But on Sunday, Collins, a rookie free agent from Washington State, began working with the starters at practice.

And as of now, Collins is slated to be the No. 1 fullback tomorrow night when the Eagles play the Carolina Panthers in their second preseason game.

OK, so maybe you're wondering how a guy who had no carries and no catches in last Friday's preseason opener at Pittsburgh moves to the top of the depth chart?

Special teams.

It's no secret that fullback isn't the most valued position in the Eagles' offense. They will only have one on the Opening Day roster. So the fullback who is also capable of making a valuable contribution on special teams will have the heads-up on the other contenders.

Thus far, that guy has been Collins.

"Jed did a nice job in the limited plays that he had offensively, but also on special teams," Eagles head coach Andy Reid said. "That fullback position, you've got to produce on special teams or you're going to struggle to make it there. [Collins] did the best job of the other guys on the special-teams unit."

Considering how special-teams blunders contributed to the Eagles' decline last season, it is not an area the brain trust is ever likely to take for granted again. A borderline player who displays a knack for making big plays on special teams is going to have the inside track to a roster spot over a similar player who doesn't.

In an NFL of limited roster size, there are only a select few spots for those who don't get it done on special teams, and those are almost exclusively reserved for the 22 designated starters.

"It's like coach Reid always tells us," said third-year receiver Hank Baskett, "there are 11 starters on offense and 11 starters on defense. If you ain't one of them, you better be good at special teams."

As a reserve receiver in 2007, Baskett's numbers were modest, 16 catches for 142 yards with one touchdown. But he was voted the Eagles' special-teams MVP after leading the team with 277 production points.

Baskett is having a solid training camp and while he will still be on special teams this season, the way he is performing will likely lead to a bigger role in the offense.

"Special teams keeps you around, and that gives you a chance to make plays in other ways," Baskett said. "You can get in the rotation and get a chance to make plays on offense or defense because of what you do on special teams, because if you don't make it on special teams, you definitely won't get a chance to make it on offense or defense."

Baskett, receiver Greg Lewis, linebackers Omar Gaither and Akeem Jordan, safeties Quintin Mikell and J.R. Reed are some of the current Eagles who turned strong special-teams performances into greater roles on the team.

"It's huge at this point," Eagles special-teams coordinator Rory Segrest said of a nonstarter's ability to play special teams. "We've got guys that have got to be major contributors on special teams.

"That is a major area of emphasis for us, just making sure that we have the guys out there that can provide us the best chance of success."

And being a high-level special-teams performer can lead to a long and prosperous NFL career.

Now in his seventh season, free-agent linebacker Rocky Boiman has played in 86 NFL games but made just 19 starts and has only 194 career tackles.

But Boiman's reputation as a special-teams demon for four seasons with the Tennessee Titans earned him a free-agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, and a Super Bowl ring.

The Eagles considered it an important upgrade when they signed him during the offseason.

"If you aren't a starter, you really have to make a living as a special-teams player," Boiman said. "There are a lot of good position players out there who can't play special teams who don't end up making it.

"[Special teams] is an important part of the game. It's a third of it, and a lot of valuable field position can be determined by it. An older guy like myself, I try to preach it to the younger guys.

"You play special teams and you hang around long enough, you might get your shot [at playing somewhere else on the field]. If not, then this is what you do, and it's not a bad gig." *

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