THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
UPDATED: Brian Westbrook will not play tonight vs. Dallas.
The Eagles released a statement from head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder, regarding Brian Westbrook's condition moments ago. It reads:
"On Friday afternoon Brian began experiencing symptoms of a mild headache. From that point forward, we had Brian re-evaluated by (team internist) Dr. Gary Dorshimer and we put him through extensive testing. Even though those tests were determined to be negative, we all thought it would be in the best interests of Brian and the team that he should be deactivated for tonight's game. We will continue to evaluate Brian this week"
Also, linebacker Chris Gocong is inactive with hamstring and quad injuries, suffered against the Giants. Rookie Moise Fokou will start in his place.
The other inactives: Kevin Curtis, Victor Abiamiri, Max Jean-Gilles, Mike McGlynn, Dmitri Patterson and P.J. Hill.
All three quarterbacks are active.
Earlier:
Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is not expected to play tonight against Dallas, ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting, citing two league sources. ESPN said a team spokesman was noncommital; the team spokesman told the Daily News that the Westbrook information "isn't coming from us" and that Westbrook's status will be updated about 90 minutes before gametime, when the inactives are announced.
Westbrook missed last week's game against the Giants after suffering a concussion the previous Monday against Washington. Westbook practiced Wednesday and Thursday, but was held out Friday.
Coach Andy Reid said Friday that Westbrook had not suffered any setbacks after taking most of the reps on consecutive days. Reid said Westbrook sat to give rookie running back LeSean McCoy some first-team practice reps. Reid also said Westbrook was not having headaches. Nonetheless, the team listed Westbrook as "questionable" for tonight's game, which raised faint alarm bells..
If Westbrook indeed does not play, you have to wonder if some sort of setback did occur between Thursday and Friday, despite Reid's denial. Westbrook's agent, Todd France, did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily News Sunday.
The Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys tonight in an NFC East showdown with first place on the line.
Look for updates here on Eagletarian throughout the game, but let's get started with our staff predictions, key matchups and more.
STAFF PREDICTIONS
Les Bowen: Eagles, 28-23
Ed Barkowitz: Eagles, 27-21
Bill Conlin: Eagles, 24-17
Paul Domowitch: Eagles, 31-20
Marcus Hayes: Eagles, 24-20
Mike Kern: Eagles, 27-20
Vegas Vic: Eagles, 30-24
VIEW FROM DALLAS
Here are the selections of the football writers from the Dallas Morning News:
Todd Archer: Eagles, 35-30
Tim Colishaw: Cowboys, 26-21
Gerry Fraley: Cowboys, 27-24
Rick Gosselin: Eagles, 27-24
Bill Nichols: Cowboys, 24-21
David Moore: Eagles, 34-31
Kevin Sherrington: Eagles, 24-21
Jean Jacques Taylor: Eagles, 38-28
SUNDAY NIGHT VIEWS
If you are looking for trends, the Eagles are 0-6 since NBC took over the Sunday night football package. The Cowboys are 8-2, incuding a loss to the Giants earlier this season.
Rodney Harrison on who will win: "I like the Eagles. This is the Dallas Cowboys biggest test yet, especially Tony Romo. He's going to see a host of blitzes. They're going to disguise coverage and come from all over the place. They're going to try and pressure and knock him in the mouth."
Tony Dungy on the NFC East's best team: "I like Philadelphia because I think Dallas still has some weaknesses in the secondary. You can see a ton of big plays from Philly's receivers this week."
DOMO'S KEY MATCHUPS
1. Eagles LT Jason Peters vs. Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware: Ware will line up on both ends, but probably will spend the majority of time on Peters' side. He's one of the league best pass rushers. Peters has been up and down. He gave up both of the Eagles' sacks last week. Advantage: Cowboys
2. Eagles WRs DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin vs. Cowboys CBs Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins: Newman and Jenkins are good corners, but they're going to need help from their pass rush to neutralize the two young speedsters. Advantage: Eagles
3. Eagles FS Sean Jones vs. Cowboys TE Jason Witten: One of the main reasons Jones has replaced Macho Harris is because of the problems the Eagles have been having vs. opposing TEs. Witten's got 37 catches, but just one TD. Advantage: Cowboys
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
