With the regular season just four days away, all the talk and attention should be on the Eagles’ Week 1 opponent — the St. Louis Rams. Instead, the immense media horde hovered around cornerback row Wednesday in the NovaCare Complex locker room stalking Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard.
Good old Drew Rosenhaus is at it again, stirring up trouble for the Eagles in an attempt to better one of his clients, this time the disgruntled Sheppard. Rosenhaus, who was hired at the beginning of the summer to represent the disgruntled Sheppard, inferred in a YouTube video that Sheppard should be starting over Brown. That didn’t sit well with Brown.
“That’s Drew opening his mouth,” the outspoken Brown said. “He doesn’t watch game film. He wasn’t hired to scout for the Eagles. Can he go back and count how many passes [were knocked down] or how many picks I’ve had in training camp?”
Brown was clearly not happy. Didn’t we hear something like this before: “Keep my name out of your mouth!”
Back then it was Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens bickering like babies. It could happen again, although it’s highly unlikely since Brown and Sheppard are close friends, and they joked after practice about hugging as a sign of peace.
“I’m not even worried about it. If it does it does, if it don’t it don’t,” Sheppard said rather nonchalantly. “I’m just playing football and doing my best, let everything else take care of itself.
“Of course [the T.O. drama impacted the team], but it started with [the media].”
It’s doubtful the second coming of Hurricane Rosenhaus will have the same effect. Sheppard and Brown are friendly and have lockers right next to each other. But you just never know what is going to happen when the agent extraordinaire sticks his big mouth into a situation.
“I think he's just in a desperate situation and you got a desperate agent doing anything trying to get him out of the situation,” Brown said. “I’m bigger than that. At the end of the day, the only thing I care about is wining games. That's what it's about. I’ve been with the kid going seven years. I could care less about that.”
It’s quickly turned into a situation that nobody wants to touch. Cornerback Asante Samuel sat quietly at his locker as Brown and Sheppard discussed the latest Drew drama. Veteran safety Brian Dawkins abstained during his press conference.
Sheppard, meanwhile, didn’t seem to care. As long as Rosenhaus gets the job done, that is fine with Sheppard, no matter how it affects the team and locker room.
“I have no control over how he forms his argument about my situation,” Sheppard said. “I didn’t do it. I let him do his job and I do mine. I don’t have a problem with anything he does.”
Other interesting notes:
· The Eagles are extremely healthy, with only wide receiver Kevin Curtis and defensive end Victor Abiamiri expected to miss Sunday’s opener. Both wide receiver Reggie Brown (hamstring) and defensive end Chris Clemons (calf) participated in Wednesday’s practice, although Brown was limited.
· Andy Reid said DeSean Jackson is going to be used as the flanker (or Z position) in the Eagles’ offense. Reggie Brown usually plays the Z, so it’s still a bit unclear whether Jackson will start.
Are the Birds really better this year? Check
www.eaglesville.com Thursday for a comparison of the Eagles’ 53-man roster at the start of 2007 to 2008.
