Moise Fokou

A NDREW DICE CLAY says he considers "Entourage" creator Doug Ellin "my Quentin Tarantino . " What the comedian means is that he hopes that Ellin's casting of him for a recurring role on the final season of the HBO series is the equivalent of what Tarantino casting John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction" did to kick-start Travolta's career. Dice, who headlines Atlantic City's Tropicana July 30, recorded two comedy specials at the Spectrum, and his former fiancee Eleanor Kerrigan is a South Philly native.

The Eagles have drafted 13 linebackers since Andy Reid was hired as their head coach in 1999. Six of those selections were in the sixth or seventh round. The Eagles have not drafted a linebacker in the first round under Reid and have taken just one in the second round since 2001: Round 1 (0) Round 2: (3) Barry Gardner (1999), Quinton Caver (2001), Matt McCoy (2005) Round 3: (2) Chris Gocong (2006), Stewart Bradley (2007) Round 4 (1): Keenan Clayton (2010), Round 5 (1)

With the draft and initial burst of free agency behind us, we have a pretty good idea of who the Eagles will be bringing into training camp to fight for spots on the regular-season roster. Here, then, is a look at the top position battles to look forward to as rookie minicamps and offseason practices arrive in May and June and lead up to training camp in July.   Linebacker Another summer, another new spin on the position that the Eagles can never quite seem to settle.

Here's a look at the other linebackers on the Eagles' roster, including height, weight, college and years in the NFL: Omar Gaither, 6-2, 235 pounds, Tennessee, 4; the skinny: a former weakside starter; has most experience Joe Mays, 5-11, 246, North Dakota State, 2; the skinny: sixth-round pick last year; played in just two games Tank Daniels, 6-3 248, Harding, 4; the skinny: one of the Eagles' top contributors on special teams last...

DEMECO RYANS - A two-time Pro Bowler, Ryans was acquired to be the answer to the question that has long loomed over middle linebacker. He has the pedigree, but has to bounce back from a down season in 2011. JAMAR CHANEY - After a fast start as a rookie, Chaney had a rocky 2011, starting at the strong side and then moving to the middle early in the season. He struggled at times, and will have to move back outside with Ryans in town. BRIAN ROLLE - Rolle was probably the team's most effective linebacker last season, and showed impressive power for his size.

SEATTLE - Quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin have both been ruled out of Thursday's game against the Seahawks, meaning Vince Young will get his third consecutive start at quarterback. Riley Cooper will likely start for Maclin, also for a third straight week. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha made the trip to Seattle and will be a game-time decision, according to the Eagles. He played Sunday but only in a limited role in dime situations. He hyperextended his knee Thanksgiving Day and has not been able to practice in full since then.

It's a long way until Sept. 9, but the Eagles' blurry prospects at several positions on defense became more clear after their three-day rookie minicamp. Of all the rookies, Mychal Kendricks is the most likely to be starting when the full squad gathers next Tuesday for the start of organized team activities, otherwise known as "OTAs. " Eagles coach Andy Reid wouldn't hand Kendricks the strong-side linebacker job at the conclusion of camp on Monday. But with Jamar Chaney - Kendricks' main competition - sidelined through the spring following neck surgery in January, the rookie should have an unimpeded path.

Every player the Eagles expected to attend the start of full team voluntary workouts Tuesday was present and accounted for - including Asante Samuel. It would be difficult to miss the mouthy cornerback, who is one of only three players that hasn't used the team's NovaCare Complex as home base for off-season conditioning. Samuel, though, ventured up from his South Florida camp for this week's round of what the NFL calls "organized team activities. " Next week could be a different story.

Last week I asked what was more likely, me predicting correctly 2 weeks in a row, or the Giants losing three in a row. It was a Karmic mismatch, of course. The poor Giants never had a chance after I picked them. Sorry, Eli. This week, having been painfully reminded of how good the Eagles can be, I'm back with the home team. Despite the fact that defensive coordinator Sean McDermott all but admitted he was worried yesterday, faced with a confident Tony Romo, behind a solid offensive line, commanding weapons such as Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Miles Austin and Jason Witten.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said that Brian Westbrook would play tomorrow against the Cowboys even though the running back was held out of most of practice yesterday and was listed as questionable on the team's injury report. "He has had two hard days of work," Reid said. "And really [LeSean McCoy] hasn't gotten a ton of reps. So like I've done on other Fridays, I kept Brian out and limited. " Reid said that Westbrook, who missed the Giants game on Sunday after he suffered a concussion the previous week, took almost every repetition during practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

It's a long way until Sept. 9, but the Eagles' blurry prospects at several positions on defense became more clear after their three-day rookie minicamp. Of all the rookies, Mychal Kendricks is the most likely to be starting when the full squad gathers next Tuesday for the start of organized team activities, otherwise known as "OTAs. " Eagles coach Andy Reid wouldn't hand Kendricks the strong-side linebacker job at the conclusion of camp on Monday. But with Jamar Chaney - Kendricks' main competition - sidelined through the spring following neck surgery in January, the rookie should have an unimpeded path.

