Buzz this story.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
But the Eagles' offensive coordinator got some good news yesterday, when Brian Westbrook seemed to be running just fine in a limited practice, even though he didn't make sharp cuts. Donovan McNabb, a limited participant on Wednesday, was able to do everything yesterday. And tight end L.J. Smith, absent with a back injury since the third quarter of the win over the Steelers week before last, practiced both days. Smith could be a more important offensive target this week than he has been since the opener, when he caught five passes (for 39 yards) and scored a touchdown.
Mornhinweg is hoping being at least a little healthier helps bring some consistency to his unit, which was the league's highest-scoring after two games (75 points) but has struggled in the last two (33 points), especially in the second half. The Birds have 75 first-half points this season, 35 in the second. The Washington Redskins, who visit Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, have allowed just seven points in the fourth quarter this season, 38 in the second half. It might help the Eagles that Washington's defense is expected to be without defensive end Jason Taylor, who had emergency surgery to drain blood from near an ankle last week, and cornerback Shawn Springs, who suffered a calf injury while doing an excellent job on Terrell Owens in last Sunday's victory over Dallas.
Mornhinweg wasn't terribly revealing yesterday when first asked about the first half-second half disparity, but as is often the case, he warmed to the topic after thinking on it a little.
"We play a little bit better the first half, and we have to play a little bit better the second half," Mornhinweg, ah, explained. "It's important to start fast, and it's equally or even more important to finish strong. And so, we have to do those things, and we have to do a little bit better job at the details that win the game."
Asked if opponents' halftime adjustments were the problem, Mornhinweg said he didn't think so.
"Not much at all. It's not normally what your opponent does; it's normally what you did, when you come out of something like that," Mornhinweg said. "We simply just have to play a little bit better and execute a little bit better. I have to do a better job. Last week we came out of halftime, and we were backed up, and we popped it out. Then, all of a sudden we had a problem and turned it over," when DeSean Jackson broke off a route and McNabb threw a pick.
Wideout Jason Avant noted that it's hard to do a lot of meaningful statistical analysis off four games.
"Everyone's stats are going to be a little bit skewed right now," Avant said. "I'm pretty sure we have the energy; I don't know if it's that defenses are adjusting, but I think we just need to pay attention to detail a little more."
Smith is hoping he can help the offense find consistency.
"Maybe me being out there draws a little more attention from the [wide] receivers, I don't know," he said.
In the offseason, Smith's healthier presence this season, after he was limited by groin problems last season, was supposed to be a major factor in making the Birds better in the red zone. So far, that has been the case only in the opener. The Birds were 1-for-4 in the red zone last week, and lost.
Smith, who is playing this year under the 1-year, $4.522 million franchise tag, needs to be healthy and productive to swing the long-term deal he wants, here or elsewhere. He acknowledged frustration yesterday.
"You just want to be involved more, have a little bit more opportunity sometimes," he said. "But sometimes the game plays out like that, you know? . . . After the Dallas game, I heard a whole bunch of stuff [about Smith not playing well]. I'm, like, 'They just played me different.' "
Of course, it didn't help that Jason Witten, the Pro Bowl tight end the Cowboys drafted eight slots after the Birds took Smith in 2003, caught seven passes for 110 yards against the Eagles. Fans sometimes don't factor in that the Eagles' game plan doesn't always include a lot of passing to the tight end - "There's other criteria of my job I have to do, besides help somebody win their fantasy stats. That's not my concern," Smith said yesterday - but it's also true that if Smith had proved himself to be the kind of reliable, consistent weapon Witten is for Dallas, he probably would be used differently.
That night in Dallas, Smith was used a lot to help right tackle Jon Runyan with blocking, and he didn't see much man-to-man coverage when he did run routes. The Redskins play more man coverage, Smith said, so Smith is thinking the ball might be coming his way more often.
Smith's role also might increase in light of the fact that Westbrook, if he plays, probably won't be 100 percent. Rookie Jackson remains McNabb's No. 1 target, with Kevin Curtis (sports hernia) still practicing only on a limited basis.
"We're throwing him in there a little bit more each day," Eagles coach Andy Reid told a pool reporter after yesterday's practice, when asked to clarify Westbrook's situation. "He did a little more today than yesterday, and we'll give him a little bit more tomorrow. We're just being smart with it, and adding something every day."
Asked what he was hoping to see from Westbrook in practice, Reid said: "Just movement, how he's moving around out there, and it's been real positive. He looked real good out there today." *
Buzz this story.
|
|
|
|
|
|
REGIONAL SCOREBOARD
Latest Sports Blogs
TOP STORIES
Green
email this
print this
reprint or license this
Buy tickets online
