THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Remember Darren Howard?
The Eagles' big off-season signing from 2006 has been pretty quiet in his first two seasons in Philadelphia. He started 16 games at defensive end in 2006 but faded late in the year and finished with five sacks. He was a backup last season, and registered just one sack.
But two days into training camp, Howard is making an impact, according to defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.
"He's in the best shape I've seen since he's been here," Johnson said after today's morning session at Lehigh. "His weight's down. He's healthy. He's a player who is in much better shape and had a great off-season. He looks quicker to me."
Other items of note from the morning session:
Safety Sean Considine had a good practice, and registered a big hit on fullback Jason Davis.
Running back Brian Westbrook broke a nifty 45-yard TD run when the No. 1 offense was working against the No. 2 defense in a live scrimmage.
Tight ends L.J. Smith, Brent Celek and Kris Wilson had the dropsies.
Coach Andy Reid during a break in a live scrimage: "It's not a pillow fight. Let's go!"
First it was incorrectly speculated that Shawn Andrews was absent from training camp because of a contract situation and now it's been speculated that it's a contact situation.
Marty Mornhinweg didn't talk long following this morning's indoor practice at Lehigh University, but the Eagles' offensive coordinator actually said a lot.
The man who calls the plays for the offense wisely adopted the role of good cop in the contract case of Westbrook vs. the Eagles that figures to play out at least for a few more days.
"I still think he's underrated even though he made the Pro Bowl," Mornhinweg said. "I think he's vastly underrated. I think he's a great player for us, and I think he's even more valuable for us. He does many things and he does them all very well. He's a dynamite player."
The underrated part is absolutely right. If LaDainian Tomlinson or Terrell Owens was involved in something like this, the ESPN cameras would have started camping out at Lehigh University days ago and the national media would be invading the area, too. Not so much with Westbrook.
Like almost everyone else, Mornhinweg expects Westbrook to report to training camp today. Veterans must arrive in time for coach Andy Reid's 7 p.m. team meeting. The running back did officially hire agent Todd France, who filed the necessary paperwork with the NFL players association.
Mornhinweg was asked if he thought Westbrook would be happy upon his arrival. It was a question about the contract situation, but the offensive coordinator's answer pertained to the running back's role in the offense.
"It's not about happy, it's about winning games," Mornhinweg said. "I don't care who's happy or not and our players know that. Our players don't care. Brian knows. Brian understands. Brian knows that we'll do whatever it takes to win the next ball game, so that's the way we approach things."
Interestingly, Mornhinweg thought he might have called Westbrook's number a little too often last season.
"I thought there were several times that we had to overuse Brian just a little bit," Mornhinweg said. "Brian's a big weapon, but too much is just about not enough."
Too much is just about enough? Sounds like a title for some band's future CD.
"We'll try to do the right thing there with Brian," Mornhinweg said.
The offensive coordinator was talking about the offense. The running back has a diferent idea about the right thing for the Eagles to do right now with Brian.
"There's always distractions," Mornhinweg said, downplaying the Westbrook contract squabble. "Some adversity is pretty good because you're going to have adversity through the season and you have to overcome those things. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of adversity."
All right then, let the adversity begin. Or is that continue?
Brian Westbrook, the most lethal weapon on the Eagles' offense, shares more than a first name with Brian Urlacher, the force in the middle of the Chicago Bears' defense.
The two men also share the opinion that they outperformed long-term contracts they signed a few years ago and were deserving of more money. Urlacher, who signed a nine-year, $56.65 million deal in 2003, told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun Times that he learned his lesson about long-term deals. The nice thing for Urlacher is he still got paid for it because the Bears gave him a one-year, $18 million extension Tuesday, which will allow him to earn $40.6 million over the next five seasons. Only $6 million, however, was guaranteed money.
"I would definitely caution anyone signing a deal that long,'' Urlacher said. ''It's very enticing at the time because it's a lot of guaranteed money up front, and you want to get that security. But at the same time, you don't know how you are going to play, either. You may outplay it."
Westbrook, of course, wants a similar deal to sweeten the five-year, $24.9 million deal he signed in 2005. The Eagles' star running back hired Todd France to handle the negotiations Tuesday and it will be fascinating to see how things proceed. Westbrook is dreaming if he thinks he's going to get $30 million guaranteed from the Eagles, but he wouldn't be that far out of line to seek a deal similar to the one Urlacher just signed because both players have enormous value to their teams. The Eagles reportedly have made Westbrook an offer of an additional $10 million guaranteed.
Eagles coach Andy Reid said for a second time today that he believes Westbrook will report on time to training camp tomorrow evening when the remainder of the team's veterans check in at Lehigh University.
A league source said that Brian Westbrook hired Todd France as his agent today, but the paper work won't be filed until tomorrow. France replaces Fletcher Smith, who was fired by Westbrook last week after negotiations between the Eagles and the running back had stalled.
It's likely that France will make contact with the Eagles tomorrow and perhaps lay the groundwork for a new round of talks between the two sides. The only other player France represents on the Eagles is linebacker Omar Gaither, a player likely to be targeted by the team for a long-term deal at some point this season.
France and JR Rickert, a 1988 graduate of Holy Cross High School in Delran, had been considered the two finalists to replace Smith. A league source said that several agents shied away from Westbrook because they felt his contract demands would be difficult to satisfy.
That's the challenge now facing France and the stakes are high for both Westbrook and the Eagles.
Donovan McNabb showed up for the first day of training camp this morning with a healthy right shoulder and an even healthier dose of confidence in his football team.
"We beat the Cowboys last year and we should have beaten them in the first game," the Eagles' quarterback said following the team's morning practice at Lehigh University. "The Redskins, we should have beat them in the first game. The Giants, we should have beat them both times. It's not just the teams in our conference, it's the teams in the NFC period. I feel like we can compete with all of them. If you ask those teams, they'll tell you the same. We have the type of team you have to look out for.
"Again, it all starts with me and then you go througout the whole offense. Every one knows who 36 (Brian Westbrook) is. It's not a secret. Just like on defense: everyone knows who No. 20 (Brian Dawkins) is. So we have the players, we just have to put it together."
As for the shoulder, McNabb looked fine throwing to an assortment of rookie receivers, including DeSean Jackson and said the tendinitis that forced the Eagles to shut him down during last month's spring camp was no longer a problem.
"I haven't had any reoccurence," he said. "I don't feel it now."
