Gotta give Justice some credit. A lot of guys would have just fallen apart after that debut he had and never been heard from again. He's mentally tougher than I thought he was. How about the takeaways too? The defense is really ballhawking this year.
Hobbs, Justice make their marks for Birds
There were two interesting moments on either side of the Eagles' winning locker room today at Lincoln Financial Field.
On one side, kick returner Ellis Hobbs was greeted by owner Jeffrey Lurie as he dressed following the team's 40-17 rout of the New York Giants.
Eagles' Leonard Weaver, right, avoids a diving C.C. Brown on his way to a touchdown on the opening drive of the first quarter. ( David Maialetti / Staff Photographer )
"Great job," Lurie told Hobbs. "You set the tone for the entire game."
On the other side, Winston Justice was approached by coach Andy Reid after he finished talking to reporters.
"He told me that was a lot better than last time," Justice said.
Both remarks were absolutely accurate.
Hobbs did set the tone when he returned the opening kickoff 35 yards to the 40-yard line and gave the Eagles great field position for a three-play drive that resulted in a touchdown.
The next time Hobbs touched the ball, he returned it 39 yards to the 46, setting up a 54-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson.
A year ago with New England, Hobbs was second in the NFL with a 28.5-yard kickoff-return average, and he also has three career returns for touchdowns. But through six games and 14 returns this season, he had a 24.2-yard average, which ranked 17th in the league.
"I've been great at it every year," Hobbs said. "It has just been one of those things where you have a lot of young guys out there and a lot of guys you haven't performed with, and today we just kind of clicked on all cylinders."
Hobbs said he thinks there are more good returns in his future.
"I expect to make big plays," he said. "I think even when I haven't had big returns, they've seen how hard I run and I try not to let one man stop me."
Hobbs admitted it was a pretty good feeling to be lauded by Lurie.
"That felt real good," he said. "Right now, though, everybody is riding on cloud nine, so if I want to keep getting those handshakes, I have to keep doing it."
Justice, meanwhile, got a compliment from his head coach after playing a strong game against the team that defined the first three years of his career because of how poorly he played in his only career start before this season.
When it was suggested that the Eagles gave Justice a lot of help against defensive end Justin Tuck, Reid said that wasn't the case.
"I thought Winston played very well just on his own," Reid said. "On most of our plays, he wasn't being helped. Both of their ends are great players. We helped out [left tackle Jason Peters], too, so it was pretty balanced there in terms of when we helped and who we helped."
Justice refused to say there was any special significance in having a good game against the Giants.
"All glory to God and not me," he said. "I've grown as a person since that game."
Safety switch
Reid said even if rookie safety Victor "Macho" Harris had not been inactive with a sprained ankle that veteran Sean Jones would have been the starter at free safety against the Giants. It was Jones' first start.
"He was going to be the base guy and the nickel guy," Reid said. "I thought he did a decent job, but with safeties you have to look at the film and see how things went.
Jones, who signed with the Eagles as a free agent in the off-season, was credited with six tackles, including one for a loss, and a quarterback hurry.
Second-year safety Quintin Demps also received playing time and came up with his first career interception late in the first half to set up a touchdown pass from McNabb to Jeremy Maclin.
Westbrook update
As expected, running back Brian Westbrook did not play after suffering a concussion a week ago at Washington. A team source said Westbrook had some recurring headache problems when trainer Rick Burkholder tried to put him through some exercise testing to see how he was recovering.
Reid said after the game that Westbrook was doing well.
"He actually feels pretty good right now," the coach said. "I kind of took the cautious route. I think it was important we didn't force the issue."
Injuries
Linebacker Chris Gocong suffered an injury to his right quadriceps in the first half. He returned in the second half only to injure his right hamstring. Rookie Moise Fokou replaced Gocong.
Defensive end Chris Clemons sprained a shoulder joint and did not return. Defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley returned to the field after suffering a knee injury.
Extra points
Wide receiver DeSean Jackson has six touchdowns this season from 50 yards or more, tying the team record set by Timmy Brown in 1962. The NFL record of eight is shared by Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch (1951) and Devin Hester (2007). . . . The Eagles' 23-point margin of victory was their largest over the Giants since a 24-0 win on Dec. 1, 1996. . . . The Eagles' 5-2 start is their best since they were 7-0 in 2004. . . . David Akers' string of 171 straight extra points ended when the Giants blocked a point-after attempt in the first quarter. . . . The Eagles have 14 interceptions this season, one fewer than all of last season and four more than they had in 2007.
Contact Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
