Akers re-injured his right hamstring on the opening kickoff of
Sunday's 23-20 win over Oakland. He had an MRI on the leg Monday and it
showed a tear.
"It will be a struggle for David to kick this weekend," coach Andy
Reid said. "Most likely, he won't do that and we'll have to make a
roster move down the road here."
The Eagles signed kicker Todd France to their practice squad last
week after Akers initially injured the hamstring in Week 2 against San
Francisco. But Akers was able to kick in practice during the week, so
the Eagles kept France on the practice squad.
After he hurt it on the opening kickoff, the Eagles had to scramble.
Long-snapper Mike Bartrum handled kickoffs and linebacker Mark Simoneau
attempted a PAT, which was blocked. Akers returned to kick two PATs, as
well as the game-winning 26-yard field goal, even though he was in
obvious pain.
His initial hamstring injury was high up on his leg, near his
buttocks. But when he tore it Sunday, it was much lower, closer to the
knee. "It's not the same spot," Reid said. "It's a different injury on
the leg."
Reid said the Eagles are not considering placing Akers on injured
reserve and are hopeful that he won't be out for more than a game or
two.
Walker, who had been the Eagles' best defensive lineman in the first
two games, has what Reid termed a "substantial" thigh contusion. He
suffered the injury in practice late last week when he took a knee in
the thigh. Reid said there is "quite a bit of swelling and bleeding" in
the injured area. Walker didn't play Sunday against the Raiders and
won't play this week, Reid said.
In fact, Reid didn't sound optimistic that Walker would be back
anytime soon. "We'll see how it goes with him," he said. "Those are
tough injuries."
Walker was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie first-round pick
Mike Patterson.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Versatile running back Brian Westbrook had his 12th straight
100-yard rushing and receiving performance against the Raiders. He
rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, but his real impact
came in the passing game. He caught six passes for a career-high 140
yards and a touchdown. He even beat Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson
on a 62-yard reception in the fourth quarter. Westbrook's contract
negotiations with the Eagles remain at an impasse. He can become a free
agent after the season, though the Eagles have the option of using the
franchise-player tag on him. "Like I've said before, my performance is
going to speak for itself," Westbrook said. "If (the Eagles) feel I'm
good enough to play this position, doing the things that I'm doing, then
I should be rewarded. If they don't, then I shouldn't. But continue to
go out and make plays. That's what I'm here for. I don't let my contract
situation get in the way of anything this team is doing."
--Andy Reid acknowledged that he probably screwed up by not
activating practice squad kicker Todd France on Sunday as an emergency
backup for injured David Akers. "Sitting here, it probably wasn't the
smartest move," he said. "But I thought David was feeling better (from)
all of the reports that I got. He was kicking the ball as well as he has
ever kicked it. But then the thing popped on him on the first kickoff."
--The Eagles faced Randy Moss for the third time in the last 12
months Sunday, and again did a very good job against one of the game's
top three wideouts. Moss had five receptions for 86 yards, but three of
those catches and 60 of those yards didn't come until the Raiders' final
two possessions. In the three meetings against Moss, he's reached the
end zone just once. "He's such a unique guy," Eagles defensive
coordinator Jim Johnson said. "He looks like he's going deep all the
time. The big thing is we didn't give him the long pass, the touchdown
pass. And that was our goal. If we could stop the (Raiders') run game
and keep Moss out of the end zone, we'd be happy." The Eagles kept free
safety Brian Dawkins back deep to provide over-the-top help on Moss.
"Dawk had his eye on Randy a lot," cornerback Lito Sheppard said. "We
were in man coverage a lot, but (Dawkins) always had his eye on him."
PLAYER PERSONNEL NOTES
--K David Akers will miss at least one game and possibly more with a
torn hamstring. Akers initially injured the hamstring two weeks ago,
then tore it Sunday on the opening kickoff.
--K Todd France, who was signed to the Eagles' practice squad last
week, is expected to be added to the club's 53-man roster this week so
that he can replace injured David Akers in the Eagles' Week 4 game
against Kansas City.
--DT Darwin Walker, who sat out Sunday's game with a deep thigh
bruise suffered in practice last week, won't play this week either.
--DT Mike Patterson will make his second straight start Sunday
against Kansas City. Patterson will replace the injured Darwin Walker at
right tackle.
--QB Donovan McNabb is expected to play Sunday against Kansas City,
but he's hurting. He continues to be bothered by a bruised chest, has a
lower abdominal strain that has greatly impacted his mobility and
throwing motion, and also has a shin contusion. He probably won't
practice much this week.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
REPORT CARD V. RAIDERS
PASSING OFFENSE: B-plus -- With his abdominal injury affecting his
mechanics, Donovan McNabb had a horrible first half, but turned it
around in the second, completing 19-of-28 passes for 266 yards and 2 TDs
in the final two quarters. The Raiders had no answer for running back
Brian Westbrook, who caught six passes for 140 yards.
RUSH OFFENSE: B-plus -- The Raiders played most of the game with five
DBs and dared the Eagles to run on them. The RBs only had 14 rushing
attempts, including 13 by Westbrook, but averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
PASS DEFENSE: A-minus -- The Eagles secondary got a little sloppy at
the end. But their corners, along with some over-the-top help from free
safety Brian Dawkins, shut down wide receivers Randy Moss and Jerry Porter for most of the game.
RUN DEFENSE: A-plus -- The Eagles had to stop LaMont Jordan to
de-fang Kerry Collins' play-action threat, and they did just that,
holding him to 19 yards on 16 carries. Middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter had one of the best games of his career, notching 10 tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus -- Injured David Akers booting a one-legged
23-yard field goal made for a Hollywood ending. But the Eagles' special
teams committed a ton of penalties, and emergency kicker Mark Simoneau
had an early PAT blocked. The Eagles did a good job of shutting down
dangerous return man Chris Carr.
COACHING: D - Andy Reid's decision not to activate practice squad
kicker Todd France as a backup for injured David Akers very nearly cost
the Eagles the game.
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