"Andy Reid, the Eagles' longtime head coach, has been known to tell a fib or two about his roster. Remember classics like "Donovan McNabb is my starting quarterback," and "Kevin Kolb is my starting quarterback."

But that doesn't mean he's a real-life Pinocchio when it comes to all questions about certain positions.

Big Red didn't seem to mince words at the owners meetings recently when he told reporters that right tackle in 2011 is "good competition" between incumbent Winston Justice and well-groomed reserve King Dunlap.

Could this be another Reid smoke screen designed to keep both players motivated during a prolonged lockout?

Justice isn't leaving anything to chance. He recently underwent surgery to have a large bone chip removed from his knee and is working overtime with a strength trainer to get ready for training camp.

It's a similar offseason plan to one he followed two years ago, when after three disappointing seasons on the bench after being drafted in the second round out of USC he took advantage of Shawn Andrews' back injury to win the starting right tackle job.

"Yeah, I see it as the same kind of thing, kind of proving yourself," Justice said. "You're only as good as your last game. They don't care about the rest of the season. They just care about the last game."

In his last game, the Eagles' 21-16 loss to Green Bay at home in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Justice struggled against the pass rush and was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of Dunlap."