The fact is, no one has talked much about that group since. And that speaks volumes to how they are playing.
Steady if not overwhelming, the linebackers have used the help of a formidable defensive line to bear out the brass' decision to let Trotter go. The Eagles are allowing just 90.4 yards on the ground per game, a serious bump from the 136.4 they were gashed for a season ago.
Last week they held Minnesota's Adrian Peterson to just 70 yards on 20 carries, the 3.5 yards per carry his second fewest of the season.
But Spikes is right. Now things get interesting. The Cowboys, with Marion Barber and Julius Jones at running back and Jason Witten at tight end, will test the trio more than anyone else has this season.
Barber (84 carries) and Jones (78) run differently but equally effectively, racking up 775 yards between them.
And then there is Witten. He is not, both defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and Gocong admitted, a speed tight end like Jeremy Shockey. But he is big, smart and right now, Tony Romo's favorite target. Witten has 42 catches (eight more than T.O., presuming he's keeping score) for 540 yards.
"We really have to stop the run and stop Witten," Gocong said. "That's what linebackers do, so yeah, [Takeo] is right."
That Gocong, a converted defensive end, finally has a firm grasp on what linebackers do certainly goes a long way to helping the cause. As big a risk as it was to replace Trotter with the smaller and less experienced Gaither, it was an equally big gamble to opt for Gocong.
Gocong, out of Cal-Poly, came to the Eagles with 42 collegiate sacks . . . and no place to play. Moved to linebacker as a rookie, he was expected to play immediately but a stinger in the preseason landed him on injured
reserve.
