Samuel and Brandon Graham will start in place of Juqua Parker. Hopefully the Eagles secondary can step up this week after getting repeatedly torched against the Bears.

With the injuries to the defense, this figures to be a high scoring Thursday night showdown. You have to like the Eagles chances against a terrible Texans defense. GO BIRDS!

Eagles vs. Bears: Week 12 inactives

The Eagles and Bears have announced their inactive players for their Week 12 matchup:

Eagles: WR Chad Hall, T Austin Howard, CB Brandon Hughes, QB Mike Kafka, TE Garrett Mills, DE Juqua Parker, CB Asante Samuel, G Reggie Wells

Bears: RB Kahlil Bell, TE Desmond Clark, QB Caleb Hanie, CB Joshua Moore, S Craig Steltz, DE Barry Turner, OL Edwin Williams, DE Corey Wootton

As we found out yesterday, Asante Samuel is out and Joselio Hanson will start in his place at cornerback. With DE Juqua Parker also out, rookie Brandon Graham will get another start. Antonio Dixon was another question mark heading into this game but he is healthy enough to start at defensive tackle.

With the Bears solid defense, expect a tough, low-scoring game in Chicago. If the Bears watched any film from the Giants game, they will be putting pressure on Michael Vick early and often so we will have to see what adjustments Vick will make. That said, I like the Eagles to win this one by a touchdown. GO BIRDS!

Juqua Parker avoids pot charge

This arrest came so long ago I almost forgot about it. Back in August, during the Eagles training camp, Juqua Parker was arrested for possession of marijuana. Apparently, Parker was in a van driven by Todd Herremans when police pulled the vehicle over and found a small amount of pot under the passenger seat.

Seven months later, all charges against Parker have been dropped. Citing there was no reason for police to search the car, prosecutors in the case decided not to pursue any charges against Parker. Sounds like Parker had a good lawyer.

Since Parker was just a first-time offender, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wasn't likely to suspend him even if he was found guilty. While there is still a chance that Parker could enter the league's rehab program, avoiding legal trouble will ensure that he won't become a bigger blip on the radar of the iron-fisted commissioner.

Juqua Parker busted for pot

There isn't a lot of good news coming out of Lehigh this summer, is there? The latest bad news is that defensive end Juqua Parker was arrested for possession of marijuana. He was in a car that got pulled over at 12:33 am Wednesday and was found to have a "small amount" of pot in his possession. Parker was later released on bail.

It's unknown right now what the next steps will be, but as Andy Reid was quoting as saying, "it's in the laws hands now". As for his standing in the NFL, that's always something to worry about. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is known for cracking down hard on anyone who breaks the law; luckily this is the first incident Parker has had, so he should get off with just a warning.

First, Jim Johnson passed away. Then, the season-ending injury to Stewart Bradley. Now, a starting defensive end is facing legal troubles. The defense has really taken its lumps this preseason.

New Eagles Lineman: Juqua Parker

Okay, so its just a name change. Juqua Thomas announced yesterday that he will now be known as Juqua Parker. Parker's father, who passed away in 2005, asked Juqua to honor his father by taking his last name.

Parker figures to have a big role in 2008 for the Eagles, as he looks to build on his 5 sacks from last season. Parker started last season as a reserve but moved into the starting role and played pretty well down the stretch.