Quintin Mikell

The St. Louis Rams have signed veteran free agent safety Quintin Mikell, the team announced Friday. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

3 Eagles named second-team All-Pro. Left tackle Jason Peters, Kicker David Akers and Safety Quintin Mikell were named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press today.

If how the Eagles offense played on Sunday night against the Giants is to be termed a “struggle,” then let Michael Vick and Co. have a few more games just like that. The Eagles, after all, rolled up 392 total net yards, scored 27 points and controlled the football for more than 34 minutes in the victory over New York.

“I’ll tell you this. I’m not going to worry about a fine. I’m not going to play dirty, but I’m going to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

Resolute, and with a bit of bravado, Eagles safety Quintin Mikell swore his game would not change after teammate Ernie Sims was fined $50,000 for a hit in Game 7.

Then, Mikell lost his legs.

The play that got all of the highlights, and one that carved out a 14-point lead for the Eagles early in the fourth quarter came when Brandon Graham pressured 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, rolling to his left, and Smith fumbled the football, just plain lost it, and Quintin Mikell was there to scoop up the ball and return it 52 yards to rip the heart right out of the winless 49ers.

Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott didn’t have a lot of complicated solutions for the Eagles run defense problems. He simply said the boys have to show up ready to play on the first play of the game until the last one, as well as get off blocks quicker and tackle better.

Staying at home will be the key for the Eagles defensive ends, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties this week.  If rookie safety Nate Allen gets nosy on a run fake, Donovan McNabb will get the chance to throw a touchdown pass in Lincoln Financial Field in a Washington Redskins jersey. I talked to Allen and he [...]

Those were gargantuan guarantees. What Quintin Mikell provided Thursday was a simple promise. A promise that the Eagles’ defense, which has allowed a league-high 59 points in the first two weeks, is going to get better.

The fans fixated on the quarterback position, the star power of Michael Vick and the injured status of Kevin Kolb. It is the ideal water cooler chatter and it set the stage for the Eagles-Lions game. But now that the Eagles are here, in the final stages of prep time for Detroit, the reality is this: The Eagles have to win. Plain and simple, they have to win.

“This will be a great measuring stick,” said Pro Bowl end Trent Cole. “It’ll let us see just where we are as a defense.”