Moise Fokou

Moise Fokou will start at strongside linebacker this week for the Eagles if Chris Gocong can't go, and Gocong hasn't practiced, after suffering separate hamstring and quad injuries in Sunday's victory over the Giants. What does defensive coordinator Sean McDermott see in Fokou that makes him think the seventh-round rookie from Maryland, who has played mostly on special teams, is up to such a task, against a tricky, multifaceted Dallas offense? "He's the next guy in line, so he's got to be up to the task," McDermott said yesterday.

Round and round the Eagles' defense goes, where it stops nobody knows. With his cup of coins, Sean McDermott has fed the slots all season, mixing and matching players in the hope that he'll find the right combination and hit the jackpot. The defensive coordinator has struck on a few occasions ? the Eagles are in the playoffs, after all ? but McDermott's unit went tilt last week when the Cowboys gashed the defense early and cruised to a 24-0 win. McDermott has at least one more nickel, though.

The Eagles' off-season turned more curious when Sheldon Brown became the latest casualty in the team's "Benjamin Button" transformation. The veteran cornerback was dealt to the Cleveland Browns on Friday, along with linebacker Chris?Gocong, in exchange for two draft picks and 24-year-old linebacker Alex Hall. Moise Fokou supplanted Gocong in the lineup late last season, but Hall is expected to compete for the strongside linebacker job. But Hall, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, played sparingly in Cleveland and isn't seen as an upgrade or a solution to the Eagles' woes in covering tight ends.

With the Eagles, one should always consider what they do, not what they say. So when the team brought Jeremiah Trotter in for a workout on Thursday, the logical assumption was that the Eagles were not happy with their current options at middle linebacker. Still, as was the case two weeks ago with offensive tackle Jon Runyan, the Eagles worked out a former player only to not sign him - yet. "I haven't made any decisions on it one way or another, but I wanted to make sure that I had a pulse of where [Trotter]

Avoid the emotions 1 Everyone around the Eagles is playing the party line this week: He's just another opponent. Well, Brian Dawkins is more than that, and it's not hard to see why. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said Dawkins would be introduced before the game at Lincoln Financial Field. And Eagles fans will cheer wildly for a player from an opposing team like never before. There will be a charged atmosphere in the stadium. Here is one way to settle it all down: Score first. The Eagles have scored 51 points on first possessions this season and are 8-1 when they score on their first drive.

The Eagles' committee of linebackers has gained another member. Rookie Moise Fokou will be part of a rotation that could include all six linebackers when the Eagles host San Francisco tomorrow at Lincoln Financial Field, coach Andy Reid said yesterday. Fokou will play strong-side linebacker in the defense's basic scheme. Reid did not say, however, if Fokou had replaced starter Chris Gocong. "They're both good players," Reid said. "There is a chance both of them are on the field at the same time.

Jeremy Maclin will play Sunday against Denver with the torn plantar fascia in his left foot. And he said he doesn't expect to be hindered after missing last week's win against San Francisco. "It's already torn," Maclin said of the injury. "So it is what it is. " The injury will not require off-season surgery, Maclin said. Right now, the treatment is spending a lot of time in the trainer's room to undergo exercises designed to strengthen the foot. The rookie wide receiver said practice on Wednesday went well and he felt little effect from the injury a day after.

When Michael Vick was named the Eagles' recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award yesterday - a distinction he received in a vote by his teammates - it didn't take long for the selection to draw criticism. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal-rights organization, released a statement yesterday condemning the honor being given to Vick. PETA has been critical of the NFL and the Eagles since Vick was reinstated after serving 18 months for his role in a dogfighting operation.

Phase one is over. Phase two begins today. For the Eagles' eight draft picks and the nine rookie free agents invited to minicamp, the draft and the months of preparation it required are in the books. The next chapter, though, will be written starting with this weekend as each player begins the quest to make the team. For top picks Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy, a spot on the 53-man roster is a virtual lock. But for some of the late-round selections - of which the Eagles had many - there is no guarantee.

Andy Reid usually doesn't play most of his starters in the final preseason game. But some of the starters do play, and that can be a sign that they haven't locked up a starting job. The final preseason game will be Thursday against the New York Jets at the Meadowlands. Second-year players Quintin Demps and Joe Mays apparently haven't nailed down the starting free safety and middle linebacker spots. That's just fine with Demps. "I'm fighting to the end, baby - fighting to the end. I'm fighting after Carolina, after the Chiefs, after the Saints ? every week," Demps said, referring to the Eagles' first three opponents of the season.