Danny Watkins

JASON KELCE said Thursday he's tried to help Evan Mathis with "little technique things here or there - assignment things in certain situations. " If you're keeping score at home, Kelce began the season as the Eagles' center, a pretty good one, at that. He tore an ACL in the second game. His replacement was Dallas Reynolds, who sprained his ankle Monday night against Carolina. So, left guard Mathis, the emergency center, is expected to start at Dallas Sunday night. It's not often you get down to your third-line center, but that's where the Eagles are. (I made a joke about winning faceoffs and killing penalties; Mathis didn't get it. Danny Watkins would have laughed, but he's almost never at his locker when reporters are around.)

Michael Vick underwent another Impact test Wednesday afternoon, but the Eagles did not reveal the results. The Eagles quarterback has failed to reach baseline in previous tests and will not be cleared to return from a Nov. 11 concussion until he passes. On Tuesday, coach Andy Reid said that Vick remained in Phase 4 of the Eagles' five-phase protocol, which involves football-related exercise and weightlifting. Along with passing the Impact test and clearing Phase 5, which involves light contact, Vick must be examined and cleared by a team doctor and an independent neurologist before he can play.

The Eagles' 2012 draft picks traveled together to Ohio for the NFL's rookie symposium in June. They knew little about the NFL except that they would play for a popular team and rabid fans, and they hoped they would be part of the organization for years. "How cool would it be if all of us are playing on the same team, on the same field, at the same time?" cornerback Brandon Boykin asked his classmates. Seven of those draft picks made the team, and for the first time this season, all seven will be active when the Eagles host the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.

Bryce Brown spent last Thanksgiving in Knoxville, Tenn. He was not playing football and had the reputation as a former top recruit whose college career unraveled. One year later, Brown is preparing to start for the Eagles in Monday's game against the Carolina Panthers. Even for Brown, who was confident he could become an NFL player, this was not something he could predict at the Thanksgiving dinner table in Knoxville. "Not a starter" this season, Brown said. "I definitely knew I had the talent and ability to play.

DOMINIQUE Rodgers-Cromartie might not be a man of letters, but he is a man of the world. He peers through orange glasses, his fashion sense and his common sense unclouded by pesky lenses. He observes, and he reports. Sunday evening, DRC's geek-chic getup belied his frankness: "I've seen it many times in this league: Guys pull themselves out for personal reasons. They don't want to get hurt, or whatever. You see them go on the field, their heads down, saying, 'Aw, [shoot], here we go.' " The Eagles had just suffered their sixth loss in a row, their worst run under Andy Reid.

LANDOVER, Md. - Clad appropriately in all black, Andy Reid trudged down the hallway to the FedEx Field visitors' locker room red-faced, eyes fixed straight ahead, his mustache twitching as he chewed gum, Reid flanked by team security director Dom DiSandro. Was it the last walk from the field of Reid's 14-year Eagles coaching career? A high-ranking team source told the Daily News it was not, that Reid will coach the Eagles next Monday night against the Carolina Panthers.

LANDOVER, Md. - In the cramped visitors' locker room at FedEx Field, LeSean McCoy started making his way to the showers, clad in a towel. At McCoy's side was a member of the Eagles' training staff. McCoy, who has played four career games in the Redskins' stadium, gestured to his right, intending to walk into a training room. His helper guided him to the left, toward the showers. Minutes earlier, Eagles coach Andy Reid confirmed that McCoy had suffered a concussion on a hit that came with a minute and 45 seconds left in a game the Eagles hopelessly trailed, 31-6.

LANDOVER, Md. – Turn off the searchlights. No superhero is coming down from the skies to rescue these Eagles. No miracle is coming along to save Andy Reid and his dreadful football team. At this point, Reid can only hope the Mayans were right and the world ends before the regular season. It has gone beyond embarrassing, past sad and is on the way to scary. It is bad enough the present is tarnishing Reid's past accomplishments as a head coach. But now we've reached the stage where the present dysfunction is also threatening the future.

LANDOVER, Md. - LeSean McCoy sustained a concussion in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter of the Eagles' 31-6 loss to the Redskins on Sunday. The Eagles trailed by 25 points after the two-minute warning when a running play was called for McCoy. After the game, coach Andy Reid defended keeping McCoy in the game despite the lopsided score. "We were trying to catch up and win the game," Reid said. McCoy appeared woozy in the locker room. There likely will be more information on his status on Monday.

LANDOVER, Md. - The Eagles are seven points from being the only winless team in the NFL. Zero-and-10. There is a very good argument that, on this day, they are the worst team in the NFL. It got stronger Sunday. Now 3-7, having lost six in a row, the Eagles have one neighbor in the NFC: the Panthers and Rams. After they visit next Monday night, Cam and family might be movin' on up. The Panthers, like the similarly hapless Jaguars, Browns and Chiefs, appear to be progressing.