Stewart Bradley

Michael Vick still has to clear a number of NFL-mandated post-concussion tests, but the Eagles did not rule out their quarterback for Sunday's home opener against the New York Giants. If he can't go, Andy Reid will have to decide between Vince Young and Mike Kafka as the replacement, although signs point to the Eagles coach going with Kafka. Vick suffered the concussion in the third quarter of Sunday night's 35-31 loss to the Falcons when he was pushed into teammate Todd Herremans, and they banged helmets.

PITTSBURGH - If there was no lockout, Casey Matthews' 21st day of NFL football would have come in May during rookie minicamp and not Thursday night against the Steelers. While the work stoppage and the cancellation of organized team activities puts Matthews' rough outing against Pittsburgh into proper perspective, it does not excuse the Eagles' decision to start a rookie at middle linebacker. That choice can be changed, of course, with two preseason games and more than three weeks left until the start of the regular season on Sept.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - When training camp opened and Casey Matthews started the Eagles' first practice at middle linebacker, many assumed it would be a matter of time before the team found a veteran to take the job. But two weeks and many player transactions later, Matthews is still the man calling plays in the center of the Eagles defense. With the regular-season opener one month away, it's looking more likely that the team will rely on the fourth-round draft pick to replace Stewart Bradley.

BETHLEHEM - There was an awful lot wrong with the Eagles' defense at the end of last season: * This was a unit that gave up a franchise-record 31 touchdown passes. * This was a unit that couldn't get to the quarterback to save its life, registering just 15 sacks in the last eight games. * This was a unit that allowed 24 or more points in 11 regular-season games. * Last, but certainly not least, this was a unit that finished with the league's worst red-zone percentage in the last quarter-century.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - There is a trio of stars waiting to take the field at cornerback. There's a two-time Pro Bowler at one defensive end and prize free-agent signings at the other end and defensive tackle. At safety, the Eagles have two second-round picks. And then there is linebacker, where the top of the depth chart has a fourth-round rookie at middle linebacker and two seventh-round picks on the outside. The most experienced linebacker currently on the first team is Moise Fokou, who is entering just his third season.

BETHLEHEM - Casey Matthews wasn't taken in the first round of the April draft, or the second, or even the third. He was selected by the Eagles with the 19th pick in the fourth round. A total of 115 players went off the board before him. Yet, when the Eagles opened training camp last week, Matthews was doing something that very few of those 115 guys taken in front of him were doing. He was running with the first team. When the 4 1/2-month lockout ended last week and the linebacker out of the University of Oregon reported to the NovaCare Complex to pick up his playbook before heading up to Lehigh, defensive coordinator Juan Castillo called him into his office and informed him that he was going to be taking the first-team reps at middle linebacker.

   Reprinted from Saturday's editions    BETHLEHEM, Pa. - All right, now it's really interesting. It was expected that the Eagles would trade quarterback Kevin Kolb to Arizona, probably for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and it was expected they would bring back defensive end Jason Babin through free agency. During the first hectic days of the jump-started 2011 season, the Eagles did the expected. They got those deals done, and they quietly endured the predictable holdout of DeSean Jackson and the also predictable inability to get a quick contract settlement with their first-round draft pick.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Negotiations between the Eagles and top draft pick Danny Watkins have hit a wall. Eagles officials have become frustrated with the pace of talks with agent Eric Metz, while Metz's group points to their negotiating a deal for No. 9 pick tackle Tyron Smith as evidence that they can get a deal done. When Joe Panos, who works with Metz, was asked about the slow pace, he pointed out that negotiations for Smith – who was drafted by the Cowboys – "went in a very timely matter, and he was signed and in camp by Thursday.