The reasons aren't hard to discern. The Eagles are talking with Westbrook's new agent, Todd France, about a new contract for the franchise running back. Westbrook said yesterday that "things are going well."

The Eagles are not thought to be seriously talking with Sheppard's new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, about a new contract, or even a trade, which Sheppard seemed to be expecting when camp began. They won't say so publicly, because they don't want an ugly blowup with a valuable player, but the Eagles are thought to have told Rosenhaus they have no intention of doing anything until Sheppard shows himself to be healthy and productive. Even then, it seems likely that nothing will happen until next offseason, and that the outcome then will be a trade.

The difference in the way the front office views the two players is obvious. On Monday, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke of how Westbrook, coming off a franchise-record 2,104 yards from scrimmage in 2007, is one of his favorite players, and said he has no problem addressing a situation when a player has outperformed his contract.

"He's the owner, so it definitely makes you feel good," Westbrook said yesterday, when asked about Lurie's comments. "Hopefully, things get done sooner than later. I'm positive, I'm really optimistic about how things have been going."

When reporters asked Lurie on Monday about Sheppard's situation, the owner first said he didn't get involved in such matters, then said: "I will say that I'm very hopeful that Lito will have a terrific season, show us, and the league, that he's back to the old Lito, feels healthy, [that] he's got great playmaking ability and certainly a lower YPA and just really perform the way that we know Lito can. I think that's what he's going to do."

The overall tone could be read as reasonably supportive of the two-time Pro Bowl corner, who has missed 14 games over the past three seasons, or at least nonconfrontational, except for that part about "certainly a lower YPA." Yards per attempt is an esoteric stat for cornerbacks, unknown even to many players.

ESPN.com's K.C. Joyner, a leading proponent, said yesterday he thinks it is the most accurate stat for measuring cornerback performance. Joyner said that Sheppard's 8.1 YPA last season tied him for 62nd in the NFL. He noted that Sheppard did much better against elite receivers - those who averaged more than 9 yards per catch, he held to an average of 4.4 - than against nonelites. Joyner said receivers averaging less than 9 yards per catch averaged 11.5 against Sheppard. That stat might speak to one of the Eagles' criticisms of Lito, that he is inconsistent.

At any rate, Joyner probably shouldn't expect to sell many of his stat analysis tomes to Sheppard. And Lito did not find Lurie's words particularly supportive.

"I guess he's got to find something bad against me, huh?" Sheppard said after returning to workouts from a groin injury. "I'm not hiding. I know what I can do; everybody knows what I can do. If you've got to dig that deep to bring up something to say I can't do good? Hey, that shows how good a player I am. I tip my hat to him for expressing that."

Sheppard said he keeps track of the touchdowns and big plays he gives up, and the big plays he makes.

"If you want to get down to how many inches I give up a play, so be it," he said. "Guess what? I can play this game, and I can play it well. However you nitpick about it, I can do what I do."

He said he couldn't recall a coach ever mentioning yards per attempt.

"If they have, I'm sorry for not paying any attention," he said. "I didn't know that was that important in this game."

Sheppard said Lurie's criticism "shows how cutthroat this business is."

Sheppard, signed through 2011 and given an $8.7 million signing bonus in 2004, does not seem to have a great statistical case for a top-of-the-market contract, regardless of what stats you follow. But fellow corner Sheldon Brown endorsed Sheppard's view of YPA.

"I didn't know we had a stat of yards per attempt," Brown said. "I know PBUs [passes broken up]. INTs [interceptions]. Forced fumbles, FF . . . YPA. Is that something that you put in the newspaper? When did they make that up? In Cover 2, who gets the [blame], the safety or the corner?"

The Eagles' attempt to placate incumbents Sheppard and Brown by listing them as co-starters at right corner on the depth chart also didn't pass muster with Lito. (Both will still be starters tomorrow night in the preseason opener, by the way, because $57 million newcomer Asante Samuel is still sidelined with a hamstring problem.)

"I didn't know you could start 12 people," Sheppard said. "Maybe Week 2 of the preseason, we'll see what the real lineup will be."

Brown was less critical there.

"That's irrelevant," he said. "That will be handled when it needs to be."

Asked about the double-listing yesterday, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson did a kind of who's-on-first shtick, saying repeatedly that Brown and Sheppard are the starters for Pittsburgh, pretending he thought that was the question, instead of the depth chart. Pressed on the matter, Johnson said: "I said Lito will start at left corner and Sheldon will start at right corner. We will go from there next week. I'm not going to worry about that right now. I'll see how it goes. It's week-by-week right now. We'll have to get Asante on the field before we make up that other stuff."

Westbrook, meanwhile, said he has been told he'll play about 1 1/2 quarters in Pittsburgh. When he arrived at Lehigh, Westbrook left open the possibility of not playing the preseason opener if his contract wasn't settled. He said yesterday he will play. But he also talked of expecting something to happen very soon.

The Eagles have emphasized that they want to reward Westbrook, who has 3 years remaining on a $25 million, 5-year extension he signed in November 2005. They also have emphasized barriers to dramatically increasing his compensation because of collective bargaining agreement rules. For example, because a roster bonus was converted into a signing bonus in the spring, another contract adjustment within 12 months can't increase Westbrook's total cap figure for the remainder of the existing pact.

Westbrook said again yesterday that there are ways around the Eagles' concerns, though he did not detail them, and France has not responded to several requests to do so.

"I think to a point [management's] hands are tied," Westbrook said. "I also know there's a way things can get worked out. Through the research that my agent has been able to do - we've been talking to the NFLPA and things like that - I do know that there is a way that things can work. It just comes down to whether it's going to happen or not." *