As expected, Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook came back from injuries to start in yesterday's 33-14 Eagles victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Bucs.
McNabb was McNabb, as sharp as he could possibly be in a game that required him to throw only 21 times. McNabb completed 16 of those throws for 264 yards (16.5 yards per completion), three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Westbrook was, well . . . not exactly Westbrook. He said his ankle and knee felt fine, and he scooted up the gut for a 7-yard touchdown run on the play after he reeled in a 20-yard pass, but overall, there wasn't much magic. Six carries, 18 yards. Two catches for 17 more.
It was a little jarring to see Andy Reid line rookie LeSean McCoy up as his Wildcat QB, with Westbrook ready and waiting. McCoy carried six times as well, for just 14 yards, and also caught a pair of passes, for 15.
Maybe the running backs just weren't a big part of the game plan, with Jeremy Maclin running rampant in the secondary against the Bucs' 31st-ranked defense. But you had to wonder, if this had been a few years ago, wouldn't the game plan have been different? And are Westbrook and McCoy going to be splitting whatever Reid has in mind for his backs 50-50 from now on?
"I definitely felt really good," Westbrook said. "The few opportunities I got, I think I did really all that I could do with those carries, those catches."
Westbrook said he "just had the opportunity to get my feet wet with this game. Now I'm looking forward to more touches next week."
That sounded a bit pointed. As was this assessment, when Westbrook was asked if he was happy with how he was used:
"It was different from the previous 6 or 7 years. It just worked out that way today. I guess it's one of those things that I have to learn to do a little bit better."
When asked about doubters, Westbrook, who turned 30 last month, said: "Hopefully, people still understand that I can still do those types of things. Hopefully, if I get some more opportunities, they can see that a little bit more. I can still be a very dynamic player in the NFL, there's no doubt about that. I just have to go out there and get the opportunity, as well."
One of the reasons the game plan is different from what it would have been a few years ago is that the Eagles have many more weapons now.
"We have a lot of playmakers on this team," Westbrook said. "The receivers had a great game."
Westbrook echoed Reid's appraisal of McNabb, noting that the QB "played tough." McNabb was the Eagles' leading rusher, exposing his healing rib twice on rambles that netted 30 yards.
McNabb noted that the Birds just didn't have that many touches to spread around - Tampa put together some clock-eating drives, and the Eagles tended to score on long, quick strikes. The Eagles snapped the ball just 19 times in the first half.
McNabb scrambled for 13 yards on the Birds' first play of the game, then hit Maclin for a 51-yard touchdown on the next snap. One play looked like the early career McNabb, the other like the 11-year veteran.
"The thing that I've been working on throughout the years is just pocket presence," McNabb said. "Watch old films, and the Dan Marinos and the John Elways - the older guys - and then you watch some of these other guys who are kind of from my era, the Peyton Mannings, the Tom Bradys, the Carson Palmers . . . it's not about running all the time. It's about buying time for your guys in the pocket, and having that trust in the guys up front that they'll be able to hold their blocks."
Coincidentally or not, Reid dialed way back on the Wildcattery, with McNabb at the helm. Michael Vick got in some mopup snaps in a conventional QB role late in the game; before that, he'd been on the field about six plays. The Bucs seemed to be swarming the Wildcat runs, and frankly, the Eagles didn't need trickery against this defense.
"You don't want to show your hand every time you play," McNabb said.
Reid indicated he might have done more with the Wildcat if it had worked better early. "It wasn't blowing up my blouse out there," the coach said, evoking a mental image upon which fans are urged not to dwell.
Birdseed
Mildly surprising that Andy Reid decided he wanted the "size and push" of Antonio Dixon at defensive tackle, thus leaving Trevor Laws inactive yesterday. Laws was the first player the Eagles took in the 2008 draft, two spots ahead of DeSean Jackson. Dixon is a guy they picked up when he was cut by the Redskins just before the season started. Maybe Reid wanted to help Laws get some "push" from watching in sweatpants . . . Dimitri Patterson's quad strain seemed fairly significant. Patterson, Ellis Hobbs (wrist) and Asante Samuel (calf) are scheduled to slide into the MRI tube today . . . Reid became the 21st coach to win 100 regular-season games with one team, the 16th to do so in his first coaching stint . . . David Akers' 366th PAT gave him the franchise lead over Bobby Walston . . . Donovan McNabb's next touchdown pass will be his 200th, making him the 28th QB to reach that milestone . . . Sheldon Brown now has three picks this season, one shy of his career high . . . The team is holding a press conference this morning to announce "a new initiative, Eagles TAWK - Treating Animals With Kindness - community outreach program" with Humane Society officials. This would be one of those things Jeff Lurie envisioned when he talked about the decision to bring in Michael Vick.
