Nate Allen

THE GENERAL consensus of folks outside the walls of One NovaCare Way in January was that the Eagles' two biggest offseason fix-it jobs were linebacker and safety. In a mild upset, the folks inside the walls of One NovaCare Way actually agreed with the folks outside the walls on one of those two things. After years of getting by at linebacker with duct tape and mid- and late-round picks, the Eagles have been very aggressive in trying to upgrade the position, trading for two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans in late March, and then selecting their likely season-opening starting strongside linebacker, Mychal Kendricks, in the second round of the draft last month.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Nate Allen was back on the field Monday morning for his first full-contact drills of training camp. The second-year safety, returning from a torn patellar tendon in December, said he felt good, though he admitted to having a little hesitation when rushing into the offensive line on blitzes. "It's in here a little bit," he said, pointing to his temple. "But I feel good. " Allen, reserved and quiet by nature, has had to become a more vocal presence on the field.

Safety Nate Allen, the rookie who has started every Eagles game this season, has a neck sprain and will likely miss the team's game at Washington Monday. "It looks like he's going to struggle to make it for this week, but we'll see how he progresses," coach Andy Reid said. If Allen is out he'll likely be replaced by fellow rookie Kurt Coleman, a seventh-round draft pick who had his most extensive showing of the season Sunday after Allen got hurt. The team has just three safeties on the roster - Allen, Coleman and Quintin Mikell - so if Allen can't play, they would be thin in that area.

YES, IT'S EARLY. Two games isn't much time to come to a conclusion about anything - well, except for switching quarterbacks. But I digress. Sure, some mistakes have been made, but, for the most part, the first two games of Nate Allen's career as the Eagles' starting free safety couldn't have gone much better. As one of the Eagles to be watched closely this season, Allen already has given us some positives. He intercepted a pass from Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the season opener and got another pick off Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill Sunday.

BETHLEHEM - No mints on Nate Allen's dorm-room pillow when he finally settled into Eagles training camp at Lehigh around 2:30 a.m. yesterday. But fellow rookie safety Kurt Coleman had thoughtfully placed Allen's playbook on his bed, before Coleman settled down to sleep, about 4 hours earlier. Allen didn't start studying it right then, since he had to be awake at 6:15 for his first practice, after signing a 4-year deal for an undisclosed amount of cash. "I feel good. I just need to seize the moment.

Roddy White, WR, Falcons, right knee Austin Collie, WR, Colts, concussion Max Jean-Gillies, G, Eagles, concussion Matthew Stafford, QB, Lions, right shoulder Jeremy Shockey, TE, Saints, ribs Matt Moore, QB, Panthers, right shoulder Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers, concussion Nate Allen, S, Eagles, neck and back

According to TV station KECI in Missoula, Montana, the Eagles have signed safety Colt Anderson off the Vikings practice squad. Anderson played at Montana. FoxSports' Adam Caplan reported that the Eagles are releasing running back Joique Bell to make room for Anderson on the 53-man roster. The Eagles have been carrying only three safeties, and head coach Andy Reid said Monday that Nate Allen is unlikely to be available at Washington with a neck injury. Michael Vick will be named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week today.

The Eagles announced tonight that they have agreed to terms with second-round draft pick Nate Allen on a 4-year contract. Allen, expected to be the team's starting free safety, is scheduled to practice with the team tomorrow morning and then address the media afterward. Allen, the 37th overall selection with a pick acquired from Washington for Donovan McNabb, played in 48 career games at South Florida and was a team captain as a senior. He is expected to be the team's starter at free safety following the injury to Marlin Jackson during the spring minicamps.

The Eagles on Wednesday signed defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, their third-round draft pick. He was chosen 86th overall out of Washington and signed a four-year contract. Te'o-Nesheim finished his college career with 30 sacks, a Washington record. He is part of a remade defensive- end grouping that includes Pro Bowler Trent Cole, Juqua Parker, first-round pick Brandon Graham, and Darryl Tapp, acquired in an off-season trade with Seattle. Coach Andy Reid has praised Te'o-Nesheim's intelligence and flexibility.

Nate Allen Second round, 37th overall selection Size: 6-foot, 207 pounds. College: South Florida Position: Safety How he fits: Not a big hitter, Allen likely will compete for the open free-safety position - the spot once occupied by Brian Dawkins for over a decade. Last season, Macho Harris, Quintin Demps and Sean Jones each failed to secure that job. He will likely compete with Harris, Demps and Marlin Jackson this seson. College career: A three-year starter, he was named second team All-Big East as a senior.

