Eagles' new offensive linemen confident they will fit in

BACK WHEN the Eagles were zipping through all 16 games, plus their playoff appearance, with the same five starting offensive linemen, continuity was important. Now that they're heading into a noisy retractable dome - Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Monday night - with a patchwork group that practiced together for the first time yesterday?

Not so much, it seems.

"These guys have all been there the whole time, all through camp," right guard Todd Herremans said, when asked whether the group would need to change or simplify anything for the two newcomers. "Knowing what we've got, knowing the schemes that we have, getting reps. Plug and play."

Dennis Kelly is the new left guard, as Evan Mathis and his sprained MCL begin a mandatory 8-week absence (6 weeks of practice) before Mathis can play again under the terms of the injured reserve-designated for return list. Andrew Gardner is the new right tackle, with Allen Barbre preparing for season-ending ankle surgery and Lane Johnson in Texas, entering the second week of a 4-week suspension for a banned substance. Matt Tobin might have gotten the call ahead of Gardner or Kelly, but he remains sidelined with a high-ankle sprain suffered in the preseason finale.

The Eagles built their o-line around athleticism. That dropped a little bit when journeyman Barbre stepped in for Johnson, the fourth player selected in the 2013 draft. Now?

"I think we're still athletic. You can't say there's not a dropoff from Evan or anything like that, because Evan was an All-Pro player last year, but this gives guys a chance to go out there and show what they've got," said Herremans, who called Kelly, at 6-8, 321, "more of a mauler" than Mathis, 6-5, 298. "I think Gardner played extremely well under the conditions last week; he hadn't been getting many reps at right tackle and he came out there pretty seamlessly and kept things moving. Dennis is a big, athletic guy. He's more than capable."

Left tackle Jason Peters acknowledged "it's going to be different" Monday night, but said, "Those guys can play . . . we're just going to see what we can do."

Veteran offensive lineman Wade Smith practiced with his new teammates yesterday, a day after signing. Smith, 33, who wore No. 73, acknowledged he isn't ready to jump in right away and play in Chip Kelly's uptempo scheme.

"I was in a no-huddle offense back in Kansas City, but that was in '08, '09. I've been in kind of a stationary, huddle [offense] the last 4 years," Smith said. "You have to be in a different kind of shape to play in an offense like [Kelly's]."

Is he in that different kind of shape?

"No. I don't think there's anybody that's going to be in that shape [coming in cold]. You have to actually do it," Smith said. "I was in shape enough to have a good workout [before signing] and things like that, but, to be productive, to be a good player in this offense, you have to get in a different type of no-huddle football shape. So that's what I'm using this week for."

Smith went from making the Pro Bowl with Houston following the 2012 season to not being offered a new contract after the 2013 season, and not getting signed as a free agent until a 3-week stint with the Seahawks in August. He said his departure from the Texans mostly had to do with the coaching/scheme change from Gary Kubiak to Bill O'Brien. He wasn't surprised to be cut by Seattle, he said, because the Seahawks were defending Super Bowl champs, he wasn't going to start there, and NFL o-line backups tend to be young, developing players who don't cost much.

Asked whether he expects to start here eventually, Smith said, "They expect me to come in here and work every day, learn the offense as soon as possible and have myself prepared to play if needed."

He said his goal is to be ready to be active Monday night.

Gardner's goal is to make his first NFL start, in his fifth season, his first with the Eagles. Gardner, 28, played in eight games with Miami and Houston the over last 4 years.

"This'll be my first chance to really get a lot of playing time, and hopefully show what I can do, but that's not really what I'm focused on. I'm just focused on doing my part to help this team win," said Gardner, who played both left guard and right tackle during the Jacksonville game, as first Mathis, then Barbre went down, within a few snaps late in the second quarter.

Gardner said he doesn't foresee the line doing things differently now.

"They go after a certain type of lineman. I feel like everyone here fits the scheme, fits the type of lineman they want," he said.

Gardner said he wasn't sure he would get the starting reps yesterday until he showed up for practice.

Both Kelly and Gardner will play on the sides opposite where they did most of their preseason work, a hurdle they hope to overcome this week in practice.

Kelly, a fifth-round Eagles pick in 2012, started 10 games that season, as injuries destroyed the o-line. He underwent back surgery in the 2013 preseason and, though he worked his way back, he never played in a game last year. There were hints the new regime of Chip Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland didn't value him as much as Andy Reid and Howard Mudd.

Kelly said he was cleared to practice 3 weeks into last season, but quickly found he was far behind.

"When they say, 'You're cleared to play football,' I kind of imagined that I was going to be ready to go, and in reality, I still had a lot of strength to get back, obviously, the conditioning aspect of it," Kelly said. "I did feel like I was trying to play catchup a little bit, throughout the year."

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said yesterday that Kelly "developed a lot; he made great improvements, especially near the end of training camp, and I think that's just because he kept working at it."

Shurmur said he feels the way the Eagles practice will help with the continuity problem.

"I think we're better here than most places I've been, because we get so many reps at practice" working at Chip Kelly's torrid pace, Shurmur said. "The guys that are gonna fill in, just like the guys that did on Sunday, have a better opportunity to do so."

Center Jason Kelce said it's critical the o-line work through any issues with communication or unfamiliarity during practice this week, instead of trying to do that in-game in the Colts' stadium. He said that since he lines up next to Kelly, this week he'll ensure "there'll be more communication . . . trying to make sure we're on the same page with techniques, double teams, things like that."

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