Dominique Rodgers Cromartie

Eagles cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has heard the reputation the Eagles defense has around the NFL. It's not flattering. "Everybody looks at us as a pretty defense," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "They're just big guys with big talent that don't really want to hit nobody. " The comments come after two games in which opponents scored a combined 58 points against the Eagles, with tackling a clear issue. Rodgers-Cromartie said opposing players tell him, "You guys are talented, but you all don't want to hit nobody.

First, the news or lack thereof: The Eagles and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie have yet to talk contract extension. The Eagles in the past used November to extend their young talent. Whether or not it was a shift from Joe Banner's to Howie Roseman's method of handling contract negotiations, a new deal hasn't been handed out during the regular season since 2009. For that reason and others - the amount of cash Roseman unloaded in extensions during the offseason; the uncertainty over Rodgers-Cromartie's value - it is unlikely that there will be an agreement before the season ends.

Here are some things to expect at Eagles camp on Friday: Workouts are closed to fans on Friday, so don't make the trip to Lehigh until Saturday's 8:05 a.m. practice and 2:45 p.m. walk-through. Friday is the first day of two-a-day workouts, but the afternoon practice will be without pads. How will newcomers Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Jason Babin take to their new teammates? On www.philly.com : Check out our blog, Birds' Eye View, and a video of Thursday's developments.

No doubt about it - the secondary is the primary focus of the wrath of Eagles fans. When fans were asked, "Who is the Eagles weakest link?" from among 25 choices, more than 70 percent of the 2,335 votes went to cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and safeties Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen. Asomugha himself got 40.2 percent - 939 votes. Now it's time, as promised in Tuesday's story, for the final showdown to determine Mr. Disappointment for the 2012 season.

The Eagles had no trouble defending their approach to the 2013 draft: It was consistent, and it was according to plan. They may have considerably more trouble defending against other teams when the season begins, however. If it takes three years to evaluate a draft class, it's absurd to evaluate any of the team's picks after just one week. But it's perfectly reasonable to assess what the team did and didn't do, and where its roster stands going into May and June practices. On offense, the roster looks pretty good.

* With his 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, LeSean McCoy became the first player in franchise history to score a touchdown in nine straight games. He's just the fourth NFL player since 1960 to score a TD in each of the first nine games of the season. The other three: Lenny Moore (1964), O.J. Simpson (1975) and George Rogers (1989). * McCoy's 906 rushing yards are the most ever by an Eagles running back in the first nine games of the season. * McCoy has 42 runs of 8 yards or more on 165 rushing attempts this season.

Up-Down Drill   LeSean McCoy Well, at least one Eagle came to play. McCoy has been giving maximum effort all season as far as one can tell, but he hasn't gotten support from his offensive line. But the Eagles running back had room to run against the Saints and delivered. His teammates and coaches let him down.   Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha The Eagles cornerbacks were above average in the first six games. But for some reason, when Todd Bowles took over as defensive coordinator, they forgot how to tackle.

When Dee Milliner ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds in February, he appeared to cement his status as a top-10 pick in the NFL draft. Though widely considered the top cornerback prospect, Milliner entered the NFL combine with questions about his speed. "Just watch the combine," he boldly told reporters in Indianapolis a few days before he was to run. "I know my body. I know what I can do and how I can run," Milliner said recently during a phone interview. "So I just knew I could go out there and produce.

On the day the NFL's free-agent market opened, the Eagles released cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the most heralded free-agent signings in franchise history. Asomugha, who played two seasons in Philadelphia, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $15 million this season, with $4 million guaranteed. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with Ben Dogra, Asomugha's agent, at the scouting combine last month. The sides could not agree on a restructured deal. Roseman said Tuesday that the Eagles had thought over this decision for the last two weeks.

On Monday, Bill Davis used the tough, physical San Francisco 49ers defense as a benchmark for the kind of squad he wants to build. On Wednesday, the Eagles announced the hiring of Tom Gamble, one of the personnel men responsible for building the Niners. A quarter-century after their fathers, Bill Davis and Harry Gamble, worked together in Veterans Stadium, Davis and Gamble (along with Howie Roseman and the rest of his personnel staff) are tasked with fixing a badly broken Eagles defense.

