Kevin Curtis

UP NEXT Who: Cleveland (4-9) at Eagles (7-5-1) When: Monday, Dec. 15, 8:30 p.m. Where: Lincoln Financial Field TV: ESPN, 6ABC Radio: WYSP (94.1-FM), WIP (610-AM) Last meeting: Eagles won, 34-31, in overtime on Oct. 24, 2004. Series history: Browns lead, 31-14-1. The Eagles have not beaten the Browns in Philly since 1967, having lost the last four meetings here. EAGLES INJURY REPORT -- Kevin Curtis, concussion. Will be monitored this week.

NEW ORLEANS - Two days before Christmas, the Eagles got a huge gift. They got to play against the New Orleans Saints' secondary. To their credit, the Eagles took advantage and shredded one of the league's worst pass defenses, with wide receivers Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown both having big days in the Eagles' 38-23 victory. Each caught six passes, with Brown scoring on a 31-yard strike and Curtis scoring on a 7-yard slant from Donovan McNabb and on a touchdown recovery of McNabb's first-quarter fumble in the end zone.

Two days before Christmas, the Eagles got a huge gift. They got to play against the New Orleans Saints' secondary. To their credit, the Eagles took advantage and shredded one of the league's worst pass defenses, with wide receivers Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown both having big days in the Eagles' 38-23 victory. Each caught six passes, with Brown scoring on a 31-yard strike and Curtis scoring on a 7-yard slant from Donovan McNabb, as well as on a touchdown recovery of McNabb's first-quarter fumble in the end zone.

Eagles rookie quarterback Kevin Kolb probably won't spend a lot of time looking at the highlights of his NFL debut - mainly because there weren't any. After making 11 catches for 221 yards, wide receiver Kevin Curtis was just 16 yards from the franchise single-game mark of 237, set by Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald on Dec. 10, 1961. But with 3 minutes remaining and the Eagles leading, 56-21, coach Andy Reid wasn't going to risk quarterback Donovan McNabb's health trying for a team record.

Practice? Jon Runyan's left knee hurt so badly after Wednesday's practice that he took the next three workouts off, hoping to make his 190th straight start. After the way he played last night against the Browns, expect his workload to be similarly limited as the season's grind continues. "He'll probably be a little tender today on that knee," coach Andy Reid said. "He's a warrior. A very mentally tough guy. " "Isn't that the way it's supposed to be done," Runyan asked afterward.

With training camp less than a week away, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is the Eagles' only unsigned draft pick. But Maclin's agent, Jim Steiner, said there is nothing to worry about. The Eagles and Steiner, who also represents former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, had preliminary discussions last week, and "negotiations should intensify in the middle to latter part of this week," Steiner said yesterday. Maclin, the No. 19 overall pick, is far from the only first-round selection without a deal.

Entering the postseason, the average age of the 60 players on the Eagles' roster (including injured reserve) is 26.7. The Birds have 76 percent of the roster Signed Through 2010 and beyond, including 22 players Signed Through 2012 and beyond. Without guaranteed contracts in the NFL, there is no telling how long any player will be with the team, but this gives some indication: PLAYER, POS., AGE Signed Through 2016 Brent Celek, TE, 24 Mike Patterson, DT, 26 Signed Through 2015 Shawn Andrews (IR)

THE INDIANAPOLIS Colts have hired former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel as a game-day consultant. Coach Jim Caldwell says Tressel will serve primarily as a consultant on replays, which will allow the other coaches to focus on their individual jobs without having to worry about making decisions on replay reviews. Tressel resigned at Ohio State on May 30 following an investigation that turned up evidence his players had received improper benefits. Caldwell says he chose Tressel because the two have had a good relationship for a long time and that it fills a job he'd been looking to fill for several years.

REMEMBER THE hair that Andy Reid said his offense was off? Well, judging from yesterday's 56-point, 536-yard explosion against the Detroit Lions, they seem to have located it. According to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, the biggest problem with the Eagles' offense in their season-opening losses to Green Bay and Washington wasn't quarterback Donovan McNabb or his receivers. It was the offensive line. "It starts with the offensive line," he said. "It starts with them and ends with them.

Everybody wants to be a starter. That was the theme yesterday at the NovaCare Complex, where the Eagles entered the second week of free agency by hosting a couple of players from outside the organization (wide receiver Kevin Curtis and linebacker Ryan Fowler) and re-signed cornerback William James to a one-year contract. A confident James kicked off the Eagles' flurry of free-agent activity during a conference call after agreeing to his new deal. The seven-year veteran, who signed with the Eagles in the middle of last season after recovering from a severe back injury, visited Atlanta and New Orleans this week and drew interest from Dallas and Houston, but decided to remain with the Eagles.

