If Shawn Andrews had his way, he would start this Thursday when the Eagles travel to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets in the preseason finale.

Head coach Andy Reid is expected to announce on Tuesday his plans for the starting lineups. If the past in an indicator of the future, Andrews may suit up but won't get a chance to break a sweat. In all likelihood, his return to game action will be on Sept. 13 when the Eagles open the regular season in Carolina.

"I'm excited. I have no (reservations) right now," Andrews said. "I'm just going at this thing 100 miles per hour. What happens, happens. I'm going to have fun doing it. I'm going to be happy and bust my tail."

Andrews said that he's had no setbacks in his first two days of practice. In fact, he got to take some snaps alongside his brother, Stacy, with the first-team offensive line on Sunday.

"I was like 330-pound Happy Feet," Andrews said referring to the movie character. "Just my aura, just being back out there with the guys and really lining up for the first time with my brother. I mean, the atmosphere was great, the weather was great. My body feels great."

Of course, the big storyline with the offensive line throughout the preseason has been whether the starters can create chemistry together and jell before the season opener. The key, Andrews said, is making sure that everyone knows the line calls.

"You can play 10 years together, if you don't know the right lingo of the calls you're not going to be on the same page which can really hurt you," Andrews said. "But, of course, it's more under the microscope if you haven't played together."

Andrews said that he's looking forward to his second day with the pads on, especially since the only contact that he will likely before the Panthers game will be in practice.

"They (the Eagles defensive ends) probably come harder than a lot of guys we play against," Andrews said. "Practice is good competition too."

-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 2:13 p.m., August 31