Philadelphia will be missing key personnel for Sunday’s game against the Patriots.
PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles’ defensive injury situation is so bad right now that coach Andy Reid couldn’t remember the name of his starting free safety for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
“I’m having a mental block here,” Reid said Wednesday before pleading for assistance from media director Derek Boyko.
Clinton Hart was the forgotten man.
“That’s not good,” Hart said when told his coach could not think of his name. “I’m going to do my best to make sure people remember who I am. I’m sure that to a lot of people right now, I’m a nobody.”
Hart, who played primarily on special teams in his first NFL game Monday night against Tampa Bay, is filling in for all-pro Brian Dawkins in what will be a makeshift secondary against quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots. Dawkins, according to team trainer Rick Burkholder, will miss two to six weeks because of a sprained right foot.
Reid said that second-year cornerback Sheldon Brown also will work out at safety this week.
Lito Sheppard will move into the role of starting left cornerback in place of Bobby Taylor, who is sidelined by a strained left foot. Taylor walked around the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday with an aluminum cane.
Reid said the Eagles have no intention of adding anyone to the roster. The Birds’ only other reserve defensive backs are undrafted rookies Roderick Hood and Quintin Mikell.
The other changes are along the depleted defensive line. Darwin Walker will shift from left tackle and make his first career start at left defensive end to replace the injured Brandon Whiting (strained right hamstring), and Hollis Thomas will replace Walker at left tackle.
Forgive Reid if he couldn’t remember the name of one of his new starters. Even in the violent world of the NFL, it’s rare to lose three defensive starters in the same week.
As bad as things are, they could have been worse.
A report Tuesday suggested that Dawkins could be finished for the season because of a Lisfranc sprain, the same injury that forced running back Duce Staley to miss the final 13 games of the 2000 season.
“Brian has an injury to his Lisfranc ligament, but it’s not torn, it’s just stretched out, so he won’t require surgery,” Burkholder said.
Burkholder said Staley had surgery three years ago because his injury was much more severe than the one Dawkins suffered late in the game Monday. The free safety had an MRI exam and a CAT scan, and he visited a foot specialist – Dr. Mark Myerson – in Baltimore on Wednesday.
“He had very minimal movement in the Lisfranc joint, which is different than Duce,” Burkholder said. “That’s why Duce needed surgery and that’s why Brian doesn’t. He does have a Lisfranc sprain, but it’s a mild Lisfranc sprain. In general, those things take anywhere from two to six weeks to heal.”
Taylor and Whiting were listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game, but Reid conceded that neither is likely to play.
The timing of the injuries also could have been worse for the Eagles. After initially thinking the third week of the season was too early for their bye, Reid is thankful that his team will have two weeks between Sunday’s game against New England and the Sept. 28 game at Buffalo.
“It will give some guys a chance to heal,” the coach said.
It’s possible that all three injured players could be back for the game against the Bills.
In the meantime, two young players will get a chance to start for the first time in their careers. Hart, a practice-squad player for the Eagles the last nine weeks of last season, did not play football in college and made his way to the NFL via the Arena Football League. He played with the AFL’s Tampa Bay Storm in 2001 and was invited to training camp with the Eagles last season.
Hart said he expects to be tested by Brady and the Patriots.
“I would test me,” Hart said. “But I’ve proven I can play at this level. I believe if you study hard enough, no test is too hard, and I’m going to do my studying. My card was pulled and now it’s time to play my hand, and, hopefully, I can have a hand that can help this team be prosperous.”
Sheppard, the Eagles’ first-round pick last season, also will be making his first NFL start against the Patriots after replacing the injured Taylor in the second quarter of Monday’s game.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden immediately attacked Sheppard’s side of the field with success. Sheppard was asked whether he thought the Patriots would copy that plan.
“They probably will,” he said. “They can’t base the whole game plan on me, because it isn’t going to win. They’re not going to win that way.”
Brown insisted there was no pressure on the young defensive backs.
“No one is giving us a chance,” he said. “There’s no pressure on me. I can’t really lose. If I make a mistake, that’s what everybody expects. If I play great, then no one expects that.”
Walker, who was second in sacks among the league’s defensive tackles with 71/2 last season, downplayed his move to end.
“It’s not something new to me,” he said. “I’ve been there before. I worked there last year. This is the NFL. There are going to be injuries. Somebody goes down and somebody steps up. We just have to keep on keeping on.”
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AP-NY-09-10-03 2211EDT
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