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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Once a year, Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid likes to reward the players in training camp by giving them a little break.

He summons place-kicker David Akers to the middle of the field and orders him to attempt a long field goal. If Akers makes it, the players are excused from meetings that evening and are given a later curfew.

"It's a lot of pressure," Akers said with a laugh Wednesday. "It makes all the other field goals I kick during training camp seem a lot easier. I don't know what happens if I miss. I think I've made them every time."

He put a 54-yarder between the uprights Tuesday morning and was mobbed by several teammates. Reid responded by giving the players a 1 a.m. curfew - about two hours later than normal - in hopes that they would be responsible enough to stay out of trouble.

Seventy-eight players complied. Defensive end Juqua Parker and guard Todd Herremans didn't.

According to published reports, Parker was arrested early Wednesday morning for marijuana possession. He was riding in a windowless black van belonging to Herremans, who was issued a citation for making an illegal turn and driving without his headlights at 12:30 a.m. Parker was released at about 5:30 a.m. after posting $1,000 bail.

"We're aware of the incident involving Juqua Parker," Reid said after Wednesday's morning practice. "Obviously, there's nothing I can comment on at the moment. It's in the law's hands right now. As time goes on, I'll know more. I'm not going to judge it until I've got all of the information."

Reid must not have been too worried, since both players were on the field for practice Wednesday afternoon. After the workout, Parker huddled in a circle with a few other players for a prayer, and then walked off the field without speaking while wide receiver Jason Avant draped an arm over Parker's shoulder.

Herremans put on his helmet and was escorted to the locker room by fellow offensive linemen Nick Cole, Jamaal Jackson, Max Jean-Gilles, Mike McGlynn and Dallas Reynolds. An hour later, he climbed into the same black van and gave Jackson a ride back to the players' dorms.

"At this stage, it is completely improper for me to comment on something that we are still gathering information on," owner Jeffrey Lurie said. "It has to go through the legal process. There's nothing I can add to that."

Besides the later curfew, Reid had also declared Wednesday as a day off for members of the "30-plus Club." That meant that all players 30 and older - except backup quarterback A.J. Feeley (32) - were not required to attend the morning workout. Herremans (26) was there, but Parker (31) wasn't.

"I always give the players the night off after like the third or fourth (day of two-a-day practices)," Reid said.

According to the Morning Call of Allentown, Parker was a passenger in the Econoline van driven by Herremans when Lower Saucon Township police pulled it over. Two local women, ages 21 and 22, respectively, were also in the van. Herremans is single. Parker married his wife, Beth, after the 2007 season.

Police chief Guy Lesser told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Herremans took a breathylizer test and registered a blood-alcohol content of .05, below the legal limit of 0.08. During the stop, police also noticed a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle, and Parker admitted it was his.

Parker is currently the Eagles' starting left defensive end. Last season, he registered five sacks. He also returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown at San Francisco. He is entering his fourth season with the Eagles after four years with Tennessee.

Parker is the second Eagle to be charged with marijuana possession in as many years. On Feb. 21, 2008, defensive tackle Mike Patterson was pulled over by police in Evesham Township, N.J., and charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana. Those charges were dropped, but Patterson was found guilty of reckless driving.

Parker and Herremans were the first Eagles to be involved in an incident during training camp in Reid's 11-year tenure. The Eagles have been quiet visitors since 1997, the year then-defensive end Mike Mamula was accused of exposing himself to a female bouncer at a bar in nearby Allentown, Pa., during a night off. No charges were filed after Mamula apologized.

Since then, Eagles training camps have been largely uneventful affairs, save for the team-related controversies that always seem to pop up.

"We put a tremendous amount of emphasis on character," Lurie said. "You are going to have periods during a season when you are down, and it's the character players that bring you out of that lull. Last year was the greatest example of all. I attribute our success this decade to having a very high-character group of players."

Reid has had to deal with situations both before and during the season, however.

In June 2006, just before the Eagles reported to Lehigh, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney was arrested on charges of unlawful possession of a handgun. Gaffney had just signed with the Eagles, and his loaded, .380 semi-automatic pistol was registered in Texas but not New Jersey. Reid downplayed the incident at the time but wound up releasing Gaffney, even though he had been the Eagles' leading receiver in the preseason.

In November 2001, running back Correll Buckhalter, cornerback Darrel Crutchfield and safety Terrence Carroll were pulled over after police smelled marijuana in the car. Buckhalter and Crutchfield were charged with crimes, but Buckhalter was suspended for one game and Crutchfield was eventually released. Carroll, who was arrested on misdemeanor marijuana possession, was cut that week.

One month earlier, starting safety Damon Moore was charged with abandoning a three-month-old Rottweiler he had purchased at the Echelon Mall in Voorhees, N.J. Reid did not discipline him at the time, but Moore suffered a severe knee injury in that season's NFC championship game and was released.

E-mail David Weinberg:

DWeinberg@pressofac.com

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