Eagles Notebook: Eagles' D-line still banged up

DARRYL TAPP started the season with a sack and three hurries in St. Louis, part of a relentless, deep Eagles defensive-line rotation.

Tapp also came out of that afternoon with a torn pectoral muscle. He sat and watched the Birds blow fourth-quarter leads at Atlanta and at home against the Giants. The d-line roatation clearly has been affected by the loss of defensive ends Tapp and Juqua Parker, who suffered a high-ankle sprain at Atlanta.

Parker remained sidelined yesterday as the Eagles began preparations for Sunday's home game against San Francisco, but Tapp was a limited practice participant for the first time since suffering his injury.

"There's a chance, but no guarantee," Tapp said, when asked whether he thought he would be able to play. "Take it day-by-day, keep doing treatment, see how it works out."

Obviously, he is eager to help.

"We've got an exciting defense. We've had problems, just sitting out on the sideline, we've had problems that have got to get cleaned up . . . They need Juqua and myself in that rotation," Tapp said. "That's something we practiced all training camp. It kind of hurt us when I went down; it hurt us even more when Juqua went down the following week."

Wideout Jeremy Maclin did not practice yesterday because of the hamstring injury he suffered against the Giants, but in the locker room indications were that Maclin's teammates think he will play. The team has made no move to bring Chad Hall up from the practice squad or sign anyone else, apparently.

Maclin declined to comment. But quarterback Michael Vick said, "We should," when asked whether he thought he would have Maclin against the 49ers. "We need everybody."

Maclin leads the Eagles with 19 catches for 260 yards and two touchdowns, through three games.

A roster move this week at wideout had seemed likely not only because of Maclin, but because Riley Cooper suffered a concussion against the Giants while making a tackle on a kickoff.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said Cooper passed all the required testing, and he practiced yesterday.

"I'm full-bore today, I'm good," Cooper said before practice. He suffered a concussion last season and once in college at Florida, he said.

"I go in there like a wild man," Cooper said, when asked about playing in the wake of such an injury. "I play the same way, regardless. I've been pretty fortunate to stay healthy throughout my career. Just gotta keep it up."

Casey Matthews, replaced as the weakside linebacker by fellow rookie Brian Rolle yesterday, said he will still have a role in the defense in special packages.

Matthews was the starter in the middle until last week. He said yesterday that becoming a starter as a rookie "was definitely a goal of mine, and I'm looking to get it back . . . It's a long season. We lost two games in a row. They're just trying stuff."

Was it unfair that a fourth-round rookie from Oregon was installed as the middle linebacker the first day of training camp, having never lined up in the Eagles' defense?

"It's not unfair," he said. "It doesn't happen often, especially drafted in the fourth round and starting right off the bat, but it was an opportunity to learn, to take reps. I still feel confident if I went in playing either MIKE or WIL, I could perform."

Asked what he needs to improve on, Matthews said "just getting it all down-overall knowledge."

Matthews reiterated what defensive coordinator Juan Castillo said Monday - that other than the 40-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs on which Matthews bit hard on play action, Matthews graded out well against the Giants.

"We didn't run it in practice," Matthews said of the Jacobs play, even though the Giants scored on the same play last season against the Eagles and then-WIL Ernie Sims.

Defensive end Juqua Parker (high-ankle sprain) and cornerback Brandon Hughes (hamstring) did not practice and are very unlikely to play Sunday. Hughes' injury could get either second-round rookie S Jaiquawn Jarrett or third-round rookie cornerback Curtis Marsh activated against San Francisco . . . Asked whether the Eagles need to get him the ball more, wideout DeSean Jackson, who has four catches for 51 yards the last two games, said: "Why are you trying to ask a question like that? What are you trying to start? . . . I ain't gonna answer that."