I still can't get over the fact that the No. 1-seeded Green Bay Packers got smoked at home by the New York Giants in the NFC semifinals, and I have no stake in the Packers nor do I even care about the city of Green Bay or the state of Wisconsin. I really can't get over the fact that Packers fans seem to have already gotten over the loss. See, I come from a city that takes defeats hard. If the Eagles had been the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs with a sparkling 15-1 record and then gotten whupped by a team that just barely made the tournament, I don't think many fans here would have been sane enough to pass so much as a driving test.

THE INDIANAPOLIS Colts have hired former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel as a game-day consultant. Coach Jim Caldwell says Tressel will serve primarily as a consultant on replays, which will allow the other coaches to focus on their individual jobs without having to worry about making decisions on replay reviews. Tressel resigned at Ohio State on May 30 following an investigation that turned up evidence his players had received improper benefits. Caldwell says he chose Tressel because the two have had a good relationship for a long time and that it fills a job he'd been looking to fill for several years.

BETHLEHEM - This year, Eagles coach Andy Reid said, the first exhibition game "might not be quite as crisp" as usual. Seeing as how the first exhibition game in a normal year tends to mimic the consistency of a wet potato chip, well, consider yourself warned. This is an NFL issue, not an Eagles issue. There seems to be a perception out there that the Eagles are in the midst of a revolution, what with the acquisitions of Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and the rest - and now you can add rehabbing wide receiver Steve Smith to the list.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Cowboys beat the Eagles three straight times last season. In each of those games, the Eagles' most dangerous offensive player was nowhere to be found. In those three ugly losses, including a 34-14 trouncing in the first round of the playoffs, the Cowboys held Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson to a total of seven catches for 79 yards. He had just 14 receiving yards in that playoff loss, which followed his memorable "sting they ass" tweet the week before the game.

ERNIE SIMS wants to win tomorrow. Sure, everybody playing for the Eagles and the visiting Green Bay Packers wants to win, but Sims, the Birds' new weakside linebacker, really wants to win, not having done so since Dec. 23, 2007, when the Detroit Lions defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 25-20. How long ago was that? Same day, the Eagles won in New Orleans, 38-23, with Kevin Curtis scoring a pair of touchdowns, and catching six passes for 78 yards. Sims, a Lion from the time he was drafted in the first round in 2006 until he was traded to the Eagles this past offseason, is 0-28 since.

Back when I lived in Dallas, I met a legendary poker player named TJ Cloutier. Interesting guy. Made most of his money on cards, though there aren't too many games he hasn't embraced. For years, his peers have regarded him as one of the best in the world. He's smart - knows the odds and the numbers and all that, but as the players are fond of saying, he has a lot of gamble in him. A friend of mine wrote a story about Cloutier that described how he'd often take his poker winnings to the craps table.

Entering the postseason, the average age of the 60 players on the Eagles' roster (including injured reserve) is 26.7. The Birds have 76 percent of the roster Signed Through 2010 and beyond, including 22 players Signed Through 2012 and beyond. Without guaranteed contracts in the NFL, there is no telling how long any player will be with the team, but this gives some indication: PLAYER, POS., AGE Signed Through 2016 Brent Celek, TE, 24 Mike Patterson, DT, 26 Signed Through 2015 Shawn Andrews (IR)

The football-size ice pack wrapped around Kevin Curtis' left knee might not suggest as much, but the Eagles wide receiver said he anticipates suiting up Sunday for his first game in exactly three months. "I expect to play," Curtis said yesterday after the Eagles prepared indoors to play the 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field. "Obviously, with Jeremy [Maclin] getting hurt, we're a little shorter. " The Eagles have not officially declared Maclin out, but the rookie did not practice for the second straight day. After Maclin tore the plantar fascia in his left foot on Sunday against the Giants, coach Andy Reid said the starter would likely miss one game and possibly another.

The Eagles' roster move yesterday might have also served as an injury report. By signing tight end Martin Rucker from the practice squad, it gave a clear indication that the Eagles were at least a little concerned about Brent Celek's back injury. However, the fact that the Eagles didn't feel the need to sign wide receiver Jordan Norwood from the practice squad could be an indication that veteran Kevin Curtis is finally ready to return from a knee injury that has kept him out of the team's last 11 games.

The DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin Show was back on stage last night against the New York Giants - until Maclin departed this time. "Maclin tore his plantar fascia," Coach Andy Reid said. "That's a week or two injury so we'll see how he does as we go, but he'll be fine. " The Eagles' starting wide receivers were separated last week when Jackson was held out after suffering a concussion the week before against the Redskins. Maclin's status was uncertain because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot.