Andy Reid had his Philadelphia Eagles practice inside Monday afternoon, despite the gorgeous post-Irene weather, so he could pump in crowd noise to teach his team how to react to two straight in-dome regular-season games.

But it would have been far better for Reid had he been able to somehow channel Dwight Freeney, Jared Allen and Jay Ratliff to show his (almost) completely new offensive line how to react to an All-Pro pass rush.

When the Birds take the field Sept. 11 under the dome in St. Louis, only one starter — left tackle Jason Peters — will return to his spot.

Due to a succession of injuries (Winston Justice and Ryan Harris, who underwent microdiscectomy surgery Monday) and mediocrity (King Dunlap, Austin Howard) at right tackle, Reid and his offensive brain trust of coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and line coach Howard Mudd have moved left guard Todd Herremans to right tackle. Free-agent signing Evan Mathis, who’s not started a whole season since 2006 and did not start a single game for Cincinnati in 2010, moves in to Herremans’ former spot.

Then there are two rookies, first-round pick Danny Watkins at right guard, which was expected, and sixth-round pick Jason Kelce at center, which was not, especially by ex-starter Jamaal Jackson, the longest-tenured Eagle.

“It’s going to take some getting used to,” Jackson said.

It sure will.

Mudd, who NFL people talk about in reverent terms as the Yoda of O-line mentors, is trying to pull off a total rework of the offensive line with less than two weeks — essentially eight practice days — before the opener.

“I’m confident (the line) will be playing at a high level very quickly,” Mornhinweg said.

They better be.

They weren’t against the Browns, whose one elite defender in their front seven, rookie Phil Taylor, owned the line of scrimmage. Having watched Vince Young struggle as Michael Vick’s backup does not inspire confidence about what happens if Vick goes down, and if the line doesn’t play better that will be when Vick goes down not if.

Can the unit develop cohesion that quickly? Mornhinweg said yes. Mathis said “you hear a lot of cliches about jelling and coming together; it’s not that hard and it won’t take us long.”

Watkins sounded a little less confident.

“It will be a big help to have Todd beside me and he’ll be able to help me out a lot,” he said. “But it’s all about chemistry. With all the moving and shuttling around, it’s been difficult but I feel we’ll have it soon.”

Soon better be by Sept. 11.

The injuries have forced Reid’s hand to a certain extent — the Eagles really did not want to have to move Herremans to the other side, which is why they tried everybody else available at right tackle before they did so — but, as Kelce’s rise above Jackson shows, it’s not all about injuries.

“I’m very confident in what I can do,” said Kelce, who said he’s been watching film of the Steelers’ Maurkice Pouncey for guidance. “I think I’m in the right situation to help the team.”

Watkins noted that he and Kelce are trying to learn a system and fit in without any minicamps, OTAs and the like.

“Starting us shows they have confidence in Jason and me, but the onus is on us to perform and we’re still behind a little bit,” he said.

Mathis, Kelce and Watkins — and Herremans as a tackle as well — all match Mudd’s desired prototype – “quicker, more athletic,” Kelce called it — and it may be that Mudd the Magician can wave his hands and create a Pro Bowl unit.

But the nagging thought is that this kind of complete renovation should have been saved for a normal offseason, one in which Mudd and Reid could have used minicamps and OTAs to find the men they wanted and spend all training camp drilling the first line.

Instead, the Eagles are scrambling to make the pieces fit together — and don’t be fooled, the Herremans shift is the equivalent of a Hail Mary — with the opener looming. There’s so much uncertainty that Mornhinweg didn’t rule out the No. 1 line playing in Thursday’s final preseason at the New York Jets, usually a no-go zone for starters.

Jackson looks on with amusement in his eyes.

“It’s not tough at all for me,” said the benched center of his demotion. “It’s not for me to say what’s best for the team.”

Whether Mudd’s renovation will be best for the Eagles remains to be seen. So far, Jackson’s not the only one who is skeptical.

Brad Wilson can be reached at bwilson@express-times.com. Talk about sports at lehighvalleylive.com/forums.

Madden 12 will be released tomorrow less than two weeks prior to the start of the real NFL season and in the same week that many Madden gamers will be heading back to school. No doubt many of you will be playing online and given how high so many of their ratings are, expect a lot of people online to be using the Eagles.

We’ll start with the QBs and WRs where Michael Vick is one of the top rated QBs in the game at 93. DeSean Jackson is a 91 and recently won an online vote that made him the fastest player in the game with a 100 speed rating. Jeremy Maclin is an 86 and Steve Smith is an 84.

LeSean McCoy is an 88 while Ronnie Brown is an 84. The cornerbacks will be as good in Madden as they will likely be in real life. Nnamdi Asomugha is one of the highest rated players in the game at 98, Asante Samuel is a 94 and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is an 85.

As for other notable Eagles – Trent Cole – 93, Todd Herremans – 90, Jason Peters – 89, Brent Celek – 83, Jason Babin – 90, Cullen Jenkins – 89.

PHILADELPHIA — Jamaal Jackson stood calmly at his locker, his level head never more refreshing than when talking about the subject of his suddenly tentative job as starting center for the Philadelphia Eagles.

He’s spent the last six seasons atop the depth chart, though he missed almost all of last year after a triceps injury in the opener shelved him until training camp this summer, when rookie draft pick Jason Kelce emerged as a contender. Kelce is now running with the first team as the Eagles head toward their final preseason game.

“I just come to work every day and try to make my strengths stronger and work on my weaknesses,” Jackson said Saturday. “That’s all I can do. I mean, you can call it a competition [with Kelce] if you want. I don’t. If he needs help, I’ll help him. But competition? There is no competition.

“Whoever’s in there, they’re the starter, point-blank. I’m just out here working. Whoever the coaches feel can get the job done they’ll put that person in there. So right now, that’s not me.”

Whatever he chooses to call it, Jackson is well aware of the consequences of losing out to someone else. When he first emerged as the starter over incumbent Hank Fraley in 2005, Fraley wasn’t even with the team by opening day, having been shipped to Cleveland in a trade.

Could history repeat if the Eagles choose Kelce?

“It might,” Jackson said. “Nobody knows the future. But right now we’ll just continue to come to work every day and make sure that right tackle situation is sorted out.”

Jackson was poking fun there at teammate Todd Herremans, who had just been switched from left guard on the same day — a move that could have placed other veterans such as Winston Justice and King Dunlap on the roster bubble.

When projecting the Eagles’ final 53-man roster, which has to be presented to the NFL no later than 6 p.m. Sept. 3, those are just some of the names at the top of a very intriguing veteran list that also includes defensive end Juqua Parker, defensive tackle Trevor Laws and cornerback Joselio Hanson. Hanson’s name has surfaced in a bunch of recent trade rumors

Hanson, a proven backup who’s been with the Eagles since 2006, has heard them and know the kind of numbers crunch the staff is facing at his position with the additions in the offseason of veterans Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and rookie Curtis Marsh.

When you take into account that Asante Samuel and promising second-year player Trevard Lindley aren’t going away anytime soon (barring a trade of Samuel), it means Hanson suddenly is very expendable.

“I would love to stay here,” Hanson said. “But sometimes you can’t keep everybody in certain situations. … Staying here, I’d feel comfortable. Leaving would be tough.”

Hanson knows that even if he’s cut, he’d find another job immediately because of the impression he’s made with the ever widening coaching tree of Andy Reid. That won’t make it any easier if he has to go.

So with those scenarios in mind, here’s one projection of the final 53, or should we say the first 53, since all NFL rosters are in a state of flux from opening day.

Quarterbacks (3): Michael Vick, Vince Young, Mike Kafka

Running backs (3): LeSean McCoy, Ronnie Brown, Dion Lewis

Fullback (1): Owen Schmitt

Tight ends (3): Brent Celek, Donald Lee, Clay Harbor

Wide receivers (6): Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss

Offensive line (9): Kelce, Evan Mathis, Danny Watkins, Jason Peters, Herremans, Dunlap, Justice, Mike McGlynn, Ryan Harris

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Steve
Smith practiced on Saturday for the first time this year.

Maclin was cleared by doctors earlier this month after being
stricken by an unknown illness during the offseason. Smith, signed
away from the New York Giants, underwent microfracture surgery in
December. Both were placed on the Eagles’ active roster.

Coach Andy Reid said Maclin and Smith were both limited at
practice Saturday, and will be evaluated on a daily basis to
determine how far they can go.

“If they make it through the evening fine, without any problems
or setbacks, then we’ll add some more onto it (on Sunday),” Reid
said. “And then we’ll just keep on going from there and see what
happens. But really, I can’t tell you the date right now on either
one when they’ll be ready to play.”

Maclin and Smith both said they expect to be in uniform when the
Eagles open the regular season Sept. 11 in St. Louis.

“It felt good,” Maclin said. “I was kind of getting my feet back
under me a little bit. Over the next few days, we’re going to
manage my reps and let me get used to it. I feel alright,
conditioning wise. It’s just being out there, running routes. I
haven’t done that in a while, so there’s definitely some work I
need to do.

“Like I said, I think I’ll get back to my normal self pretty
soon.”

Maclin, 23, caught 70 passes for 964 yards and 10 touchdowns
last year and has 125 receptions for 1,726 yards and 14 scores in
two NFL seasons. He has missed only one game as a pro. A sore foot
kept him out of a game vs. San Francisco his rookie year.

“I think this week, they’re going to ease me into it and monitor
my reps and then they’ll let me loose next week,” he said. “I don’t
know what that entails, but I think I’m going to back to being the
same guy I was before this.”

Smith, 26, caught 220 passes for 2,386 yards and 11 touchdowns
in four seasons with the Giants, including 107 receptions for 1,220
yards in his 2009 Pro Bowl season. He’s one of six former Pro Bowl
players the Eagles added during the offseason.

Saturday’s practice was Smith’s first as an Eagle.

“It was great just to be back out there with my teammates and
hearing the calls from (quarterback Michael) Vick,” he said. “It
was really fun.”

Smith said he’s still not 100 percent, but is getting close.

“It’ll take me a few weeks, but I feel really good right now,”
he said. “I don’t feel like I’m laboring or I can’t cut. I’m doing
good so far.”

The Eagles finish the preseason Thursday night against the New
York Jets in East Rutherford. Reid wouldn’t speculate whether
Maclin or Smith will play in that game.

“It all comes with time,” Vick said. “We just have to continue
to get reps. Jeremy and Steve have to shake the rust off and get
back into football shape. It’ll take about a week or two.

“But, they’ll be alright.”

With Maclin and Smith both back, only offensive lineman Winston
Justice and defensive end Brandon Graham haven’t practiced yet.
Both are recovering from knee surgery.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith practised on Saturday for the first time this year.

Maclin was cleared by doctors earlier this month after being stricken by an unknown illness during the off-season. Smith, signed away from the New York Giants, underwent microfracture surgery in December. Both were placed on the Eagles’ active roster.

Coach Andy Reid said Maclin and Smith were both limited at practice Saturday, and will be evaluated on a daily basis to determine how far they can go.

“If they make it through the evening fine, without any problems or setbacks, then we’ll add some more onto it (on Sunday),” Reid said. “And then we’ll just keep on going from there and see what happens. But really, I can’t tell you the date right now on either one when they’ll be ready to play.”

Maclin and Smith both said they expect to be in uniform when the Eagles open the regular season Sept. 11 in St. Louis.

“It felt good,” Maclin said. “I was kind of getting my feet back under me a little bit. Over the next few days, we’re going to manage my reps and let me get used to it. I feel alright, conditioning wise. It’s just being out there, running routes. I haven’t done that in a while, so there’s definitely some work I need to do.

“Like I said, I think I’ll get back to my normal self pretty soon.”

Maclin, 23, caught 70 passes for 964 yards and 10 touchdowns last year and has 125 receptions for 1,726 yards and 14 scores in two NFL seasons. He has missed only one game as a pro. A sore foot kept him out of a game vs. San Francisco his rookie year.

“I think this week, they’re going to ease me into it and monitor my reps and then they’ll let me loose next week,” he said. “I don’t know what that entails, but I think I’m going to back to being the same guy I was before this.”

Smith, 26, caught 220 passes for 2,386 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Giants, including 107 receptions for 1,220 yards in his 2009 Pro Bowl season. He’s one of six former Pro Bowl players the Eagles added during the off-season.

Saturday’s practice was Smith’s first as an Eagle.

“It was great just to be back out there with my teammates and hearing the calls from (quarterback Michael) Vick,” he said. “It was really fun.”

Smith said he’s still not 100 per cent, but is getting close.

“It’ll take me a few weeks, but I feel really good right now,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m labouring or I can’t cut. I’m doing good so far.”

The Eagles finish the pre-season Thursday night against the New York Jets in East Rutherford. Reid wouldn’t speculate whether Maclin or Smith will play in that game.

“It all comes with time,” Vick said. “We just have to continue to get reps. Jeremy and Steve have to shake the rust off and get back into football shape. It’ll take about a week or two.

“But, they’ll be alright.”

With Maclin and Smith both back, only offensive lineman Winston Justice and defensive end Brandon Graham haven’t practiced yet. Both are recovering from knee surgery.