Dealing with life without Westbrook
This is life without Brian Westbrook. This is what happens when you play without one of the great offensive weapons in the National Football League. This is what happens: you don't get into the end zone on four cracks from inside the 5-yard line.
Dealing with life without Westbrook
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
CHICAGO - "The scoreboard is frozen," referee Walt Coleman announced to the crowd at Soldier Field. It was early in the fourth quarter of a football game that would not end, a night when the quarterbacks wore bulls-eyes and the running games were useless and nothing for either team really went according to form.
It was more demolition derby than football, much more about mistakes than anything else. That the Eagles will always miss Brian Westbrook remains plain enough. That Bears quarterback Kyle Orton is still Kyle Orton is also fairly obvious.
But as it wound down, slowly, inexorably, it came to this: the Eagles, trailing by 24-20, about a half-yard away from the end zone with 3:40 left to play. Eagles coach Andy Reid called a timeout to put together a play. The field goal was decided against. This was it, a chance to salvage a bruising, difficult night.
I formation…calling signals…the give is to Correll Buckhalter, who took the ball and battered in behind the right side of the Eagles' offensive line and immediately met resistance.
It was close, but not really.
No gain. Chicago ball.
Bears 24, Eagles 20.
This is life without Brian Westbrook. This is what happens when you play without one of the great offensive weapons in the National Football League. This is what happens: you don't get into the end zone on four cracks from inside the 5-yard line.
Westbrook came out before the game and tested his ankle on the turf, tried to run a little, cut a little, and then huddled with coaches and team officials to make a decision.
When the decision was no-go, it changed everything.
There is no camouflaging a loss like Westbrook.
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I can go on and on about how brutal this Eagles' looss was, but it ranks up there. Chicago is not a good team, and to give away a game to Kyle Orton (WTF!?) when you get four turnovers is inexcusable. To have 2 or 3 shots at the end zone and not score is unacceptable. Why are NFL coaches morons? Why do you hand the ball off 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when you only need 1 yard? Why do you not let a 250 lb. QB sneak twice when you ony need a yard? Why do you run 3 yard routes on 3rd and 13? Why do you not blitz in the first half against Kyle Orton (WTF?!) when you sacked Ben Roethlisberger 8 times the week before? Why does your kicker miss 1 field goal (or more) per week? When will I run out of questions? Now.— 23- This is a great football team. 1 play call away from great tonight. 1 player-#36-way from great tonight. Lot of young talent. Year is far from over. Can't sleep I am so angry at AR, but it's too early to jump off the ledge.— gbeagles27
- why didn't Hunt cut back instead of outside?— Bake McBride
- Why haven't the Eagles looked for a new kicker yet? Akers has only made 3 field goals over 40 yards since last season. With most kickers regularly making field goals from 50 yards and beyond, Akers' inaccuracy is a huge liability and helped us to lose the game tonight.— deedee73
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- yes sniper you seem to be the only one with the right answer. mcnabb from the ONE. as for all you mcnabb haters grow up. it's not HIM it's the coach and there can be NO argument on this. reid will never sneak, i repeat NEVER sneak if the game is on the line because he made such a HUGE deal about it years ago when two games in a row he did the same thing as tonight and the same thing happened and the press took him to task, well a little bit, and he had to defend himself. ever since then he will NEVER sneak again, because he MIGHT be found out to be wrong and in doing so a fraud. he has a complete lack of self esteem and we have been paying for his attempt at bluster and self importance ever since. he is out coached in every game. and i for one am sick and tired of it. riedmustgo— riedmustgo
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- for all the years he has been here, done a great job on personnel and the like, he continues to ALWAYS be repeating the same line: "I'll have to a better job of putting them in position to make plays". Truly this man cannot get out of a very, very limited mindset of play callling, and denying the team any chance of making the most of what they have. What is wrong here? Doesn't he review his own play calling and see that time after time after time after time he has done the same, same, same, same - no imagination. Get some bigger backs for those goal line situations. This game was lost without one.— J D
- reggie brown is awful, he looks like the rookie and jackson the veteran. reid's playcalling is terrible, terrible. the play before ackers 50 yard misss, either playaction or run twice. it is obvious to everyone but reid ackers cannot make a kick over 40 yards— bens
- One thing you can say about Andy Reid, he is extremely predictable. That said, it's not difficult to understand why the Eagles could not punch it in with four tries inside the five yard line. Pathetic is an understatement with regard to the red zone play calling in this unnecessary loss. I don't want to hear about Westbrook not playing as a reason for the loss, you may as well just forefit the dam game. On the fourth and goal, a fake inside and McNabb could have walked in on a boot-leg. The Eagles knew all week that Westbrook probably would not play, yet no alterations to the offense? Reid and the Eagles will have a long season being predictable on offense, Westbrook or no. A loss to an inferior team is the primary reason why the Eagles dream about a Super Bowl win instead of realizing one. Innovate, compensate, and overcome. That's what Champions do!— empiricist
- Please, the Bears were missing key players too. It's not politically correct, however, To paraphrase Isiah Thomas, If McNabb were white, he'd be just another good guy.— Icacrai
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- I'm a life long Eagles fan and I have yet to figure out why such a cloud envelopes this sports franchise. The parts are interchangeable my friends. The results? The same. All of our other sports franchises have brought home the "Holy Grail" so to speak in my life time. I'm 46. But i don't know what it is about this team. I love 'em, God knows I do. But it seems that outside of our local fan base and people across the country and abroad that have ties to the city, we're {Eagles} it seems, one of the most hated and disrespected franchises in all of sports! Why is this?! The garbage you gotta take at the job, at the barber shop, in the grocery store, on web blogs, when they loose {Hell, even when they win!}. I'm sorry, but if i gotta see another idiot at my job, put a plastic bag on his head and inscribe "McNabb" on one side, and "sucks" on the other, while AR keeps making all that ribbing I gotta take warranted, I'm gonna choke somebody! And yes, Akers ain't right no more. And as hard as it is to type this, I feel this next statement is true: as long as Lurie owns this team, Andy will have a head coaching job. They'll both be old and in wheel chairs STILL doin their thing. In midnight green of course. Siiiigh. Tonight was just plain pathetic.— nafselgae1
