Newest Eagles say they're ready to play - and make the playoffs

Linebacker Takeo Spikes wanted to make one thing clear during his first news conference after Buffalo traded him to the Eagles: He is not damaged goods.

Spikes, acquired Monday with quarterback Kelly Holcomb for defensive tackle Darwin Walker and a conditional draft pick, suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in the third game of the 2005 season.

He returned for the Bills' opening day last season against New England and suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the next four games.

The 30-year-old Spikes then played the rest of the season. He recorded 76 tackles in 12 games and says the injury concerns are history.

"I am 100 percent, and I think the Philadelphia organization realized that just by taking their time to grade me out, comparing from the first game [of 2006] all the way through to the last game of the year," Spikes said last night during the news conference at the NovaCare Complex. "So I feel good, and I'm looking forward to this opportunity, and I'm just ready."

Spikes said he has been 100 percent since the latter part of the 2006 season.

A scout for an NFL team said yesterday that his organization still rated Spikes highly.

"At the end of last year, we had him rated as a pretty good player," said the scout, who requested anonymity. "When healthy, this is a player with good size and playmaking ability against the run and pass."

Spikes said doctors told him he would feel better a year after he started his rehabilitation from the injury in February 2006.

"I can definitely tell a big difference, very big," Spikes said. "I started my workouts back already, so everything's good."

The 6-foot-2, 242-pound Spikes spent his first five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before signing with Buffalo as a free agent in 2003, the first of his two consecutive Pro Bowl seasons.

If healthy, Spikes will significantly upgrade a position in dire need of improvement.

Last season, the Eagles got a total of 3.5 sacks from their outside linebackers - Dhani Jones at strong side, and Matt McCoy and then Omar Gaither at weak side.

Spikes is known as a playmaker, especially in the 2004 season when he had 111 tackles, three sacks, five interceptions and four forced fumbles.

He said he had told Eagles coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson that he would play any of the three linebacker positions. Spikes said his natural position is outside linebacker. When pressed, he said the weak side was where he has enjoyed the most success.

"Looking back in history and seeing where I made my money and made all the plays and where I feel most comfortable is the Will [weak-side] linebacker position," Spikes said.

He hopes that his arrival in Philadelphia will end a dubious streak. Spikes has played the most regular-season games of any current NFL player (126) without appearing in the postseason.

Is he jealous over seeing so many friends compete in the playoffs?

"Yes," Spikes said.

The 33-year-old Holcomb did not play a down last year for Buffalo and has not thrown a pass in five of his 11 seasons in the NFL. With Donovan McNabb and A.J. Feeley, Holcomb gives the Eagles veteran insurance. He said he had not been told whether he will compete for the second or third quarterback spot.

"I'm not worried about that," he said. "Competition is what this league is all about."

Both Holcomb, who played in one playoff game in 2002 with Cleveland, and Spikes are excited to be with a team that has qualified for the postseason six of the last seven years.

"I feel rejuvenated," Spikes said. " . . . It's new life."