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Who can rally Eagles' troops?

AS YOU WORK your way through the Eagles' locker room, it is easy to notice the void. The question you ask isn't complicated:

Asante Samuel is one of only three Eagles who has won a Super Bowl. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Asante Samuel is one of only three Eagles who has won a Super Bowl. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

AS YOU WORK your way through the Eagles' locker room, it is easy to notice the void.

The question you ask isn't complicated:

Now that your team is 3-6 and all but eliminated from the playoff race, who steps up?

With a season of such promise smashed against the rock, which players are going to pull this unit together and convince it that the last seven games matter, that the team has to keep pushing through?

And there is the problem.

You pass by the quarterbacks, the defensive backs, the wide receivers, the defensive linemen, the offensive linemen.

You don't even think about the linebackers.

Heck, with David Akers sent packing, you can't even get any insight from a kicker.

There are only a precious few players on this roster who know what it is like to be an NFL champion.

There are only a handful who know what it is like to overcome adversity on the professional level.

The Eagles are in a free fall and there is hardly anyone in this locker room with the credentials to rally the troops together.

As you read the names on the locker stalls, there are only two or three names you realistically feel like it's worth your time to ask the question of.

The quarterback isn't one of them. Neither are the diva wide receiver or the big-ticket free-agent cornerback.

Only three Eagles - defensive end Cullen Jenkins, cornerback Asante Samuel and wide receiver Steve Smith - have won a Super Bowl. Obviously, it was not with the Birds.

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is the only other Eagle to have played in a Super Bowl. Ironically, he was a rookie on the 2008 Arizona Cardinals team that beat the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.

That's it, just four players and three of them are new to the Eagles this season.

"We're sitting here 3-6, and I think that can bring a team together because you realize that the only people you have to lean on is each other," said right tackle Todd Herremans.

But who goes to the center of the circle?

For most of Andy Reid's tenure as coach, the Eagles had a guy like Troy Vincent, Hugh Douglas, Jeremiah Trotter or Brian Dawkins - someone who could grab hold of the team in adverse times and say, "Enough is enough. We may not win it all, but we are damn sure going to fight like men."

There is no obvious candidate on this squad.

Wide receiver Jason Avant tried after the Eagles dropped a fourth straight game against Buffalo when he called that players-only meeting.

It seemed to work for two games, but now the Eagles are back to their underachieving ways.

"We know the record," Avant said. "When you lose games, everyone is frustrated, especially when you are dealing with guys who don't know how to lose well. We have to get our heads together and come up with a formula to win games."

Despite the respect Avant gets in the locker room, he still is just the third receiver. Observations like that are better received when they come from players with a bit more stature.

Realistically, you'd like it to be Michael Vick. Quarterbacks are typically someone players rally around. But honestly, what has Vick done since he signed that $100 million contract?

Not only is Vick having a horrible season, he has no track record of being able to inspire a team to greatness. His poor play and interceptions make it difficult for him to be the guy to tell others they need to step it up.

Receiver DeSean Jackson, who certainly has the talent to have some clout, is too busy pouting about his contract. The best he can hope to do is not tear apart the locker room.

Despite his huge contract, free-agent corner Nnamdi Asomugha never played on a winning team during his eight seasons as an Oakland Raider. What's happening with the Eagles now is normal for him.

Who can convince this team that despite the bleak outlook, you have to keep fighting?

Maybe it's Jenkins.

A year ago, he was on a Green Bay team that needed to win its last two games just to get into the playoffs. The Packers then won three straight road playoff games and then the Super Bowl.

Obviously, the Eagles would be talking uncharted waters even for a miracle.

"You never give up," Jenkins said. "We've got six losses right now, and [if] we take care of business we can end the season with six losses. Before the New York Giants game last year, we [the Packers] were 8-6 and everybody knew in order for us to get in the playoffs we had to win. That was when our playoffs began.

"It's the attitude you have to have. It's the attitude we have to have now if we want to keep playing. We'll find out what people are about. When things are down like this, you can really test people to see if they will tank it or step up to the challenge."

smallwj@phillynews.com.

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