Injuries put McDougle back in mix

Each time Eagles coach Andy Reid barked for the second-team defense during Wednesday's training camp, some guy wearing the number 95 on his uniform trotted onto the field.

95 ... 95 ... who the heck is No. 95?

Turns out, somebody has had that number for the last five years now. It just hasn't been seen much because No. 95 usually gets hurt and spends the rest of the season on the injured list.

It only seemed a matter of time, maybe a few more days in camp, before No. 95 would be released and out looking for a 9-to-5, as in a full-time job in another line of work.

Back in June, during one of the Eagles' minicamps, defensive coordinator Jimmie Johnson rattled off six defensive ends that he figured to be part of his rotation at that position. No. 95's name never came up.

So it figured he would soon be on 95, as in I-95, heading south, back to Miami where he went to school.

It was there, at the University of Miami, where the Eagles found him then made him their No. 1 draft pick in the 2003 draft.

Ring a bell?

That's right, No. 95 was Jerome McDougle. Still is Jerome McDougle.

He's still here, sweating away on the practice fields of Lehigh University and cashing paychecks, still with one more year left on a six-year, $9.5 million deal inked in '03.

Now get this, McDougle is running with the second team.

The fact that he is with the second team is due to a couple of dominoes that have fallen in his favor since he began this year's camp more bystander than 3-point-stancer. Those dominoes were Victor Abiamiri, Chris Clemons and Bryan Smith, three defensive ends who have been shelved with injury — and, in Clemons' case, dehydration.

“When guys go down, I know how it feels to work your butt off all through the off-season and come out and get hurt,” McDougle said. “I feel for them, and my prayers are with them.”

Everybody should remember McDougle's story by now.

It's a short story where nothing much happens, and even that always ends prematurely due to injury.

The most spectacular incident came in 2005 when he was shot in the stomach while being robbed in Miami. He had been anointed the starter after Derrick Burgess departed for the Raiders in free agency, but never played a down. Not that football mattered much as he fought for his life.

The one year he was fully healthy, 2006, he never did much, appearing in 14 games, none of them starts, and recording 17 tackles and one sack.
Given his do-little resume, it can't be a good thing for the Eagles' Super Bowl aspirations that McDougle is one of the team's top four defensive ends in camp at this point.

Or can it?

“Jerome is a very capable defensive end,” said defensive lineman Darren Howard, who turned in a strong practice Wednesday. “He's been in the league for a long time for a reason, and that's because he can play the position.

“We have some guys going down, and he's getting some extra reps right now. The only thing holding McDougle back is he's had some bad luck and a lot of injuries. That doesn't take away from the kind of player he is. He's out here working really hard, and he's pushing really hard to make the squad. My hat's off to a guy like that who can put a lot of things behind him and just keep working.”

Really, if the expectations that go along with being a No. 1 draft pick weren't there, McDougle would be an easy player to root for.

He works with kids in juvenile detention centers, is on the board of Broward County's Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, holds football clinics in conjunction with the Miami Police Athletic League, and, in 2006, he received the Ed Block Courage Award.

“Football is a bonus for me,” said McDougle. “I'm happy to be alive. Each day I can come out here is a blessing. I want to come out here and get better. For me, it's just staying healthy. My goal is to just try to stay healthy. My biggest goal is to stay out here, because it's out of sight, out of mind.”

McDougle will turn 30 when the Cleveland Browns visit Lincoln Financial Field for a Monday Night game Dec. 15.

If he is still here and healthy, it could be a birthday worth celebrating.

If not, then he'll likely just be some guy. And he won't be wearing No. 95 anymore.

(phillyburbs.com)