LACING UP SPIKES

PHOENIX - While Eagles fans have spent much of the offseason fretting over the state of the team's linebacking corps, the big cigars at One NovaCare Way have insisted there really was nothing wrong with the unit that a fresh coat of paint and a few less pounds on Jeremiah Trotter wouldn't solve.

But it's been clear for a while now that they didn't really believe that. They've had questions about their linebackers since the season ended. Questions about 2006 third-round pick Chris Gocong's ability to make the jump from college defensive end to NFL strongside linebacker. Questions about just how much gas Trotter has left in his tank in the middle.

It's those questions that prompted them to make an unsuccessful run at free-agent linebacker Ryan Fowler a few weeks back. And it's those questions that were behind yesterday's acquisition of Takeo Spikes from the Buffalo Bills.

The Eagles acquired Spikes and backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb from the Bills in exchange for defensive tackle Darwin Walker and a conditional, late-round draft pick in 2008.

The price was hard to beat. With last week's signing of Montae Reagor, Walker was expected to be the odd man out of a four-man tackle rotation that is expected to include Reagor, Mike Patterson, Brodrick Bunkley and either LaJuan Ramsey or Sam Rayburn.

Spikes, 30, broke into the NFL as a Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Auburn in 1998, after his junior year at Auburn. He went to Buffalo as a free agent in 2003 and posted two Pro Bowl seasons before he missed most of 2005 with a torn Achilles' tendon. He played in 12 games for the Bills last year, including 11 starts on the strong side. He sat out Games 2 through 5 with a hamstring injury.

"Any time you can add a player like Spikes, you owe it to yourself to do it," Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. "He's a really good player."

"They're getting a guy who is a great person off the field and a leader on the field," said Spikes' agent, Todd France. "Someone who will bring another level of intensity and commitment to their defense."

Spikes, who has 2 years left on the 6-year deal he signed with the Bills, doesn't fit the profile of the kind of player the Eagles usually go after. There's his age. There's the fact that he's less than 2 years removed from a major injury. And there's the fact that he's fairly expensive. Spikes is scheduled to make $4.6 million next season.

But the Eagles know they can't go into another season with Dhani Jones as their strongside linebacker. And they know they have to get better play in the middle, either from a lighter, playing-fewer-snaps Trotter or someone else, possibly second-year man Omar Gaither or possibly the 6-2, 242-pound Spikes, who could move inside if the Eagles believe Gocong can replace Jones at SAM. Before his Achilles' injury, Spikes played on the weak side for the Bills.

"The nice part with him is he can play all three [linebacker] positions," Heckert said.

Heckert said the Eagles still aren't sure where Spikes will play next season. But he knows they must make a tentative decision relatively soon.

The Eagles drafted Gocong last year with the idea of turning him into a strongside linebacker. But he struggled at the position, then injured his neck in training camp and spent the year on injured reserve.

"It's still too early to tell with him," Heckert said. "We've got to find that out. We felt he could make the jump when we drafted him and we still feel that way. We'll see what happens. He's going to be a good football player wherever he plays."

Heckert believes Spikes still has a lot of productive football left in him, particularly as he puts more distance between himself and the Achilles' injury. According to scouts, he played his best football in the final four or five games last season. He notched 12 tackles in Buffalo's final game, a 19-7 loss to Baltimore.

"[An Achilles' injury] is a pretty big injury for a guy who runs," Heckert said. "It usually takes 2 years for a guy to come all the way back from it. By the end of last season, he was playing like he was before he got hurt."

"The first year back from an injury is always a question mark," France said. "You don't worry how they start the season. You worry about how they finish."

Spikes, whose nickname is "TKO," was not happy with the direction the Bills were going with their defense and asked to be traded earlier in the offseason. He was upset when the Bills let two of its best defensive players - cornerback Nate Clements and linebacker London Fletcher-Baker - leave via free agency.

The inclusion of Holcomb in the deal is a bit of a surprise, since the Eagles already have committed to A.J. Feeley as Donovan McNabb's backup. They figured to add a third quarterback in the draft. But when the Bills offered to throw him into the deal, they accepted.

Holcomb, who is scheduled to earn $1.4 million next season, has made 21 career starts, including eight in 2005 when he finished with an 85.6 passer rating for the Bills.

"Kelly is a veteran guy who has some made some starts in this league," Heckert said. "We had two quarterbacks. We knew we were going to need a third one. Kelly's a lot more ready to play if he had to than anybody we would have taken in the draft."

While the Eagles expect McNabb to be ready for training camp, the addition of Holcomb as the No. 3 quarterback gives them a little more insurance at the position in case McNabb's recovery from a torn ACL hits a snag or he gets injured again during the season. *

Daily News sports writer Les Bowen contributed to this report.