Eagles have confidence in Max Jean-Gilles with Andrews out indefinitely

THREE EAGLES made the Pro Bowl last year. Yesterday, head coach Andy Reid announced that one of them won't play for at least another 6 weeks, and very well could miss the remainder of this season. And yet, around the locker room, there was no sense that the 3-3 team's playoff chances had been seriously damaged, when right guard Shawn Andrews had disc surgery Tuesday, by Dr. Robert Watkins, in Marina del Rey, Calif. Max Jean-Gilles, definitely a work in progress when Andrews' travails began last summer, has won the confidence of his coaches and teammates. Earlier this season, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called Jean-Gilles the kind of player you win with. Yesterday, Reid said: "Max has done a very good job. The thing Max has done that I think is important is, he has improved every week. The guys around him have a lot of trust in him and he's playing good football right now." Reid said he will wait to see how Andrews' rehab progresses before putting him on injured reserve, which would end his season. Contacted last night via text message, Andrews was asked if he thought he might play again in 2008. "Anything is possible," said Andrews, who aggravated what team athletic trainer Rick Burkholder called a previously herniated lumbar disc while blocking for an extra point in the Sept. 15 game at Dallas. "I gotta get over this stage first and then we'll see." Andrews added that he was confident he will feel better soon. Burkholder said Andrews herniated the disc in high school in Arkansas, but got relief from a pain-blocking injection and wasn't bothered much by the injury in college or as a pro until he reinjured the same area at Dallas. Burkholder said Andrews tried injections twice last month, but found nerve pain subsided only briefly. Last week, Watkins became the fourth specialist consulted as the team and Andrews sought the best course of treatment. Burkholder said Watkins offered a time frame of 6 weeks to 3 months for Andrews to be ready to play again, depending on "when he gets his strength back and his symptoms go away." Left tackle Tra Thomas had similar surgery by Watkins on Nov. 30, 2005. Thomas did not return that year, since he was injured much later in the season, but at the time, agent Peter Schaffer said Thomas could have been ready to go again in as little as 4 to 6 weeks. Burkholder said the Thomas and Andrews injuries were "similar but not identical." That phrase could also apply to Andrews and Jean-Gilles, the Eagles' largest guards. Andrews is listed at 6-5, 330, Jean-Gilles at 6-3, 358. Center Jamaal Jackson said the biggest difference between Andrews and Jean-Gilles is that Andrews arrived in 2004 polished and ready, a first-round draft choice who won a starting job in his first training camp. Jean-Gilles, a fourth-round pick in 2006, needed a lot of work, particularly on conditioning. He didn't get into a game as a rookie, and his first start came near the end of his second season, last Dec. 23 at New Orleans. The popular perception is that Jean-Gilles might match Andrews' strength, but not his freakish athleticism. Jackson said that isn't necessarily so. "That dude can run," Jackson said of Jean-Gilles. "That's good, to have somebody 360 who can run." "Max is a guy we trust in so many situations, whether it's run blocking or pass blocking," quarterback Donovan McNabb said. "This experience, for him, is going to take him a long way." Left guard Todd Herremans said the biggest reason for Jean-Gilles' improvement is simple - getting to play has helped him, has built confidence and savvy. Herremans said at this point, the offense isn't much different with Jean-Gilles replacing Andrews, who excels at mashing defenders on screens and sweeps. In the Eagles' last game, Oct. 12 at San Francisco, Jean-Gilles memorably obliterated middle linebacker Patrick Willis in Andrewslike fashion. "If you'd asked me a while ago, I'd have said we ran more screens with Shawn," Herremans said. "But I don't think that's true now." "It's fun. I just try to time it perfect, to see somebody go down," Jean-Gilles said. "Half the time, you're throwing your body and you miss, so it's good to get 'em down." Jean-Gilles said blocking in space like that was something he had to work on with offensive line coach Juan Castillo. Jean-Gilles was reluctant to cut-block. "It hurts," he explained. "It hurts real bad. I just had to [learn to] sacrifice my shoulder." This has been a strange ride for Jean-Gilles, who played well when he finally got on the field late last season, and came into minicamps with a chance to unseat Herremans on the left side. Herremans came back in great shape, determined to remain a starter, so by training camp, moving up was looking unlikely for Jean-Gilles. Then Andrews failed to show for camp, staying out 17 days while battling depression. Jean-Gilles abruptly became the right-side starter. Then Andrews came back and Jean-Gilles went to the bench. Then Andrews went down and Jean-Gilles was a starter again, but with Andrews always close in the background. Of course, he's still in the background, but not so close right now. "It's been a roller coaster," Jean-Gilles said yesterday. "I came to camp thinking I would compete for the left-guard job. I was thrown in at right guard. It's been a day-by-day process . . . just let the man upstairs deal with it." Asked about the possibility of Andrews reclaiming the job near the end of the season, Jean-Gilles said: "I'm prepared for it. My mind is ready. Whatever happens, happens."