TKO

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Eagles try to make a deal in which they package one of their linemen for some help at linebacker.” – Ant, March 23, 2007

The Eagles took advantage of Bernie Lomax, or whoever is calling the shots in the Bills front office, acquiring pro-bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes and back-up quarterback Kelly Holcomb from Buffalo in exchange for defensive tackle Darwin Walker and a conditional late-round draft pick in 2008.

In case you couldn’t tell, I think this is an outstanding deal for the Birds. Spikes is an immediate upgrade at the strong side linebacker spot that has been occupied by Dhani Jones for the last two years. Now, with Jeremiah Trotter in the middle flanked by Spikes and Omar Gaither (who played so well on the weak side last year), the LB corps looks like a strength instead of a glaring area of concern.

Position by position, here’s how the Eagles depth chart should look in 2007:

DE - Jevon Kearse (Trent Cole)
DT - Mike Patterson (Monte Reagor)
DT - Brodrick Bunkley (Sam Rayburn)
DE - Darren Howard (Juqua Thomas)
LB - Omar Gaither (Matt McCoy)
LB - Jeremiah Trotter
LB - Takeo Spikes (Dhani Jones/Chris Gocong)
CB - Sheldon Brown (William James)
S - Brian Dawkins
S - Sean Considine (Quentin Mikell)
CB - Lito Sheppard (Joselio Hanson)

Bottom line is, that’s not a bad looking defense on paper. It allows the Eagles to draft for depth in the secondary and at linebacker instead of needing an impact guy right off the bat. It also means they could look at the offensive side of the ball if the right guy was available.

Holcomb, meanwhile, is a smart quarterback with sub-par arm strength who will be content to hold the clipboard as the third-string guy. In other words, he’s Koy Detmer. He, too, gives the Eagles much-needed depth at quarterback, and extra insurance in the event that “5” is not 100% when the season starts. This is an excellent, purposeful deal executed by the Eagles brain trust.

As for the Bills, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, who knows what the hell they are doing. Spikes follows Willis McGahee, Nate Clements, and London Fletcher-Baker out of Buffalo on what appears to be a one way street.