The Eagles had no trouble defending their approach to the 2013 draft: It was consistent, and it was according to plan. They may have considerably more trouble defending against other teams when the season begins, however. If it takes three years to evaluate a draft class, it's absurd to evaluate any of the team's picks after just one week. But it's perfectly reasonable to assess what the team did and didn't do, and where its roster stands going into May and June practices. On offense, the roster looks pretty good.

When Dee Milliner ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds in February, he appeared to cement his status as a top-10 pick in the NFL draft. Though widely considered the top cornerback prospect, Milliner entered the NFL combine with questions about his speed. "Just watch the combine," he boldly told reporters in Indianapolis a few days before he was to run. "I know my body. I know what I can do and how I can run," Milliner said recently during a phone interview. "So I just knew I could go out there and produce.

When he looked at the team he inherited from Ray Rhodes in 1999, Andy Reid was appalled by the lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball. "The cupboard was bare," he said a few years later, after restocking well enough to make the Eagles a perennial playoff team. Lo these many years later, Chip Kelly has begun trying to rebuild the team he inherited from Reid. This time, the cupboard was bare on the defensive side, and Kelly has already gone about addressing that. That first offseason, Reid simply had to add inventory: wide receivers Torrance Small and Charles Johnson, offensive linemen Lonnie Palelei and Jeff Dellenbach, tight end Luther Broughton, and stopgap quarterback Doug Pederson.

The Eagles added to their offseason haul by acquiring wide receiver Arrelious Benn in a trade with the Buccaneers on Friday. They gave up their sixth-round draft pick and a conditional pick in 2014 in exchange for the 24-year-old Benn and a seventh-round selection this year from Tampa Bay. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Benn was taken in the second round of the 2010 draft out of Illinois. He has been a disappointment as a receiver, and in three seasons tallied only 59 catches for 862 yards and five touchdowns.

On the day the NFL's free-agent market opened, the Eagles released cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the most heralded free-agent signings in franchise history. Asomugha, who played two seasons in Philadelphia, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $15 million this season, with $4 million guaranteed. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with Ben Dogra, Asomugha's agent, at the scouting combine last month. The sides could not agree on a restructured deal. Roseman said Tuesday that the Eagles had thought over this decision for the last two weeks.

ON THE DAY before the official start of NFL free agency, the Eagles took care of a couple of housekeeping issues, signing long snapper Jon Dorenbos to a 4-year contract and special-teams ace Colt Anderson to a 1-year deal. Maybe Tuesday will bring more exciting news. Dorenbos would have become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday at 4 p.m., and Anderson would have been a restricted free agent. They are the only impending free agents the Birds are expected to retain. Tackle King Dunlap, linebacker Akeem Jordan, defensive tackle Derek Landri, defensive end Darryl Tapp, guard Jake Scott and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

On the day the NFL's free-agent market opened, the Eagles released cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the most heralded free-agent signings in franchise history. Asomugha, who played two seasons in Philadelphia, was scheduled to receive a base salary of $15 million this season, with $4 million guaranteed. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman met with Ben Dogra, Asomugha's agent, at the scouting combine last month. The sides could not agree on a restructured deal. Roseman said Tuesday that the Eagles had thought over this decision for the last two weeks.

The NFL's free-agent market opens Tuesday, along with the promise of the Eagles' grabbing some big names, but the team took care of two of its own when it signed long snapper Jon Dorenbos and safety Colt Anderson to contracts on Monday. Dorenbos was slated to become an unrestricted free agent at 4 p.m. like hundreds of other veterans who hope to cash in on the first day of the NFL year. But the Eagles locked up one of their longest-tenured players with a four-year deal. Anderson, a restricted free agent, would have become unrestricted had the Eagles not tendered a contract by Tuesday.