Jerome Mcdougle

IT DIDN'T END the way we wanted it to end (though they beat the spread). Still, this was the best ride this city has seen in decades. Thank you, Eagles. Each and every one of you. The players David Akers, Donovan McNabb, Dirk Johnson, Koy Detmer, Jeff Blake, Brian Dawkins, Matt Ware, Eric McCoo, Sheldon Brown, Dorsey Levens, Lito Sheppard, Roderick Hood, J.R. Reed, Dexter Wynn, Michael Lewis, Reno Mahe, Brian Westbrook, Quintin Mikell, Josh Parry, Mark Simoneau, Nate Wayne, Hugh Douglas, Jeremiah Trotter, Dhani Jones, Derrick Burgess, Keith Adams, Ike Reese, Mike Labinjo, Hank Fraley, Jamaal Green, Trey Darilek, Steve Sciullo, Jon Runyan, Jermane Mayberry, Tra Thomas, Alonzo Ephraim, Artis Hicks, Hollis Thomas, Ian Allen, Billy McMullen, Terrell Owens, L.J. Smith, Greg Lewis, Freddie Mitchell, Jeff Thomason, Todd Pinkston, Mike Bartrum, Corey Simon, Sam Rayburn, Jevon Kearse, Jerome McDougle, Paul Grasmanis, Darwin Walker.

The kicker put on the first show at Lincoln Financial Field. With just about every construction worker in the place watching, the Eagles' David Akers blasted a 55-yard kick through the goalposts at the south end of the field. Akers drew cheers, then moved back 5 yards and tried a 60-yarder. He hit the left upright, but he had more than enough distance. "We hit the upright from 60, and it probably would have gone from about 75," Akers said. Akers later connected from 57 yards.

The Eagles signed defensive end Victor Abiamiri and running back Nate Ilaoa yesterday, leaving quarterback Kevin Kolb as the only remaining unsigned player on the roster as the team prepares to open training camp Friday at Lehigh University. Abiamiri, a second-round pick from Notre Dame, and Ilaoa, a seventh-round pick out of Hawaii, received four-year deals. Abiamiri will compete for a place at defensive end, where the Eagles have five other players with significant NFL experience: Jevon Kearse, Darren Howard, Trent Cole, Juqua Thomas and Jerome McDougle.

The initial solution to Shawn Andrews' season-ending injury was simple for coach Andy Reid and the Eagles on Sunday: Plug in Artis Hicks at left guard, move Jermane Mayberry to right guard, and keep on moving the football. Another injury along the offensive line, however, could leave the Eagles with a real problem. Hicks went from the sixth man to the fifth man on the line Sunday, and Reid conceded yesterday that he wasn't exactly sure what he would do if another one of his offensive linemen were sidelined.

Miami-Dade police have nabbed the fourth teen wanted for last week's shooting of Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle. Charles Edward James, 17, has been arrested and is in police custody, according to a statement from police yesterday. He is charged with robbery and attempted felony murder. The other three teens involved already had been arrested. They are Leonard Jenkins, 15, Lance Grant, 17, and Birmmengham Guirand, 19. They also were charged with robbery and attempted felony murder.

Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle got a double dose of good news yesterday. In addition to being released from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami at 5:30 p.m., McDougle learned that police have arrested and charged three suspects in connection with his shooting, which took place in Southwest Miami late Thursday. David V. Shatz, the hospital trauma surgeon who first attended to McDougle after he was shot in the abdomen, released a statement with a positive prognosis for the defensive end. "He will recover fully and be able to go back to training in about six weeks," Shatz said.

The vacation is over for the Eagles. Cold reality returns today when the team resumes practice at the NovaCare Complex and attempts to right the long list of wrongs that haunted it in its first two games against Tampa Bay and New England. When the Eagles left in the middle of last week, they said time away from football was exactly what they needed. The open date before Sunday's game against the Bills in Buffalo gave the Eagles a chance to heal physically and mentally. "Our performance hasn't been what we expected, so this is a good time for us to get away from the coaches and for the coaches to get away from us," cornerback Troy Vincent said before the Eagles' four-day break.

The Eagles' weekly injury report had a vastly different look yesterday. Noticeably absent was a long list of players in the out, doubtful and questionable categories. Five players, including guard John Welbourn, were listed as probable for Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys. That means there's a 75 percent chance they will play. Also listed were defensive end Jerome McDougle (ankle), free safety Brian Dawkins (foot), cornerback Bobby Taylor (foot), and wide receiver James Thrash (thumb)

Love them or hate them, the Eagles' draft picks on the defensive line usually have been memorable. They are rarely boring. They have been stars who set standards of Eagles excellence. They have been colorful. They have been busts of historic proportions. They have been hated and loved and have died tragically early. Start at the top, with Reggie White, who was taken in the 1984 supplemental draft and became one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. He made seven Pro Bowls with the Eagles and six with the Green Bay Packers after leaving as perhaps the most sought-after free agent in NFL history.

In the last eight drafts, the Eagles have selected in their designated spot in the first round only twice, most recently in 2006. Here is a rundown of their deals involving first-rounders:   2003   The pick: 30th What happened: Traded to San Diego to move up 15 slots to select defensive end Jerome McDougle at No. 15 in exchange for a first (cornerback Sammy Davis) and a second (free safety Terrence Kiel).   2004   The pick: 28th What happened: Traded to San Francisco to move up 12 spots to select guard/tackle Shawn Andrews at No. 16 in exchange for a first and a second.