Eagles vs. Packers Wild Card Game Inactives: No Bradley or Jean-Gilles

The Eagles and Packers have announced their inactive players for their playoff showdown:

Eagles: S Jamar Adams, LB Stewart Bradley, DT Jeremy Clark, G Max Jean-Gilles, T Austin Howard, CB Brandon Hughes, QB Mike Kafka, DE Bobby McCray

Packers: S Atari Bigby, G Evan Dietrich-Smith, CB Josh Gordy, DT Howard Green, FB Korey Hall, QB Graham Harrell, G Nick McDonald, LB Frank Zombo

The Eagles will be without two starters for this game as Jean-Gilles and Bradley are unable to go. Filling in at right guard will be Nick Cole, who hasn't started a game since Week 11. Filling in at middle linebacker for Bradley will once again be Jamar Chaney, who has done quite well considering he is just a rookie. There was some hope that Bradley would be able to play today but apparently his elbow just isn't strong enough for him to be effective.

This one promises to be a good one, folks. The Eagles and Packers are very closely matched and there should be plenty of offensive fireworks. Let's hope Michael Vick can work his magic. GO BIRDS!

Eagles vs. Packers: Week One inactives

Eagles football is back! Here are the Week One inactives as announced by the teams:

Eagles: LB Jamar Chaney, LB Keenan Clayton, OL Austin Howard, OL Max Jean-Gilles, QB Mike Kafka, DE Darryl Tapp, DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, G Reggie Wells

Packers: FB Quinn Johnson, OL T.J. Lang, G Nick McDonald, DE Mike Neal, OL Marshall Newhouse, TE Andrew Quarless, CB Brandon Underwood, DE C.J. Wilson

With no injuries for the Eagles, there really aren't any surprising inactives for them this week. My guess is that Wells just doesn't have a strong enough knowledge of the offense to be an effective backup just yet. Tapp hasn't been that impressive in the preseason so count on him being inactive most weeks. I'm somewhat shocked that the Eagles are dressing all six of their cornerbacks, including Jorrick Calvin. I would expect to see him returning kicks.

For the Packers, all of their key players are healthy and playing.

While I picked against the Eagles this week, you can bet I'll be rooting hard for them to take down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. It's going to take a tremendous defensive effort and some explosive offensive plays but I think the Eagles should at least make it a close game. GO BIRDS!

Eagles sign 5 to practice squad

The Eagles have signed five recently cut players to the practice squad:

WR Chad Hall
RB Martell Mallett
DT Jeff Owens
OL Dallas Reynolds
OL A.Q. Shipley

All of the players spent time in the Eagles training camp. The player with the most potential to see time on the team is probably Jeff Owens, who just missed making the team behind Antonio Dixon at defensive tackle. Chad Hall could also be called upon at some point should a receiver go down to injury. It's also nice to see the Eagles bring back Mallett after a strong showing in the preseason.

Teams are allowed to keep 8 players on their practice squad so the Eagles still have three more players to sign. My guess is that they will add Pannel Egboh, Cornelius Ingram and a safety cut from another team.

In other Eagles news, as expected, the team re-signed Max-Jean Gilles after he was temporarily cut yesterday.

Stacy Andrews won't start in Week 2 for the Eagles

What was supposed to be one of the best offensive lines in the NFL is quickly turning into a bunch of backups. Stacy Andrews, who was signed this offseason by the Eagles, will join fellow projected starting offensive linemen Shawn Andrews and Todd Herremans on the sidelines for the start of the Week 2 game against the Saints. Stacy Andrews is not completely out due to injury like brother Shawn and Herremans, though, instead, Stacy is simply not starting the game because he isn't "comfortable" with the Eagles blocking schemes. According to Brian Seltzer of ESPN 950, Andrews won't start but will still rotate into the game as he gets used to the Eagles system. Max Jean-Gilles will start in his place at right guard.

Thank goodness the Eagles have some of the best offensive line depth in the league. There isn't that much of a dropoff from Jean-Gilles to Andrews, especially with the way Andrews played in Week 1. It's still pretty sad when one of your top free agent pickups can't learn a system fast enough to start every game. Hopefully this is just a one week thing for Andrews and he can get himself back into playing capably.

So why are the Andrews brothers always involved in these kinds of strange stories?

Updated: Depressed Andrews had gun pulled on him in Philly

People that have been wondering for weeks as to why Shawn Andrews was not in Eagles camp finally got their answer today: he's battling depression. The speculation all along was that Andrews was not in the proper mental state for training camp although some thought he was holding out for more money. Andrews said that "I'm willing to admit that I've been going through a very bad time with depression" and that he's "finally decided to get professional help."

Andrews doesn't know what is causing the depression, but he has problems sleeping and concentrating on anything. He is being find 15,000 dollars each day he misses camp but it is smart for him to stay away until he gets better. The last thing the Eagles need is for a 300 pound lineman to not be concentrating on what he is doing and getting someone hurt.

Andrews has given no timetable for a return although he thinks he might show up by the end of this week. Andrews is a Pro Bowler so the Eagles will welcome him back, but it isn't necessarily guaranteed that he will simply be given his starting spot back. By all reports, Max Jean-Gilles has been doing a fine job filling in at guard and may have proven that he can be a starter in the NFL. Gilles hasn't shown much in the past, but he was a fourth round pick by the Eagles in 2006 and has great size and athleticism. He has had problems keeping his weight down in the past.

UPDATED: Philly.com has updated their story to include information about Andrews having a gun pulled on him in Philadelphia. Here's a quote from the article:

"A lot of things in my life have happened even since I've come to Philadelphia," Andrews said. "Random people have pulled out a gun on me. One time during the playoffs, some guy walked from around a building and said, 'You're going to the Pro Bowl? [blank] him, he's not going to the Pro Bowl.' Luckily, I was talking to someone and I didn't hear him. If I heard it, I think I'd have been on the ground."

Not sure what to say about this bit of news. He's vague about how many times a gun has been pulled on him, but once is more than enough. Let's hope Andrews gets his mind right before coming into Eagles camp.