AS TRADE heists go, it's not quite on the same level as the Phils' August theft of Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians.

But if the Eagles make it to the playoffs again this year, we may look back on last week's acquisition of linebacker Will Witherspoon as The Deal That Saved The Season.

"We'll see," Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said yesterday. "We'll have to wait and see what happens the rest of the way. But he's a good player."

On Monday night, just 6 days after they got him from the Rams for the Kmart-price of rookie wide receiver Brandon Gibson and a fifth-round pick in next year's draft, Witherspoon went out and notched a team-high eight tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown and had a sack and a forced fumble in the Eagles' 27-17 win over the Redskins.

The Eagles acquired Witherspoon at the trade deadline after a season-ending foot injury to Omar Gaither left them in dire need of a middle linebacker with coverage skills.

"Once we lost Omar, we wanted to get somebody if we could," Heckert said. "We weren't going to do anything stupid. We weren't in a panic mode. We were fine with how we were going to do it [if they didn't acquire another linebacker]. We even talked about moving some of our [other] guys around.

"But we just wanted to make sure that, if we're going to be good, we had enough ammunition back there if something else happened [injurywise].''

The on-site options weren't all that appetizing. Both of the other two middle linebackers on the roster - Joe Mays and Jeremiah Trotter - are strictly run defenders. Mays has been active for just one game this season, and Trotter still is taking baby steps after being out of the game for 2 years.

If the Eagles hadn't acquired Witherspoon, they probably would have been forced to move strongside linebacker Chris Gocong to the middle in their base defense and replace him at SAM with rookie Moise Fokou.

Their choices on passing downs would've been to use special-teamer Tracy White in their two-linebacker nickel package with Akeem Jordan, or more likely, use their one-linebacker (Jordan), six-defensive back dime package with safety Sean Jones as the sixth defensive back.

"We needed somebody to help us in the nickel," Heckert said. "If we didn't get Will, we would've had to adjust. Play more dime stuff. He's going to really help us on third down."

Witherspoon, who has played both middle and weakside linebacker during his career, had been playing on the weak side for the Rams this year, which is where most NFL scouts feel he's best-suited.

"He's probably a better WILL [weakside linebacker]," Heckert admitted. "But he's played a lot of MIKE [middle]."

The Rams weren't shopping Witherspoon. But when you're 0-6 and probably are going to stink for a couple of years, and the team is for sale, and you have a 29-year-old linebacker who is scheduled to earn $5 million in each of the next 2 years, well, you're willing to trade anybody.

"They didn't want to let him go," Heckert said. "But obviously there's a financial situation with him next year. They had to decide whether they were going to keep him or not keep him. And if they weren't going to keep him, they figured they might as well get something for him now since the season wasn't going the way they wanted it to."

The Eagles initially offered the Rams only draft picks for Witherspoon. But St. Louis wanted a young player.

"They weren't just going to give the guy away," Heckert said. "They wanted a player as well as a draft pick. We started throwing out names. They started asking about certain guys."

One of the guys they asked about was Gibson. The Rams' scouts had seen him in the preseason and liked his potential. So did the Eagles.

They were reluctant to include him in the deal. But their need for a cover linebacker took precedence over their need for a promising young receiver who probably wasn't ever going to play this season.

"Until we threw in Gibson, they weren't going to do it," Heckert said. "We thought it wasn't going to happen. Then the day of the [trade] deadline, we finally got it done."