Eagles to Face Lions Minus B. Dawkins

PHILADELPHIA--The winless Philadelphia Eagles will be without one of their defensive leaders, veteran safety Brian Dawkins, when they face the undefeated Detroit Lions today at Lincoln Financial Field.

Dawkins is on the Eagles' inactive list. He missed practice time last week because of muscle spasms in his neck and back stemming from a pinched nerve he suffered on a tackle during Monday night's loss to the Washington Redskins.

Quintin Mikell was scheduled to start in Dawkins's place.

The Eagles' secondary already was without cornerback Lito Sheppard, who's sidelined by a sprained knee ligament suffered in the opening game. The offense today will be without tight end L.J. Smith, who underwent surgery Friday for a groin injury.

The Eagles are wearing blue and yellow throwback jerseys today to celebrate their 75th season as they try to turn the clock back just a few years and resemble the team that won five of the last six NFC East titles.

Quarterback Donovan McNabb is among the players who are to be honored today as members of the Eagles' 75th anniversary all-time team. It will be interesting to see how the home crowd reacts to McNabb. He has struggled to return to form after last season's knee injury. The team is struggling around him, and McNabb sparked a controversy last week when HBO aired a taped interview in which McNabb said that black quarterbacks are criticized more harshly than their white counterparts.

By Mark Maske |  September 23, 2007; 12:00 PM ET  | Category:  Eagles
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