Trent Cole

CRAZY OL' Jim Washburn is gone, ridden off into a Tennessee sunset astride his rumbling hog, schematics for his nutty "wide-nine" defensive-line alignment stuffed into his saddlebags. If anyone should be happy that Andy Reid threw out the Wash, it is Trent Cole. He should supply the gas money. He should pay the tolls. In theory, the wide-nine should have cemented Cole as a superstar. Instead, its flawed premise - and the lack of an immovable defensive tackle - diminished Cole into insignificance.

IF THE EAGLES lost Michael Vick to injury in the offseason, the alarm would be deafening. The fringy residents of Eagle Nation would hyperventilate if LeSean McCoy tore a chest muscle lifting weights. If DeSean Jackson's right knee buckled at the beach, or if Trent Cole dislocated his shoulder falling out of a tree stand, or if those Pamplonan bulls outrun Jason Babin, the Bleeding Green might slit their wrists. There should be at least as much anxiety surrounding the absence of Jason Peters.

Jason Babin was asked to recount his first impression upon meeting Jim Washburn. The Titans defensive end gave a response that might have come from the sharp-tongued defensive-line coach who was hired by the Eagles on Wednesday. It is unprintable here. "He comes off as [a jerk]," said Babin, who was signed by Tennessee last off-season after the Eagles released him. "He was plenty hard on me in the beginning. But once you get past that, you really come to appreciate him. He might yell at you, he might curse you out, but he just wants to get the best out of you. " And the best of Babin he got. The former first-round draft pick, who bounced around four teams before landing in Nashville, racked up a career-high 121/2 sacks this past season and is headed to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

A day later, the reverberations from Jason Babin's release were still being felt at the NovaCare Complex, but perhaps nowhere as great as they were in the office of Jim Washburn. The defensive line coach was not pleased when the Eagles cut the veteran defensive end Tuesday, sources close to Washburn said Wednesday. Washburn was upset, according to one source, because he believed that Babin was a scapegoat for the deficiencies on the defense, especially on the line. The Eagles defense has gone into a tailspin since Todd Bowles replaced Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator.

Nobody had to say anything. Last week's 97-yard nightmare was still fresh in the minds of the Eagles' defenders when they took the field with about five minutes on the clock and a seven-point lead on the scoreboard. When third-team quarterback Brooks Bollinger opened Minnesota's last real drive with a 19-yard pass, Trent Cole knew he had to do something. On the next play, Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson got a handoff and took one decisive stride forward. "I saw on film that every time he takes one step forward and stops, he is going to go outside," Cole said.

The improvement was obvious, although it would have been difficult for the Eagles defense to get any worse after last week's 49-21 loss to Denver. After being scorched for 564 net yards against Denver, the Eagles' defense gained some redemption, even though the result didn't change during last night's 17-10 loss to the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The Eagles defense may have played well enough to win in the past, but not with the way the conservative offense was having trouble moving the ball.

* The defense's problems covering tight ends and running backs continued. One hundred fifty-four of the Niners' 291 receiving yards were by tight ends and backs. In the first four games, tight ends and running backs have caught 40 passes for 478 yards and six touchdowns against the Eagles. * For the fourth straight game, the Eagles failed to score on their opening drive. Last year, they did it seven times and were 7-0 in those games. * Jason Babin's three sacks were a career-high.

Here is an excerpt by Les Bowen that was posted yesterday on the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com :   Our usual tack, when the Eagles' season ends, is to start looking at potential free agents the team might sign, what positions should be targeted in the draft, who might or might not be brought back from the current roster, and so forth. All of that is pretty much impossible to do in a meaningful way right now because of what everyone assumes is a pending lockout.

Coach Andy Reid said his team didn't quit when it gave up a big lead two weeks ago, disputing an assertion put forward by 49ers running back Frank Gore after San Francisco rallied for a second-half victory. "They had a big win. They felt good about it. Guys say stuff. We've gotten after them pretty good over the years, and they got us, and guys will say things that they feel. But that's not how I feel," Reid said on his radio show on WIP (106-AM, 94.1-FM). He pointed to his team's second-half rally against the Bills as more evidence that the Eagles still have fight in them.

Dion Lewis was involved in a car accident that forced the Eagles running back to miss Sunday night's game against the Cowboys. The rookie was not seriously injured, the team said, but Lewis was shaken up enough that the Eagles decided not to dress him. Ronnie Brown , who returned to the Eagles two weeks after a trade with the Lions was voided, took Lewis' place returning kicks. Lewis was at Lincoln Financial Field but watched the game from the sideline in street clothes.