Every day we've dug a little deeper to find out some nuggets regarding the names you'll need to know when you cheer on this year's version of the Philadelphia Eagles. Today, we'll look at one of the league's best defensive ends in Trent Cole. The 6-3, 270-pound Cole earned his second career Pro Bowl berth and first All-Pro nod last season after he tied a career high with 12.5 sacks (2007), which was the sixth-highest total in the NFL and the fourth-highest among 4-3 ends. One for consistency, Cole didn't need to rack up a lot of his sacks in a single game. He had at least a half-sack in 11 of the team's 16 regular season games. Here are some more nuggets about Cole.
1. On this July 4th holiday, it's fitting that Cole is a staunch defender of the Second Amendment of the Constitution, the right to bear arms. Cole owns and operates Cole Outdoor Productions (ColeOutdoors.com), a hunting video production company that he formed with his closest hunting buddies. The videos are geared towards hunting enthusiasts and work to bring the reality back into the hunting video world. Cole is also the host of a show on the Pursuit Channel called "Blitz TV." Said Cole, "The purpose of this show is to display my passion for the outdoors and bring the reality of the outdoors into people's homes. It's also a good opportunity to see a professional athlete's life with friends and family both on and off the field."
Tune in Mondays (4:30 PM), Thursdays (7:30 PM) and Sundays (1 AM) to watch. It's on channel 608 on DirecTV.
2. Since 2006, only two players - DeMarcus Ware (56.5) and Jared Allen (52) - have more sacks than Cole (42). In just five seasons, Cole is fifth on the Eagles' all-time list with 47 career sacks. With another double-digit sack season, Cole will move up into third place. He still has a way to go before he catches Reggie White (124) and Clyde Simmons (76.5), who are first and second, respectively, in team history. With 12 career multi-sack games, Cole is tied for third on the Eagles' all-time list with Hugh Douglas and behind just White (38) and Simmons (21).
3. Raised in Xenia, Ohio, living in Philadelphia has been quite a change, but a good one for Cole, a fifth-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. "The fans are who I play for. They make it fun for me. I love when the city gets hyped up for a big game all week long. I look forward to those games. As for Philly, there's always something to do, seven days a week. People like to have a good time. You can be at the mall in minutes or at the beach in an hour." Here's one more thing - Cole's pre-game ritual is shaving all of the hair off of his head the night before a game.
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 2:00 p.m., July 4
