Way down in Louisiana is where a hard-hitting safety named Norman LeJeune first made an impact on the Philadelphia Eagles.
When he gets back to his home state tonight, he'll be trying to capture their attention again.
LeJeune, Philadelphia's seventh-round draft choice from Louisiana State, will join fellow Eagles rookie defenders Jerome McDougle and Jamaal Green in trying to make an early impression in a Monday Night Football showdown with the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome. Kickoff is 8 p.m.
The preseason opener is about a 30-minute drive from Baton Rouge, where LeJeune made 103 tackles, 5 sacks and 15 pass breakups for LSU last season -- enticing the Eagles to nab him with their final draft selection.
"It is ironic," LeJeune said. "I impressed them in Baton Rouge, and I hope to impress them 30 minutes away from Baton Rouge. It was weird -- the first time I looked at our preseason schedule I saw we had to play the Saints in New Orleans."
LeJeune doesn't mind a bit.
"I'm really excited," said LeJeune, who grew up in Brusly, La., idolizing Eagles safety Brian Dawkins. "I've got a whole bunch of people coming back to see me play my first NFL game."
His family and friends should get plenty of chances to watch their man.
Eagles starters, such as Pro Bowlers Dawkins, Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor on defense and Donovan McNabb, Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan on offense, aren't expected to see more than a quarter of work.
The rest of the game will be a big chance for backups to make a case for themselves as the Eagles look to replenish lost depth on their regular-season roster.
"I want to look at the draft picks," said Eagles coach Andy Reid, who earlier in training camp singled out LeJeune as one of the prospects he's excited to watch. "And then you look at your free agent players, and that's what I want to get out of this preseason."
A lot of eyes will be on McDougle.
Philadelphia's first-round draft choice from the University of Miami was immediately tagged as a replacement for departed sack master Hugh Douglas, who signed a free agent contract with Jacksonville in the offseason.
But McDougle won't be in Douglas' old spot. He'll line up on the other side of the line in a backup position at left defensive end. After missing four days of camp because of contract negotiations, McDougle has been coming along at a moderate pace.
"Jerome has just gotten his legs back a few days ago," Reid said following Sunday morning's walk-through at Lehigh before the team departed for New Orleans. "He has been working hard every day. He has been getting better every day. He has what I think is the best defensive line coach (Tom Brasher), and he is very open to coaching. That is always a plus."
At right defensive end, which is Douglas' old spot, Green, also from Miami, has been improving after a very slow training camp start.
"There is a difference between running shape and pad shape, and McDougle is still trying to get in that pad shape" defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "I think he is a little bit behind. But I'm not concerned, he will pick that up. He has shown some ability. Jamaal is a few days ahead and has picked it up a little."
McDougle, Green and LeJeune could help the Eagles draw up a rough draft for a revamped defense and special teams that were thrown into transition by free agent departures.
Newcomers Nate Wayne (who's been injury-prone) and Mark Simoneau (who at 6-foot, 234 pounds has been called too small) are question marks as two of the starting linebackers. Second-year safety Michael Lewis has been cast into a starting role beside Dawkins - with rookies LeJeune, Jamal Wallace and Quintin Mikeil as the only backups.
"It's going all right," LeJeune said. "The mental part was hard. Two practices a day wears you down. But you have to fight through it."
And then there's the re-shuffled defensive line.
Left defensive end Brandon Whiting was left behind tonight after just returning to the practice field following a nagging strained hamstring. The Eagles will start Derrick Burgess at left defensive end and N.D. Kalu at right end.
Burgess is returning from a broken foot that was surgically-repaired twice and erased most of his second season. Kalu has never been a regular starter in six previous seasons.
On special teams, Brian Westbrook will get his first test in a bid to replace Brian Mitchell, the NFL's all-time leading returner who left for the New York Giants.
Kyle Richardson and Dirk Johnson are locked in a tight battle for the punting job vacated when legendary Sean Landeta wasn't asked to return. The final decision will come down to which one looks better in preseason games.
"Neither one of them gets it off as quickly as Sean," Harbaugh said."Nobody probably gets it off as quickly as Sean in the history of punting. But if you really look at the numbers, they're better than Sean."
"One has experience in the league (Richardson), the other (Johnson) has very little experience in the league," Reid said. "They're competing like crazy out there. They have just a little below a 50-yard average punting the ball (in camp). We'll see what happens when the lights are on and shining."
The offense isn't without its share of suspense, either.
While the training camp holdout of Duce Staley continues as he searches for a contract extension, Correll Buckhalter has taken over the starting tailback job. It'll be interesting to watch him test his surgically-repaired knee for the first time since he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in an April 2002 minicamp.
Jon Ritchie makes his debut as the starting fullback after signing as a free agent following a five-year career in Oakland.
Interestingly, former first-round draft pick Freddie Mitchell will open the preseason as the No. 3 wide receiver for the Eagles, while this year's second-round draft pick L.J. Smith is slotted as the No. 2 tight end for tonight.
The quarterbacks are scheduled to play about a quarter apiece, with Pro-Bowl starter Donovan McNabb working the opening quarter followed in succession by Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley and Tim Hasselbeck.
"We are going in to win the game, but we are going to play everybody," Reid said. "I will stay disciplined with that. For as much as I want to win, I want to evaluate first. I enjoy seeing the young guys play."
That is just the kind of jazzy tune LeJeune wants to hear for his homecoming.
"It takes hard work, and you can't be a mediocre player to play here," LeJeune said. "Expectations are high. You have to meet them. I want to work hard, try to catch the coaches' eyes.
