Paul Domowitch: Witherspoon seems to be real deal for Eagles

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."

NFL Players Association boss DeMaurice Smith said he will do everything in his power to get a new labor agreement done by next March and avoid an uncapped year in 2010.

"It does seem to me that if we don't have a deal by mid-January, that the right thing to do at that point is to commit ourselves - both the union and the NFL - to 5 days of concentrated meetings where we promise ourselves that we will emerge with a deal," he said. "I can only assure all our fans, as I've assured our players, that we will do everything to make sure we have a deal before the uncapped year. I just need a little help from the other side."

Smith termed the union's last negotiating session with the league as "good." Said Smith: We got some firm proposals. We responded to those proposals. I think that is a very good process when we could trade proposals, respond to them and move forward. I'm hopeful that we are able to do that [again] in the near future."

FROM THE LIP:

* "That's just not who we are and not what we believe. It's not how he was raised. It's tough for me as a father." - Larry Johnson Sr. on his son, Chiefs running back Larry Johnson Jr., using gay slurs in public twice in 24 hours

* "I mean they're pathetic to be honest. For myself, it's very, very frustrating. I hear a lot of people saying I've hit the wall, I can't play any more, this and that. I mean, I know I can [still] play.'' - Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has just 18 catches for 242 yards and one touchdown in seven games, the slowest start of his 14-year career

* "We're winning. Winning cures all. If I was still up north [in Detroit], and I had the game I had last Sunday, we'd have lost 56-3. but we have such a good football team that even though I played like crap, we had other guys step up, and it was a big team win for us." - Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams after catching just one pass in Sunday's win over Atlanta

* "We have to look at everybody and look at everything. I have to look at myself. We have to get better day by day and week to week. It's about improving each game and it's one game at a time, one day at a time.'' - Redskins vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato on his team's 2-5 start

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Seven weeks into the season, there still are seven quarterbacks with 100-plus passer ratings, including West Chester native Matt Schaub. The Texans quarterback has a 104.4 rating. Schaub has been incredible on the road, averaging 373 yards a game. He has 10 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in three road games.

* The Eagles' seven turnovers are the sixth fewest in the league. The five teams with fewer are the Packers, Patriots, Broncos, Vikings and Colts. Their combined record: 27-5.

* Panthers QB Jake Delhomme has thrown four TD passes and a league-high 13 interceptions already this season. Of his 13 picks, two have been returned for touchdowns and five more have led to TDs.

* There currently are seven 40-something players in the NFL. The lucky seven: Saints placekicker John Carney (45), Giants punter Jeff Feagles (43), Texans punter Matt Turk (41), Colts placekicker Matt Stover (41), Patriots linebacker Junior Seau (40), Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (40) and Panthers placekicker John Kasay (40).

* Cowboys WR Miles Austin has 421 receiving yards in his last two games. That broke Lance Rentzel's 42-year-old team record for most receiving yards in consecutive games (368).

THUMBS DOWN:

* To the House Judiciary Committee, which felt the need this week to give its 2 cents on the issue of football-related concussions and their link to long-term brain injuries.

They invited NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to Capitol Hill and grilled him about recent studies that indicate NFL players are much more likely to suffer memory-loss afflictions than the average Joe.

"The NFL sort of has this blanket denial or minimizing of the fact that there may be this link [between head trauma and long-term brain damage]," said Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.). "And it sort of reminds me of the tobacco companies in the pre-90s when they kept saying, 'Oh, there's no link between smoking and damage to your health.' "

Of course, her comments ignore the fact that one of the studies that shows NFL players are at greater risk for long-term brain injuries was commissioned by the league.

The NFL never has denied a possible link between concussions and long-term brain injuries. What it has said, and what it will continue to say to avoid being sued by every former NFL player who ever forgot where he put his car keys, is that football-related concussions aren't the only possible reason for brain damage.

Only an idiot wouldn't realize that if you took enough repeated blows to the head, there's a better-than-not chance bad things are eventually going to happen to your brain. Despite that risk, though, there isn't a player in the league - not one - who will tell you right now that, on second thought, maybe he should've gone out for the tennis team in high school.

"It's just the nature of the game," 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes said of concussions. "I've always looked upon us as modern-day gladiators. And nobody wants to back down from contact on the field."

1. Colts 6-0

2. Saints 6-0

3. Broncos 6-0

4. Vikings 6-1

5. Patriots 5-2

6. Giants 5-2

7. Steelers 5-2

8. Packers 4-2

9. Falcons 4-2

10. Bengals 5-2

11. Ravens 3-3

12. Eagles 4-2

13. Jets 4-3

14. Chargers 3-3

15. Texans 4-3

16. Cowboys 4-2

17. Cardinals 4-2

18. Dolphins 2-4

19. Bears 3-3

20. Niners 3-3

21. Bills 3-4

22. Jaguars 3-3

23. Panthers 2-4

24. Seahawks 2-4

25. Raiders 2-5

26. Lions 1-5

27. Chiefs 1-6

28. Titans 0-6

29. Redskins 2-5

30. Browns 1-6

31. Bucs 0-7

32. Rams 0-7