News of a possible end to the NFL-referee standoff broke while reporters were in the Eagles locker room. Here is a sampling of the players’ reaction:

Jeremy Maclin returned to the practice field Monday after missing last week’s game against the Cardinals with a hip injury.

Maclin’s absence was very much felt in the 27-6 loss in Arizona. Michael Vick, under constant pressure and struggling with his reads, could have used a safety blanket like Maclin on the outside.

It appears the receiving corps is on the mend. Riley Cooper also practiced Wednesday. Cooper, who is recovering from a fractured collarbone, said last week that he was targeting the Giants game for his return.

As Andy Reid stated, King Dunlap (hamstring), Akeem Jordan (hamstring), Jon Dorenbos (ankle) and Colt Anderson (knee) did not suit up Wednesday. One name not mentioned by the coach earlier in the day was Fletcher Cox, who appeared to be just a spectator at practice. Cox missed part of Sunday’s game because of a migraine.

Andy Reid‘s comments about his quarterback situation earlier this week got so much attention that he felt it necessary to set the record straight with Michael Vick.

Asked at what point he will consider a QB change given the high turnover rate, Reid said Monday that Vick was his quarterback “right now” and that they would “evaluate as we go.” That got a lot of wheels turning.

“It was the way it was interpreted,” Reid on Wednesday. “That’s not what I had in mind. I’ve talked to Mike…to make sure we clarified. Bad semantics there.”

“We talked about it. We spoke about it,” said Vick. “But it wasn’t anything serious. We’re in a position where we have to look forward to this week, we have to get ready for this game. That’s what’s most important. Outside distraction can’t become a deterrent to this team.”

Here’s what I saw from the Eagles’ offense after reviewing the All-22 footage from this week.

Before we get started, some overall themes. Number one, the coaches have to take a hit for the game-plan, which was built around the following ideas:

* That DeSean Jackson could get behind the Cardinals’ secondary for big plays.
* That an offensive line with two new guys (Dallas Reynolds and Demetress Bell) would be able to protect Michael Vick well enough to give him time to find receivers way downfield.
* That Vick would hit on the big plays when they were available.

Obviously, not all of those things happened, and hopefully below, you can see why.

Howie Roseman shed some light on the decision to cut Chas Henry and sign veteran punter Mat McBriar.

The Eagles general manager revealed that they brought McBriar in Tuesday for a workout and noticed notable improvement in his kicks from the preseason. The 33-year-old McBriar is coming off an injury to his non-kicking foot.

“We did see a difference,” Roseman told the team’s website. “He seems healthier and he’s booming the ball now.”

The fun part about the Eagles-Giants rivalry is that the players seem to genuinely dislike each other.

With players often switching teams and sharing agents, you don’t see a lot of that in sports anymore.

Yesterday, we wrote about the LeSean McCoy–Osi Umenyiora ongoing back-and-forth. And now, defensive lineman Justin Tuck has offered his opinion on some past Eagles-Giants moments that still irk him.

Heading into Week 4’s matchup against the New York Giants, the Eagles have made a couple slight adjustments to their depth chart.

When Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora wished LeSean McCoy a Happy Mother’s Day via Twitter back in May, the Eagles running back kept quiet.

But there was a reason for that.

“Now he is lucky that I was going through a contract situation and me and Coach [Andy] Reid are tight,” McCoy said during an E:60 interview that will air tonight on ESPN. “So [Reid] told me, ‘don’t say nothing,’ and I gave my word to him that I won’t say nothing to him … at the time.”

McCoy, of course, signed a six-year, $45.6M contract. And well, with the Eagles set to host the Giants Sunday night, I guess he figured it was time to fire back.

If you’re looking for a positive to take out of Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, DeMeco Ryans once again played at a high level.

Here’s the player-by-player breakdown of the Birds’ linebackers, after having re-watched the game.

Three weeks into the season, the Eagles have cut ties with punter Chas Henry and added veteran Mat McBriar.

In Sunday’s matchup against the Cardinals, the Eagles’ defensive line accounted for three sacks, but Jim Washburn’s group managed just six hurries.

As a point of comparison, the defensive line had 19 hurries against Joe Flacco and 24 against Brandon Weeden.

Here’s the player-by-player breakdown.

Here is a player-by-player look at how the Eagles running backs, wide receivers and tight ends performed against the Cardinals, after having re-watched the game.

In their usual 6 to 7 p.m. slot on 97.5 The Fanatic, Tim and Sheil broadcast live from 360 at Parx Casino in Bensalem, breaking down the issues facing the Eagles following their 27-6 loss to the Cardinals.

If you missed the show, click here to download the podcast from iTunes or here to listen online.

DeMeco Ryans insisted after the game that the Eagles were not flat against Arizona; they were simply unable to generate a high. “It was a […]

The Cardinals employed a couple different strategies to confuse the Eagles’ offense on Sunday. Here’s a look at Michael Vick’s performance against the blitz and what what happened on the 19 plays where the Birds’ quarterback ended up on the ground.