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.
agreed donkey, who cares. is it fun to just whine about a team 24/7? go watch the phils. real champions who know how to get it done when it matters. and have one of the nastiest lineups in all of baseball— MPatt24
Gentlemen - Training camp is very important for Brian, simply to get use to all the changes in the O-Line. Those reps cannot be duplicated during the season - but no need to play him in the pre-season games— mrdip- Is there any RB out there aside from Deuce, the guy from Az. that could at least carry the ball in training? Surely an undrafted RB could be fodder or could Edge actually be a replacement for a while? The Eagles cannot depend on Westbrook simply recovering and cutting and turning on a pin. It will not happen. Not at his age. And Booker, well is a bookend to nothing.— KGKoons
- Quit worrying B-west will be fine. Plus since Denver has like 18 RB's in camp and some other ridiculous salaries (cough...Dawk)we will probably have Buck back before the season starts.— Viewkeeper
- Quit worrying B-west will be fine. Plus since Denver has like 18 RB's in camp and some other ridiculous salaries (cough...Dawk)we will probably have Buck back before the season starts.— Viewkeeper
- this is shaping up to be just like last year for him...not a good sign. hopefully he will recover but....— rizbik
Comment removed.- Keep in mind - Westbrook didn't have major reconstruction done - he had bone spurs removed. From what I've heard, there was no actual damage to the ankle. He'll be fine. All the same, I agree with limiting his camp and preseason reps. He's shown the last few years that he doesn't need to practice during the season to be good in the games.— uncle meat
- ACBaughman, at this point the Eagles no longer have the luxury of having obvious wins. Remember this is the same team that tied the Cincinatti Bengals last year after everyone thought that was a "guaranteed win."— muda345
- @youareadonkey, look man just because our teams arent the greatest right now, doesn't mean we give up. I'm sorry if your a band wagon jumper. But us Iggles fans are true to the end. When they do bad, we let them know, when they are great, we let them know. That goes for any Philly team. Go PHILLY!— tommyd18610
- Comment removed.
- Mikey. Touche. I meant during games that have been all but put away.
- Comment removed.
- BOOKER WILL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING HAHAHHAHAHAA— dsh129
- If you look at the stats of NFL running backs from age 30 and on, there is a dramatic decrease in production once an NFL back hits 30. There haven't been many RBs that could stay productive past age 30. So I'd rather have Westbrook be hurt and need surgery now than during the season. I think it definitely hurts the timing and chemistry of the offense when he can't practice but that is MUCH less than the harm to the offense when he can't play or he's severely limited in a game due to injury.— JimG
