Brian Dawkins

Join the conversation after every Eagles game with the Daily News. Send reactions by email to dnsports@phillynews.com ; use the hashtag #eaglesaftermath on Twitter, or visit the Eagletarian Facebook page and leave a comment on our wall. A sampling after Sunday night's win over the Giants: I like the way that everyone on defense seemed to fight for a chance to make the tackle. That's what the good defenses do. I just hope the Eagles do not turn around and flop like they did after winning the Dallas game.

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.

Two of the greatest defensive minds in Eagles history were inducted into the team's Honor Roll during halftime of Sunday night's game against the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. One was a coach, the other was a player, but both made their marks during two of the greatest eras in the franchise's recent past. Jim Johnson was the Eagles' mad scientist defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2008. His signature defense was an aggressive, blitzing one that almost never was reckless.

Here are some observations and ruminations about the Eagles' victory over the Redskins:   LANDOVER, Md. - It took six games, but the Eagles defense had its first big hit of the season when cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha clobbered Redskins tight end Chris Cooley after Cooley caught a screen pass. All season long, the defense has lacked the intimidation factor. But Asomugha brought it on that play. Cooley went to the locker room and returned to the game briefly before leaving for good with a hand injury.

"Leadership is a three-run homer in the ninth inning. "   - Casey Stengel   THE 1998 EAGLES featured these players: Brian Dawkins and Hugh Douglas, Irving Fryar and Ike Reese, Duce Staley and Jeremiah Trotter, Kevin Turner and Troy Vincent, Mike Caldwell and Michael Zordich. They did not lack for personality, or backbone. They were not short on players who would get in a teammate's face if he felt the situation called for it. Leadership, character, we all are familiar with the shorthand - and these guys had it. And there were a lot of them.

On offense, it's obvious who's in charge: This is Michael Vick's team. But when the Eagles defense is on the field, the leadership picture is less clear in the early days of the 2011 season. Ask members of the defense who sets the tone for their group, and each rattles off a series of names. Sometimes the lists match up, sometimes not. In other words, no one person serves as the driving personality of this Eagles defense, at least not yet. No one player's style has become synonymous with the group as a whole.

FIRST, IN JULY, Vince Young painted a bull's-eye on the Eagles' back with his "Dream Team" comment. Then, last month, Michael Vick lacquered the target after signing his $100 million deal, with his Super Bowl or Bust declaration. Nine hundred miles away, new Rams safety Quintin Mikell cringed. And smiled. Mikell remains attached to Philadelphia, where he developed over the past 8 years before leaving via free agency for 4 years and $28 million. But nothing Mikell could say this weekend could better fire up his new team to beat the old one when they meet Sunday.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Here's the easy part. DeSean Jackson has been underpaid and deserves a substantial raise before he plays another NFL game. Everyone from Jackson to agent Drew Rosenhaus to Andy Reid to Joe Banner would agree on that point. The not-so-easy part is figuring out just how substantial that raise should be. Jackson is tough to place a value on, because he doesn't compare easily to other wide receivers. His unique skill set, the way he contributes beyond what his statistics show, his small stature and his history of concussions create a complicated formula.

The NFL draft weekend is a time for entrances both grand and quiet. On the first night, the phone rings, the television lights go on, the players ascend the stage in Radio City Music Hall, and the path to professional football is wide open. By the third day, the phone calls are taken on the living room couch, but the players are just as excited to receive the news. Some team somewhere liked them and they are on their way, ready to prove they belong. "It's a dream come true," linebacker Casey Matthews said Saturday afternoon after the Eagles took him with the 19th pick of the fourth round.