Spikes is spiked

The Eagles released linebacker Takeo Spikes today. This was a move that seemed almost inevitable to me the moment Stewart Bradley intercepted Drew Brees at the Superdown, therby doubling Spikes' season total of disruptive plays in the span of a single game.

In the intervening weeks that feeling receded, and like everybody else, I was a little bit surprised when I got the word today. Nothing really changed. Spikes was still unlikely to return to his Pro Bowl form, he still had a Pro Bowl-type base salary coming to him in 2008, and nothing had happened to diminish the team's expectations for youngsters like Bradley, Omar Gaither and Chris Gocong. I guess I was waiting for the Birds to sign some cardboard cutout of a veteran linebacker, not necessarily to start, but just to act as a safety net of some sort. It never happened, though I suppose it still could.

By the way, barring something unforseen, Gaither will be back on the weakside in 2008. As much as he wants to stay in the middle, Gocong can only play the SAM and Bradley can't play WILL, so there's really no alternative.

Spikes's voice will be missed in the locker room, but of more pressing concern to us (the writers who cover the team on a daily basis) is who's going to talk to us. Spikes was always fairly frank and occasionally very eloquent, and his presence made up a lot for the departure of Jeremiah Trotter as the voice of the defense. Now only Brian Dawkins remains. We'll see who, if anybody, they send to the NovaCare Complex podium in Spikes' place every Thursday afternoon. Maybe Gaither. Possibly Samuel, given the size of his contract. Not Cole, despite his prominence. Certainly not Patterson or Bunkley. Lito probably won't be here. I'd love it if it were Sheldon, but he probably fires from the hipn a bit too often for the Eagles' taste. There were plenty of things that Sheldon said last season that the Birds' PR staff would have had to "clarify" in the official transcripts.

Patterson busted

The Evesham police arrested Mike Patterson last Saturday morning for marijuana possession.

Which is interesting enough, without the amusing twists that go with the story. Apparently, he and his brother got in a fender bender, and then while waiting for the tow truck or something, they decided to light up. The police stopped to check out the car, smelled the pot, investigated further and found the stuff, which was apparently not enough to around suspicion of intent to distribute.

So older brother, Tyrone, has a bunch of arrest warrants out, and when the cops went to arrest him, he resisted. As if they were going to say, like, 'Oh man, sorry about that. I didn't realize you weren't down with the arresting thing.'

Anyway.

Now, say what you like about the illegality of marijuana, which is a legitimate matter for debate. Personally, I'm not going to condemn anybody for that particular habit. But stupidity is something I didn't expect from Patterson, who blossomed into one of the leaders of the defensive line this season. It's easy to forget how young these guys are, and the dumb things that young dudes do.

Didn't the Eagles use to throw this party?

Now they're not even invited.

The NFL is down to its final four, a level the Eagles recently reached four times in a row, hosting it the last three times. It was arguably the best stretch of football in franchise history, and folks around this city got used to it. Nothing last forever, of course, but the crazy part of this whole thing is that it didn't have to be over.

If the Eagles had won one more game, they could be one step from the Super Bowl right now, with the Patriots rooting hard against them.

Among the Birds' eight losses were four in which many impartial observers walked away believing that they were the better football team, overall. Included in those four bitter defeats were the season opener in Green Bay, where two muffed punts led to 10 of the Packers' 13 points, and the Eagles' home game with the Giants, where red zone foibles and David Akers' valiant but doomed 57-yard field goal attempt sank them. Given the fact that Philadelphia was actually much better on the road -- the Birds won five of their last six away, the lone loss being at New England -- it's easy to envision a deep playoff run, even if they had barely squeaked into the postseason field.

But it's all pie in the sky now. Enjoy the conference championship games.

Takeo Spikes is done for the season

The Eagles' starting weakside linebacker is out for the season with a torn rotator cuff. He'll have surgery on Friday.

Spikes was most emotional about the fact that he won't get the chance to play against Buffalo here in Philly in the last week of the season. Andy Reid said that, had the Eagles not been eliminated from the playoff picture, Spikes would still b headed to injured reserve, but Spikes himself seemed unconvinced, since he atually finished Sunday's game with the injury.

Akeem Jordan will likely take Spikes' place in the base defense, with third-round draft pick Stewart Bradley coming in for nickel situations. In other words, in the base it's Gocong, Gaither and Jordan, and in the nickel it's Gaither and Bradley.

Will Dawkins play?

The inactives are due out at any moment, and the big question is whether the Eagles' All-Pro free safety will make it to the field. He hurt his back in practice on Friday, and the Eagles re-signed reserve Marcus Paschal on Saturday, prompting a widespread belief that Brian Dawkins was more injured than Andy reid originally let on.

UPDATE: Dawkins is active, Paschal is not, so they must be pretty confident that Dawk can go at full speed. Also, Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is active. It had been thought he might miss the game with a hamstring injury. Running back Brandon Jacobs and wide receiver Plaxico Burress are both playing, but safety James Butler is out with a hamstring, further weakening a banged up New York secondary.

Also, Brian Westbrook is going to play.

No Bunkley. It's all about Kimo.

Brodrick Bunkley went from questionable to out with his MCL sprain, which continues to be the injury of the year for the Eagles. The big surprise is that it's the well-rested Kimo von Oelhoffen, 36-year old dude, starting in his place at Mike Patterson's side.

The obvious choice would have been LaJuan Ramsey, who has gotten a lot of time at defensive tackle in recent weeks. The less orthodox choices would have been Darren Howard, who has played some DT on passing downs, or rookie Victor Abiamiri, who the Eagles have moved all around the line in his few opportunities to dress. Victor is not dressed today, and neither is Montae Reagor, another capable defensive tackle.

Kimo has not been in the active lineup since Week 3 against the Lions, by the way.

McNabb misses another practice

There is no red No. 5 out there on the practice field right now, and A.J. Feeley is again taking all the snaps with the first-team offense. It certainly seems less and less likely that DOnovan McNabb will start on Sunday against the Seahawks.

It's hard to imagine McNabb will play if he doesn't get some practice in tomorrow (Friday). It's not that he has a lot of on-field preparation work to do, as far as getting comfortable with the game plan -- he knows all that backwards and forward by now -- but a quarterback needs his timing. After two weeks on the shelf, it's hard to imagine The Eagles' coaches just throwing him out there and hoping for the best, at least not considering the way Feeley played against the Patriots.