Chaney's pick was a good sign

EAGLES COACH Andy Reid traces Jamar Chaney's turnaround to Chaney's interception just before halftime of the team's most recent loss, Oct. 9 at Buffalo. That might have been when Juan Castillo's defense started to find traction, as well.

The Eagles, trailing 21-7 at the time, didn't turn the turnover into points; Michael Vick threw the ball out of the end zone as the final seconds ticked away, not drawing a dead-ball whistle, which would have allowed a final-second field goal before the clock showed zeroes. The defense then gave up an 80-yard touchdown drive on the Bills' first series of the third quarter. And the Birds didn't come back to win; they lost, 31-24, weighed down by a ridiculous five turnovers.

But after that initial drive of the second half, Buffalo managed only a field goal, set up by an Eagles turnover. The next week, Washington didn't score a touchdown until the fourth quarter. This past Sunday, the Cowboys narrowly averted being shut out, scoring their only points on a desperation, fourth-quarter pass, after the Eagles led 34-0.

Chaney was the Birds' leading tackler against Dallas, with six solos in a game in which the Cowboys ran only 49 plays. Afterward, Reid referenced Buffalo: "He made that interception and some of the things he was doing in there leadershipwise were important. I can almost use that interception as the point at which his game changed and he felt more comfortable in there. He's playing well."

Moving back to middle linebacker from the unfamiliar strongside spot after the second game of the season has helped Chaney, as well. He feels more comfortable leading, as the signal-caller of the defense. Defensive end Jason Babin said he started to say something in the huddle during the Dallas game, only to have Chaney tell him to shut up. "He said, 'This is my huddle!' " Babin recalled. "I was like, 'Whoa!' " On a defense that lacked people stepping up and taking charge earlier in the season, that was an important development.

"I think that suits me," Chaney said yesterday. "I like to be the leader of the defense. That's what I've always been, at Mississippi State, and in high school. I'm getting more comfortable each and every week."

Chaney agrees that he and the defense have been playing better since his pick in Buffalo, but "we always knew we were going to come along. It was just a matter of time. We've got a lot of new guys who are starters on defense. You have to get comfortable playing with each other, being able to trust each other and all that goes along with having a good defense. We're starting to do that now, but we've got to keep it up."

Chaney recalls that Buffalo "had got us for a touchdown" on the same play he saw developing as halftime neared. Chaney stepped in front of the receiver and picked off Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass.

This week, Chaney and the Eagles will again have to prove they can stop the run, after giving up a horrible average of 140 yards per game through the first five weeks. Chicago's Matt Forte, listed at 6-2, 218, ranks sixth in NFL rushing, four spots behind LeSean McCoy, with 672 yards on 124 carries. Forte also has caught an impressive 38 passes for 419 yards.

As it happens, Chaney and Forte are friends. They faced each other a couple times in college, when Forte played for Tulane, and have worked out together in the offseason.

"We just always kept in touch," Chaney said.

He said he isn't surprised to see Forte shouldering the load for the Bears.

"Right now, he's looking like, besides McCoy, the best running back in the league," Chaney said. "He's got size and speed. They did some of the same things at Tulane, spread him out and throw the ball to him a lot . . . they go as he goes. When you talk about the Bears, if you don't stop him, I don't think you have a chance of beating them."

The Eagles said yesterday that the Nov. 14 date they provided for fitting contracts under this year's cap is incorrect. The actual date is Nov. 7.