Les Bowen: Pressing questions heading into Eagles training camp

Five much less obvious areas of concern as the Eagles convene at Lehigh:

 

1 What form will Donovan McNabb's touchdown-dance tribute to Michael Jackson take?

In recent years, No. 5 has often seemed to be the only athlete willing to risk looking uncool enough to evoke something as old-school as "Thriller." Now he has plenty of company. Can McNabb raise his game?

2 Can Reggie Brown revive his Eagles career, or is he this summer's Jerome McDougle?

In minicamps, Brown looked like a man determined to recapture the promise of his first two Eagles seasons. Unfortunately, he's swimming in a deeper wideout pool than the Birds have seen in the Andy Reid era. Like McDougle a year ago, Reggie might have waited too long to start to turn it around.

3 With Brian Dawkins in Denver, who is going to tell Quintin Demps, "Kid, dial back the volume a little until you've actually done something?"

Demps' brash toughness is a strength, as he vies to replace the franchise legend at free safety. However, there's a line between confidence and arrogance. Swagger is one of those things that works better when it's earned.

4 With Jon Runyan gone, who's going to start the training-camp fights?

This is an important role. When the big guys on the offensive and defensive lines start swinging, spectators feel a refreshing breeze, and the skill position players get to rest a little. (Unless they opt to show solidarity with their mates by running toward the scrum yelling, "Hey! Hey!" and waving their arms threateningly, as often happens.)

5 Will Jack Ikegwuonu's roommate risk bringing the Xbox to Lehigh?

We kid, Jack, we kid. Seriously, the cornerback from Wisconsin has to be really relieved to finally put behind him those residential burglary and criminal trespassing charges that somehow took nearly 3 years to resolve. Now the only question Ikegwuonu has to answer is about the serious knee injury that caused him to miss last season. He could be an interesting addition to an already crowded defensive backfield. *

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