With the draft and initial burst of free agency behind us, we have a pretty good idea of who the Eagles will be bringing into training camp to fight for spots on the regular-season roster. Here, then, is a look at the top position battles to look forward to as rookie minicamps and offseason practices arrive in May and June and lead up to training camp in July.   Linebacker Another summer, another new spin on the position that the Eagles can never quite seem to settle.

DEMECO RYANS - A two-time Pro Bowler, Ryans was acquired to be the answer to the question that has long loomed over middle linebacker. He has the pedigree, but has to bounce back from a down season in 2011. JAMAR CHANEY - After a fast start as a rookie, Chaney had a rocky 2011, starting at the strong side and then moving to the middle early in the season. He struggled at times, and will have to move back outside with Ryans in town. BRIAN ROLLE - Rolle was probably the team's most effective linebacker last season, and showed impressive power for his size.

Linebacker wasn't always an annual question mark. In 1982 the Eagles sent two homegrown 'backers to the Pro Bowl: Frank LeMaster, a 1974 fourth-rounder, and Jerry Robinson, a first-round pick in 1979, the last linebacker the team has taken in the NFL's opening round. It was the only Pro Bowl appearance for either, and the next year the team began a drought at linebacker that would seem familiar to fans today. After '82 the Eagles went nine years without a linebacker in the NFL's all-star game, but they eventually broke the streak with Seth Joyner, an eighth-round pick in 1986 who would grow into one of the central pieces of Buddy Ryan's defenses.

NOW THAT the Eagles have found their 2012 starting middle linebacker, what impact will the acquisition of DeMeco Ryans have on whom they might take in the first round of the draft next month? Before Tuesday's trade, most mock drafts had the Eagles selecting Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly with their first-round pick, the 15th overall. Because of his impressive showing at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last month, Kuechly probably wouldn't have made it to 15, but the thinking was the middle-linebacker-needy Eagles would target him and find a way to move up and get him. Now?

Andy Reid is right; his linebackers are young. They range in age from 22 to 26, average out to 23.9 years of age, and are two years younger than the average age of the Eagles roster. "They're just a young group," Reid said Friday, echoing a refrain he's only recently made. "We're young at safety, we're young at linebacker. Zero excuse on that - that's not what that is - that's reality. " Apparently, it took four months for reality to hit Reid. When the Eagles were signing free agents left and right during training camp - sometimes overstocking at positions like cornerback and wide receiver - the general feeling was they also had to add a veteran linebacker at some point.

PERHAPS IT is a swan-song melody. Maybe it is a lame excuse. It might just be the truth. Besieged coach Andy Reid acknowledged yesterday that the Eagles' most glaring weakness results from the inexperience of its defense's core. And, hey, what coach can be held responsible for youth? The Eagles had designs on the Super Bowl but stand at a devastatingly disappointing 4-8 . . . with an error-prone, skittish group supporting the defensive line. The most frequently used linebackers and safeties, five players, have a combined 78 career starts among them.

SEATTLE - Quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin have both been ruled out of Thursday's game against the Seahawks, meaning Vince Young will get his third consecutive start at quarterback. Riley Cooper will likely start for Maclin, also for a third straight week. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha made the trip to Seattle and will be a game-time decision, according to the Eagles. He played Sunday but only in a limited role in dime situations. He hyperextended his knee Thanksgiving Day and has not been able to practice in full since then.

ANDY REID said yesterday he has spoken with defensive-line coach Jim Washburn and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg about their sideline spat Sunday, and Reid is satisfied that the matter is resolved. "Things happen. It's an emotional game. It doesn't matter if you're coaches or players, things happen, so you take care of business like grown men. They've talked, I've talked, they've worked it out and we're fine here," Reid said in the head coach's first session with reporters since news of the dustup surfaced Sunday evening.

Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin sat out a light practice Monday, giving a preliminary indication that the Eagles could be going with Vince Young and Riley Cooper in the starting lineup again Thursday night. Vick has not practiced in two weeks due to broken ribs, and the fact that he was unable to go through even a short, relatively easy workout on Monday is a bad sign for his availability this week. The Eagles have only one full practice - on Tuesday - before playing in Seattle Thursday night.