Correll Buckhalter

A cruise down South Street Friday night cost three Eagles rookies a trip to Dallas for today's game against the Cowboys, and will provide a test of coach Andy Reid's rules for player conduct. The Eagles yesterday suspended running back Correll Buckhalter and defensive backs Terrence Carroll and Darrel Crutchfield for today's game after Carroll was arrested on marijuana charges. Carroll and Crutchfield have yet to dress for a game this season. Buckhalter, Carroll and Crutchfield were taken into custody by police Friday night after officers smelled marijuana coming from a sport-utility vehicle they were riding in on South Street.

You probably already know some of the story. Correll Buckhalter lost three seasons to knee surgeries earlier in his career, and yet he remains a productive member of the Eagles' roster. The Eagles will probably ask for more from Buckhalter tonight against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field because star running back Brian Westbrook is hobbled by an ankle injury that has made his status questionable. There's a part of Buckhalter's story, however, that rarely if ever gets told.

At a time when the Eagles have a lengthy list of unhappy and unwilling campers, running back Correll Buckhalter is delighted to be one of the few veterans at this week's rookie camp. Furthermore, he can't wait for training camp to begin at the end of July. That perspective is the polar opposite of those shared by wide receiver Terrell Owens, defensive tackle Corey Simon and running back Brian Westbrook, all of whom boycotted the Eagles' last minicamp because of contract disputes.

News that Eagles coach Andy Reid may be about to incorporate more run and less pass into the offense was greeted with predictable enthusiasm from the running backs yesterday after practice at the NovaCare Complex. Take away McNabb's 11 carries for 108 yards and wide receiver James Thrash's opening-game 47-yard run, and the Eagles' running-back trio of Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter have combined for 21 carries and 65 yards. "Of course it's something I think we should do," Staley said.

The running back and the middle linebacker were at the NovaCare Complex yesterday, all smiles and eagerness about the 2002 season. That would be Correll Buckhalter and Barry Gardner who showed up for the first day of the Eagles' unofficial off-season workout program. For the record, unhappy campers Duce Staley and Jeremiah Trotter were among the roughly 50 percent of players who did not make an appearance at the complex. That's technically not news. Attendance is not mandatory.

Dorsey Levens isn't a dinosaur, but he is an endangered species. At 34, he is the second-oldest running back in the NFL behind only future Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith of the Arizona Cardinals, the NFL's all-time rushing leader. Smith is one year and six days older than Levens, who also became the oldest player in the Eagles' locker room yesterday after he passed his physical and officially joined the team at the NovaCare Complex. Given his age and unemployment at this time last week, Levens had considered the thought that his career was over after 10 seasons, which is considerably longer than the 2.6-year average life span of an NFL running back's career.

1. Correll Buckhalter 2. Chris Clemons 3. Brian Dawkins 4. Joselio Hanson 5. Andy Reid

ADDED Stacy Andrews, OL. Signed a 6-year contract as an unrestricted free agent from Cincinnati. LOST Brian Dawkins, FS. Signed a 5-year contract with Denver. Lito Sheppard, CB. Traded to the New York Jets for two draft picks. Correll Buckhalter, RB. Signed a 4-year contract with Denver. Sean Considine, S. Signed a 2-year contract with Jacksonville.  

Brian Westbrook . . . 4.6 Charlie Garner . . . 4.6 Wilbert Montgomery . . . 4.5 Correll Buckhalter . . . 4.5 Steve Van Buren . . . 4.4 Timmy Brown . . . 4.4 Tom Woodeshick . . . 4.3 Herschel Walker . . . 4.2 Heath Sherman . . . 4.0 Duce Staley . . . 4.0 Ricky Watters . . . 3.9 Clarence Peaks . . . 3.7 Keith Byars . . . 3.6 Tom Sullivan ...

The Eagles plan on bringing in running back Stephen Davis for a tryout as soon as today, according to a report on NBC10. The 6-foot, 230-pound Davis could provide some needed depth at running back for the Birds, with Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter both coming back from injuries. Davis, 32, last played for the Carolina Panthers and has 7,805 yards rushing over a 10-year career with the Washington Redskins and the Panthers.

MICHAEL VICK said yesterday the feeling on the Eagles' sideline Sunday wasn't despair, as the Giants took leads of 24-3 and 31-10. It wasn't unbribled optimism, but it wasn't despair. "Guys didn't really have their heads down. It wasn't really like the game was over," the quarterback said during his weekly appearance on the Tony Mercurio Show on ESPN 94.3 in Virginia Beach, Va. "It was more so of 'How did we get in this position? How did it even get to this point?' We couldn't understand that.

THE BEST YOUNG running back in the history of the franchise, a more productive runner/receiver at this point in his career than any of them (and by a lot), LeSean McCoy is modeled after Brian Westbrook and pointed in the same direction. That is the big picture. Cowboys Stadium, Sunday night, 4:22 left to play, Eagles leading by 30-27, ball on their 10-yard line, short pass to McCoy for 6 yards, McCoy over the left side for 12 yards, and then for 19 yards, and then over the right side for 13 yards and then, later, on the final meaningful play, over the left side again for a backbreaking 6 yards on third-and-1.

The injury news was optimistic yesterday when Eagles coach Andy Reid spoke to reporters, as his players began a much-needed 5-day break. Reid said cornerback Asante Samuel (knee) and defensive end Juqua Parker (hip), who have missed the last two games, "are making progress and when we resume practice, they should be available to go. " Right tackle Winston Justice, who left Thursday night's game with a left knee injury after Amobi Okoye rolled onto the back of his leg with a little more than 9 minutes left, has a hyperextension, Reid said, not a sprain.

When the Eagles signed Mike Bell in March, they thought they were getting Correll Buckhalter. That's their story and they're sticking to it. "We kind of pictured him in a Correll Buckhalter type of role," general manager Howie Roseman said Wednesday after shipping Bell to the Cleveland Browns for running back Jerome Harrison. "A guy you can use in the same backfield with LeSean [McCoy]. A guy who could block, who could catch a little, who could run. " Well, zero out of four ain't bad. Bell rarely teamed in the same backfield with McCoy during his short stay in Philly.

Brian Westbrook . . . 4.6 Charlie Garner . . . 4.6 Wilbert Montgomery . . . 4.5 Correll Buckhalter . . . 4.5 Steve Van Buren . . . 4.4 Timmy Brown . . . 4.4 Tom Woodeshick . . . 4.3 Herschel Walker . . . 4.2 Heath Sherman . . . 4.0 Duce Staley . . . 4.0 Ricky Watters . . . 3.9 Clarence Peaks . . . 3.7 Keith Byars . . . 3.6 Tom Sullivan ...

After visiting with the Washington Redskins, former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is scheduled to visit the Denver Broncos, according to reports. In Washington, Westbrook would join former teammate Donovan McNabb and his brother, Byron. In Denver, he would reunite with Correll Buckhalter and Brian Dawkins. The Broncos already have Knowshon Moreno, Buckhalter and J.J. Arrington on the roster. According to ESPN.com, Westbrook met with Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan as well as others.

The story lines leading up to yesterday's proceedings at Lincoln Financial Field were all about comebacks. Former Eagles Brian Dawkins and Correll Buckhalter were coming back to Philadelphia as members of the Denver Broncos. Eagles running back Brian Westbrook was coming back from two concussions. In keeping with the theme, the Eagles' final regular-season game at the Linc evolved into a comeback story, but it did not have anything to do with the aforementioned players. Instead, it was about how a rookie wide receiver making his own little comeback squashed the Broncos' attempt to rally from a 17-point deficit with one sensational catch in the final minute, enabling the Eagles to pull out a 30-27 victory.

Paul Domowitch's report card on the Eagles-Broncos game. RUSHING OFFENSE Donovan McNabb's big, 27-yard, third-down run with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter changed the field-position battle that ultimately resulted in David Akers' game-winning field goal. Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver combined for 79 yards on 22 carries. Grade: C-plus PASSING OFFENSE Donovan McNabb notched just his third three-touchdown game. He had just four incompletions in the first half, but was just 5-for-16 for 80 yards in the second half.

Avoid the emotions 1 Everyone around the Eagles is playing the party line this week: He's just another opponent. Well, Brian Dawkins is more than that, and it's not hard to see why. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said Dawkins would be introduced before the game at Lincoln Financial Field. And Eagles fans will cheer wildly for a player from an opposing team like never before. There will be a charged atmosphere in the stadium. Here is one way to settle it all down: Score first. The Eagles have scored 51 points on first possessions this season and are 8-1 when they score on their first drive.