THE LATE Jim Johnson was a sports writer's dream. If you asked him a question, he almost always gave you an honest, unvarnished answer. "I've got to do a better job," and "I need to put my players in better position to make plays" wasn't his style. Johnson wasn't above occasionally using the media to send messages to his players, whether it was tooting the horn of a rookie backup to light a fire under a veteran or suggesting, as he did once about cornerback Lito Sheppard, that the guy couldn't play unless he was completely healthy.

THE GENERAL consensus of folks outside the walls of One NovaCare Way in January was that the Eagles' two biggest offseason fix-it jobs were linebacker and safety. In a mild upset, the folks inside the walls of One NovaCare Way actually agreed with the folks outside the walls on one of those two things. After years of getting by at linebacker with duct tape and mid- and late-round picks, the Eagles have been very aggressive in trying to upgrade the position, trading for two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans in late March, and then selecting their likely season-opening starting strongside linebacker, Mychal Kendricks, in the second round of the draft last month.

NOBODY KNOWS better than the Eagles that great players like Brian Dawkins don't come along every day. Since taking the future Hall of Famer in the second round of the 1996 draft, they've selected a total of 13 safeties in the draft. Just two of those - 1999 fourth-round pick Damon Moore and 2002 second-round pick Michael Lewis - started more than 25 games for the Eagles. Only two - Lewis and '05 fourth-rounder Sean Considine - played more than three seasons with the team. The Eagles have struggled at the safety position ever since Dawkins, who announced his retirement Monday, left for Denver after the '08 season.

IN THE WEEKS and months leading up to the April draft, every NFL team puts together a "board" that ranks all of the eligible players by the overall grade given them by that team's scouts, coaches and personnel executives in predraft meetings. Teams will tell you that they try to stay true to that board on draft day. If they own the 15th pick in the first round, as the Eagles do this year, their plan generally is to take the highest-rated unclaimed player on their board, regardless of position.

WE ALL SPEND the NFL offseason scheming about moves that can be made here, there and everywhere in order to make the Eagles better. Given enough quiet time - 76ers on the road, Flyers on the road, Phillies in Florida - it is possible to sit there with a legal pad and a cup of coffee and make a dozen trades and signings before lunch. Well, scratch that. Think minimalist instead. This is the exercise for the day: Calculate the fewest number of moves in the starting lineup that the Eagles would need to make in order to be a team that is good enough to win the NFC East in 2012, a team good enough to win 11 or 12 games and get hot at the end of the season and make a real run at a championship.

Of the Eagles with something to prove in 2012, Brandon Graham and Nate Allen are near the top of the list. Graham was a first-round pick and Allen was taken in the second round of the 2010 draft. Each will have an asterisk on his 2011 campaign because each played after suffering serious knee injuries late last year. Neither has shown Pro Bowl form - Graham hardly played at all - but it's hard to expect that level of performance after the surgeries each endured. Their third seasons, though, will be key measuring sticks for them and for general manager Howie Roseman, who made Graham and Allen his first two picks.

THERE'S A good chance the Eagles will look to corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and safety Jaiquawn Jarrett as starters next season. So the opportunity to assess them in those roles this Sunday in the season finale against the Redskins is welcome, even if nobody wished injury upon corner Asante Samuel (hamstring) or safety Kurt Coleman (biceps tendon). "When you're looking for positives, that would be a positive," Eagles coach Andy Reid said yesterday. "We have a pretty good idea about Dominique.

Kurt Coleman saw the play develop in front of him: Santonio Holmes caught a short pass and turned to run. Coleman, knowing he had linebacker Casey Matthews also in pursuit, lined up Holmes and unloaded. The hit jarred the ball loose, and Juqua Parker recovered and ran it back for a touchdown, sparking the Eagles' rout of the Jets on Sunday. It was the second touchdown Coleman had set up in two games - he ran an interception back to Miami's 1-yard line the week before - and the hit reflected a new, aggressive mind-set the safety said he has taken on since returning to the starting lineup.

For once, Casey Matthews wasn't answering for the failings of the Eagles defense. "It was fun just getting back out there and being on the field and helping our team win," Matthews said Sunday, sweating in the humid postgame locker room after getting his most playing time since Week 3. Matthews took over this week as the Eagles' middle linebacker in the nickel package, and, with the team leading most of the game, played the majority of...