I had never heard this much anger in Andy Reid's voice.

It was Sunday afternoon, and all weekend on sports talk radio, on the streets and at the cheesesteaks counters of Philadelphia, Reid -- the head coach of Philly's beloved Eagles -- had been getting his brains beaten in.

	Most likely, any celebrating Jeremiah Trotter does next season will not be with the Eagles.

The reason: the Eagles' announcement late Friday afternoon that they were removing the franchise tag from Pro Bowl middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, the Eagles' leading tackler the past three seasons, effectively releasing him with no prospect of getting anything in return.

I myself was perplexed at this seemingly indefensible move. So, I called Reid to get the benefit of his thinking, and to find out what his team planned to do to replace the only Eagles player in team history voted to two Pro Bowls by the age of 25.

I reached Reid on his cell phone. He was at a conference at his church near where he lives in Villanova. But not even his house of worship could contain the near rage I could sense he was feeling -- both about how the negotiations with Trotter dragged on and then deteriorated, and how he was getting excoriated from Pennsauken to Pottstown about discarding one of the Eagles most popular players.

"I've gone through this before -- for taking Donovan (McNabb) in the draft to the wide receivers last year -- and the last time I looked we were five points from the Super Bowl last year," said Reid, who last season led the Eagles to their first NFC East title in 12 years.

The divorce between Trotter and the Eagles happened in a fit of anger late Friday afternoon.

For most of last week, Reid spent hours huddled with his scouting and pro personnel staff, going over the April 20 NFL draft, and, invariably, the subject of Trotter's status would bubble to the surface. Trotter had shunned the offer sheet, which would have guaranteed him $5.515 million this season, as prescribed by the franchise tag. He had not shown up for the off-season workout. And his agent, Jim Sexton, was still demanding a trade.

But history shows trades are tough to do in the NFL, especially if it's clear that the player and the team are at an impasse, as was the case here. On Friday, sources say, the Eagles made one last ditch attempt to work out a deal with Cleveland. The Browns would have received Trotter and wide receiver Todd Pinkston in exchange for Cleveland's wideout Kevin Johnson -- a teammate of McNabb's at Syracuse -- and a draft choice. The Browns said no.

And Reid emerged from the meeting Friday angrier than anybody in the organization can remember.

"I was done," Reid told me Sunday. "I had had it. He cooked his own goose."

The "he" Reid is referring to, of course, is Trotter. And within an hour of that meeting Friday, the Eagles had removed the franchise tag and Trotter was a free man.

Said one senior member of the Eagles organization, "This became personal between Reid and Trotter. Trotter was hanging a sign of disrespect out there in the Eagles locker room -- and Reid was saying, 'You know what, I run this ship, not you.' "

What happened between Trotter and Reid is similar to what happened between Reid's mentor, Mike Holmgren, and disgruntled wide receiver Joey Galloway in Seattle. But at least there, the long, acrimonious impasse resulted in the Seahawks getting two No.1 draft choices for Galloway from the Cowboys.

"Andy's a lot like Mike," said one NFC coach who knows both men. "You don't want to show them up. It's not pleasant."

		I respectfully pointed out to Reid that the Ravens had a Super Bowl championship to show for it, and that any Eagles fan would trade five seasons under the salary cap for one Lombardi Trophy -- maybe 10 seasons.

And there are many in the Eagles organization who believe this was a test of wills between Trotter and Reid. For two years, Trotter has said he deserved to be paid in the $6 million a year range -- that he was worth at least as much as Pro Bowl middle linebacker Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens. The Eagles, who have gotten high marks for managing the salary cap, said $4 million per season was Trotter's market value.

Reid tried to make the argument to me that teams that overpay for players wind up unraveling. Look at the Baltimore Ravens, Reid said.

"If I give Trotter what he wants, I may have to cut two or three players down the road, and I can't do that," said Reid.

I respectfully pointed out to Reid that the Ravens had a Super Bowl championship to show for it, and that any Eagles fan would trade five seasons under the salary cap for one Lombardi Trophy -- maybe 10 seasons.

So, now what happens? How do the Eagles replace a player voted by his peers as the defensive MVP in 2001?

"We'll be all right," said Reid.

The new middle linebacker will be reserve weakside linebacker Barry Gardner, who was drafted in the second round in 1999 to play middle linebacker, but couldn't beat Trotter for the job.

Gardner is not as big as Trotter and not as fierce a hitter. And Reid acknowledged that Gardner will come off the field in nickel situations, leaving newly acquired free agent outside linebacker Shawn Barber and veteran strong side linebacker Carlos Emmons to handle pass defense duties. Trotter rarely came off the field on third downs.

Gardner is considered a smart player, but what they lose in Trotter is a fiery leader, a great downhill middle linebacker who was perfectly suited for the attack style of defense designed by blitz-at-all-cost defensive coordinator Jimmy Johnson. Trotter, who skipped out of school to chop wood for his dad in Texas, walked as a man among men in the Eagles' locker room. It will be tough for Gardner to step into those shoes.

And Reid will have to suffer through a summer of discontent in Philly, much like what befell former owner Norman Braman when he allowed Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White to leave for Green Bay a decade ago.

Then, however, White was 31 years old, and there was a real debate about whether he was past his prime. Of course, he wasn't. Trotter is only 25. His best football might be ahead of him.

And one more thing -- when White left for the Packers, the Eagles were compensated with two first-round draft choices. When Trotter leaves town, the Eagles probably will get a compensatory third-round choice next spring, but in the meantime they will be left holding a well-managed salary cap.

And, as of a week ago, the Eagles were $5 million under the $71.7 million salary cap -- the most room under the cap of any of the playoff teams last season.