"I need that."
http://www.nj.com/sports/bridgeton/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1060604737165050.xml
When he gets back to his home state tonight, he'll be trying to capture their attention again.
LeJeune, Philadelphia's seventh-round draft choice from Louisiana State, will join fellow Eagles rookie defenders Jerome McDougle and Jamaal Green in trying to make an early impression in a Monday Night Football showdown with the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome. Kickoff is 8 p.m.
The preseason opener is about a 30-minute drive from Baton Rouge, where LeJeune made 103 tackles, 5 sacks and 15 pass breakups for LSU last season -- enticing the Eagles to nab him with their final draft selection.
"It is ironic," LeJeune said. "I impressed them in Baton Rouge, and I hope to impress them 30 minutes away from Baton Rouge. It was weird -- the first time I looked at our preseason schedule I saw we had to play the Saints in New Orleans."
LeJeune doesn't mind a bit.
"I'm really excited," said LeJeune, who grew up in Brusly, La., idolizing Eagles safety Brian Dawkins. "I've got a whole bunch of people coming back to see me play my first NFL game."
His family and friends should get plenty of chances to watch their man.
Eagles starters, such as Pro Bowlers Dawkins, Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor on defense and Donovan McNabb, Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan on offense, aren't expected to see more than a quarter of work.
The rest of the game will be a big chance for backups to make a case for themselves as the Eagles look to replenish lost depth on their regular-season roster.
"I want to look at the draft picks," said Eagles coach Andy Reid, who earlier in training camp singled out LeJeune as one of the prospects he's excited to watch. "And then you look at your free agent players, and that's what I want to get out of this preseason."
A lot of eyes will be on McDougle.
Philadelphia's first-round draft choice from the University of Miami was immediately tagged as a replacement for departed sack master Hugh Douglas, who signed a free agent contract with Jacksonville in the offseason.
But McDougle won't be in Douglas' old spot. He'll line up on the other side of the line in a backup position at left defensive end. After missing four days of camp because of contract negotiations, McDougle has been coming along at a moderate pace.
"Jerome has just gotten his legs back a few days ago," Reid said following Sunday morning's walk-through at Lehigh before the team departed for New Orleans. "He has been working hard every day. He has been getting better every day. He has what I think is the best defensive line coach (Tom Brasher), and he is very open to coaching. That is always a plus."
At right defensive end, which is Douglas' old spot, Green, also from Miami, has been improving after a very slow training camp start.
"There is a difference between running shape and pad shape, and McDougle is still trying to get in that pad shape" defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "I think he is a little bit behind. But I'm not concerned, he will pick that up. He has shown some ability. Jamaal is a few days ahead and has picked it up a little."
McDougle, Green and LeJeune could help the Eagles draw up a rough draft for a revamped defense and special teams that were thrown into transition by free agent departures.
Newcomers Nate Wayne (who's been injury-prone) and Mark Simoneau (who at 6-foot, 234 pounds has been called too small) are question marks as two of the starting linebackers. Second-year safety Michael Lewis has been cast into a starting role beside Dawkins - with rookies LeJeune, Jamal Wallace and Quintin Mikeil as the only backups.
"It's going all right," LeJeune said. "The mental part was hard. Two practices a day wears you down. But you have to fight through it."
And then there's the re-shuffled defensive line.
Left defensive end Brandon Whiting was left behind tonight after just returning to the practice field following a nagging strained hamstring. The Eagles will start Derrick Burgess at left defensive end and N.D. Kalu at right end.
Burgess is returning from a broken foot that was surgically-repaired twice and erased most of his second season. Kalu has never been a regular starter in six previous seasons.
On special teams, Brian Westbrook will get his first test in a bid to replace Brian Mitchell, the NFL's all-time leading returner who left for the New York Giants.
Kyle Richardson and Dirk Johnson are locked in a tight battle for the punting job vacated when legendary Sean Landeta wasn't asked to return. The final decision will come down to which one looks better in preseason games.
"Neither one of them gets it off as quickly as Sean," Harbaugh said."Nobody probably gets it off as quickly as Sean in the history of punting. But if you really look at the numbers, they're better than Sean."
"One has experience in the league (Richardson), the other (Johnson) has very little experience in the league," Reid said. "They're competing like crazy out there. They have just a little below a 50-yard average punting the ball (in camp). We'll see what happens when the lights are on and shining."
The offense isn't without its share of suspense, either.
While the training camp holdout of Duce Staley continues as he searches for a contract extension, Correll Buckhalter has taken over the starting tailback job. It'll be interesting to watch him test his surgically-repaired knee for the first time since he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in an April 2002 minicamp.
Jon Ritchie makes his debut as the starting fullback after signing as a free agent following a five-year career in Oakland.
Interestingly, former first-round draft pick Freddie Mitchell will open the preseason as the No. 3 wide receiver for the Eagles, while this year's second-round draft pick L.J. Smith is slotted as the No. 2 tight end for tonight.
The quarterbacks are scheduled to play about a quarter apiece, with Pro-Bowl starter Donovan McNabb working the opening quarter followed in succession by Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley and Tim Hasselbeck.
"We are going in to win the game, but we are going to play everybody," Reid said. "I will stay disciplined with that. For as much as I want to win, I want to evaluate first. I enjoy seeing the young guys play."
That is just the kind of jazzy tune LeJeune wants to hear for his homecoming.
"It takes hard work, and you can't be a mediocre player to play here," LeJeune said. "Expectations are high. You have to meet them. I want to work hard, try to catch the coaches' eyes.
"I need that."
http://www.nj.com/sports/bridgeton/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1060604737165050.xml
