The upside on Westbrook
That is, at least the timing of the surgery is good.
The upside on Westbrook
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Glass half-full time on Brian Westbrook.
It's bad that he needs to have bone spurs in his ankle cleaned out. But the timing is good. That is where you have to begin.
So what if he misses training camp? Honestly, in his case, training camp is just another place where Westbrook can get hurt. (And don't even mention these OTAs.) It is becoming clearer by the year, and by the day, that the truism about running backs is especially true about this guy; that is, that there are a limited number of carries in any NFL running back's body, and that Westbrook likely can see the end someplace on the horizon.
He does not need anything more than minimal practice time, as has been proven over the last couple of years. He's always in shape, so that isn't a significant issue and isn't likely to be one. The ideal is to get him on the field, full strength, for 16 Sundays. If this helps -- and, as a byproduct, a summer off of the practice field also helps -- then that's fine.
The other thing this does is give Shady McCoy everybody's undivided attention. The thought all along was that the second-round draft choice was the linchpin of the 2009 draft, and this is even more true today. He will get tons of practice reps. He will be given every opportunity to prove to himself and the coaches that he can pick up blitzes and otherwise handle the pass-protection load that is an essential facet of the position he plays. Westbrook receives little credit for how good he is at that part of the game -- but his ability to block makes a lot of other things go.
So McCoy will get the work and Westbrook will get the rest -- which is to say, while not ideal, this isn't all bad.
Your's is a very optimistic take on the circumstances. I agree that we are fortunate that Westbrook will have surgery, which will improve his injured ankle, in time to start the season, but isn't durability our concern. Westbrook needed two surgeries on his legs this off-season. How much longer until his next surgery? When will he reach a point where his knees can't be improved by surgical procedures?— tgray83
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- YouAreAdonkey...you must be really living into your name. Why are you pumping up the Phillies on an Eagles site? You are what you say you are!
- I am sure the Patriots thought that they had an obvious win when they played the Giants in the Super Bowl 2 years ago. How did that turn out?— ESFjellin
- Hey "Donkey" (fitting name by the way) We are "Philly" fans dude, and last I looked we have representatives in all 4 of the main majorleague sports, therefor we follow all of them all of the time, yes, we may get down on them when they aren't doing well and not playing up to where we think they should but they are "our" teams and always will be, so go spout off over on NY's web-site or some other non-philly place, seeya whinner!!!— FireChief
- Sick of #36....has not performed since he signed the new contract. Stealing money from the Eagles....return some of the money you did not earn last year!!! Another example of why Sheldon Brown should not get one extra penny until his contract is up.— Bates
- Sick of #36....has not performed since he signed the new contract. Stealing money from the Eagles....return some of the money you did not earn last year!!! Another example of why Sheldon Brown should not get one extra penny until his contract is up.— Bates
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Last time I checked E. James still hadn't signed with anyone. I'm not sure how willing he would be to come here, but he would certainly make a nice insurance policy if we could convince him.— jb420
- G Cobb suggested they don't run the ball with BWest and allow him to be 100% healthy for the playoffs. Lets bring in the Edge and split carries between the 3 RBs.— EaglesFlyersPhilsSixers
- Keep him out of contact....He is a vet....camp is important for rookies and 1st and 2nd year players..."QB"s and their receivers ...everybody else just gets beat up and and it will get worse when the league goes to 18 games....and for goodness sakes get another running back...we have money and if Brian goes down...who will spell McCoy— nuggett
- Westbrook will be fine and able to answer the bell. I know that no one else is Philly believes in Booker, but I'm telling you he can do most, if not all, of the things Westbrook can do, if given the chance. McCoy is here to take that work load off of Westbrook, he just has to learn the offense. Oh, and Westbrooks numbers were off last year because the O-Line COULD NOT RUN BLOCK. That (I hope) has been fixed. Also, come late (cut time) August, there will be some insurance running back available. Always have been, always will be.— craig123
- Judging by lack of run success,(I hadn't seen so many off tackle no gain plays since deuce) we need to have a backup plan, we cant let rb go unattended like pr and goalline. I have full confidence that the FO will address this issue, they havent made a mistake ....yet— Onlineps2beast
