PHILADELPHIA -- It's in his eyes. "When you get into the huddle, A.J.'s eyes just look clear - like he's got no fear," said Eagles wide receiver Todd Pinkston.

It's in his poise. "After a bad play, A.J. doesn't fall apart," said offensive coordinator Brad Childress.

It's in his character. "A.J. doesn't try to hide his personality," said tight end Chad Lewis. "Sometimes he gets so excited, we have to calm him down."

Of course, they are talking about A.J. Feeley, who has done what many in the NFL considered a laughable proposition just four weeks ago: Feeley, the third quarterback on the Eagles roster the last two years, has piloted Philadelphia (11-3) to three straight wins and kept the Eagles in the post position in the NFC playoff race.

	Feeley has thrown 2 touchdown passes in each of the past two games.

And as the Eagles prepare to play in Dallas (5-9) on Saturday night, Feeley's performance has also raised some not-so-rhetorical questions, sparking a not-so-quiet debate in this football-mad city: What happens when Koy Detmer and Donovan McNabb are healthy? Does Feeley automatically go back to the bench?

In the case of Detmer, who dislocated his left elbow four weeks ago on Monday night in San Francisco, Eagles head coach Andy Reid says the answer is simple: When Detmer is healthy, he starts. Curiously, Detmer has been healthy enough to become the holder for place kicker David Akers again, but not play quarterback. Hmmm …

The McNabb question is far more problematic. McNabb, who broke his right leg against Arizona on Nov. 17, has been very cryptic about when he will be ready to play. He still wears a cast and it's clear that he's out until at least the playoffs. If the Eagles win out, they will play their first postseason game on Jan. 12 -- eight weeks to the day from the injury that was initially diagnosed as taking 6-8 weeks to heal.

But is a playoff game -- with its higher level of intensity -- the right place to insert a quarterback who has been inactive for two months? And what if McNabb starts slow in that game, will Reid have the temerity to pull his franchise quarterback to save the run to the Super Bowl?

All of these questions have been shelved, for now. Feeley's performance has given Reid time and the luxury of ambiguity. And what Feeley has done has nothing to do with lucky bounces or the right guy being in the right place at the right time.

When you talk to his teammates and coaches, they all tell you the same thing: Adam Joshua Feeley is no fluke.

"He's real clear-eyed when he comes to the sideline," said Childress. "He's not overwhelmed by the situation like a lot of young quarterbacks. And he takes care of the football. He's not laying it on the ground. Not giving anybody a short field. He's not giving it away. He's content to say, 'it's okay to line up and punt the ball.' That sounds like a simple tenet, but you have to follow that."

In 3½ games, Feeley has thrown just two interceptions in 96 pass attempts -- unheard of for the backup to the backup, who was thrown right into the thick of the playoff chase in November and December.

A closer look reveals that Feeley hasn't hurt his team in another critical area. He's been sacked just five times. That's one sack for every 19 pass attempts. McNabb was sacked once for every 12 attempts.

Why the disparity? In McNabb's absence, the offensive line -- like the rest of the Eagles team -- seems to have risen to the occasion. But McNabb also had a propensity to hold the ball too long, waiting for the perfect throw.

Feeley is getting the ball out of his hands. If the first option is not open, he's quick to find the second and third progression of the pass play. How do we know this? With Feeley at quarterback, Lewis, most often the second read in the Eagles system, has seen more balls, and made more catches. In the last four games, Lewis has 13 catches, one touchdown. In the previous five games, he had just seven -- with no touchdowns.

	“	I love playing. It's been a while since I've had the feeling of being the guy. ”
		— Eagles QB A.J. Feeley

But Feeley is starting to see more pressure. Last week, the Redskins clearly tried to knock him out of the game. LaVar Arrington even slammed Feeley after Feeley handed off on a running play. The young quarterback was tested for a concussion after the game.

"After Arrington's hit, A.J. dusted himself off pretty good," said Childress. But what was even more impressive was how Feeley shook off throwing an interception on his first attempt and then an 0-for-eight streak which lasted over two drives in the second and third quarters.

The following drive, later in the third quarter, Feeley hit four of six pass attempts, including a touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman, who celebrated by giving the ball to his brother, Marine Staff Sgt. Clarence Freeman, who was home from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

"The way he bounced back from that bad streak really showed that he knows how to comport himself," said Childress, whose job handling Detmer and Feeley in McNabb's absence has got to land him on the very short list of eligible head coaching candidates in 2003.

Feeley showed that resiliency in his first start three weeks ago, at Veterans Stadium against a St. Louis Rams team which still had something to play for. Feeley missed on his first seven passes and had a half dozen others dropped. But in the second half, he stayed focused, finished strong and the Eagles won without scoring an offensive touchdown.

Feeley, a fifth-round selection out of Oregon last year, was actually released by the Eagles on Sept. 28 because Reid needed a roster spot due to a number of injuries to key players. For one 24-hour period, any team in the league could have signed Feeley before the Eagles put him on the practice squad. Feeley was returned to the active roster on Oct. 8.

Two months later, he's the quarterback of the hottest team in the NFC.

"I love playing," said Feeley. "It's been a while since I've had the feeling of being the guy." Don't forget, Feeley was injured in his junior year at Oregon. Joey Harrington replaced him. And when Feeley was healthy in his senior year, he sat behind Harrington, who was a Heisman finalist and the second quarterback taken in this year's draft. So, Feeley knows what it's like to lose a starting job to injury.

Now, Harrington is trying to come back from heart surgery and his Detroit Lions team is on life support. And Feeley has a chance to pilot the Eagles to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They need to two more wins, but they're remaining games are on the road -- at Dallas and at the Giants.

However, under Reid, the Eagles have the best road record in the NFL in the last three seasons -- 17-5 (.773 winning percentage). And that's primarily because of the Eagles defense, which has given up just 16.3 points per game. They are ranked second in the league to Tampa Bay in that category.

But without McNabb, the Eagles offense is holding it's own. Philadelphia is fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 27.2 points per game. But in Dallas on Saturday night, Feeley can expect more heat. Head Coach Dave Campo's job is on the line. The Cowboys are a desperate team likely to take desperate measures.

For now, it was Feeley last Sunday who put on the bright white baseball cap commemorating the Eagles second straight NFC East title. And it was Feeley who sounded an awful lot like a veteran of many NFL seasons when he said: "It's nice that the NFC East championship came by playing that last game, but we know there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. I'm sure after the season is completely over, we'll look back on it and celebrate then. For right now it just came with the wind."

The same could be said about A.J. Feeley.

Sal Paolantonio, who covers the NFL for ESPN, was a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1985-95.