Westbrook - Reid said he was going to hand the ball off a lot this year

[MURP]

article

The way Brian Westbrook breaks it down, the 2006 Eagles will go as far as quarterback Donovan McNabb takes them. That, you may recall, was the organizational philosophy before the 2004 arrival of Terrell Owens, who formally was kicked out of town just months ago for repeated criticisms of McNabb and Eagles management, among other items.

"It's still Donovan McNabb's team," Westbrook said over the weekend. "He's still the leader of our team. A quarterback that has excelled the way Donovan has in our system is always going to be the leader. Guys are still going to look to him to lead this team. But we need other people to come and help him out. We can't look at Donovan and expect that he's going to make every play.

"We need people around him to pick up the slack and that's where I come in, that's where Todd Pinkston, L.J. Smith, Reggie Brown and the offensive line come in. I think they're all going to pick it up. Everybody is going to get a little more work. If everybody chips in a little bit more than they did last year, than we will be fine."

Westbrook expects to contribute much more than a little bit. The Eagles have given the 5-9, 205-pound running back out of Villanova assurances he will be used in a fashion befitting a Pro Bowl performer that only last fall signed a five-year, $25 million contract extension.

Westbrook says he's recovered from the Lisfranc sprain that cost him the last four games of the 2005 campaign, and that he's a full go for minicamp this weekend. When the offseason is all said and done, he expects to be in the best shape of his professional career to shoulder the new and increased load and to avoid the nagging injuries that shelved him here and there through the years.

"Coach (Andy) Reid said he was going to hand the ball off a lot this year, so I'm trying to get ready for that," Westbrook said. "And I'm definitely working forward to it. I've always said the more I touch the ball the more I get into a rhythm, and the better I will be as a player. Last year I didn't touch it as much in the run game as I wanted to, and pretty much every game we already had a great player on our team with T.O. And Donovan was able to make plays, as well.

"This year I just think that the core of our team should be some part of our running game. As a team, we have to find a way to get the run going. I think the running game this year will be a more integral part of our team and the things that we're going to do. We have a very solid core group of guys and we're going to need that core group of guys this year to kind of pull more of the weight than they've done in previous years."

The Eagles threw incessantly with Owens in the lineup last season. When they suspended the receiver after the seventh game for conduct detrimental to the team, it took Reid a couple of games to strike more of a balance between the pass and the run. Truth be told, the Eagles were stomping the Dallas Cowboys with a smash-mouth running attack in their ninth game before the fourth-quarter collapse capped by Roy Williams' touchdown return of a McNabb interception.

Westbrook, however, never has rushed the ball more than 177 times in the regular season, that coming in the 2004 campaign while Owens was on board. Westbrook also established a career-best with 250 touches.

Without Owens, who stretched defenses and often was double-teamed, the Eagles almost certainly will find it more difficult to run consistently. That doesn't faze Westbrook, a running back with wide receiver hands, elusiveness and home run power.

Prolific as Owens was -- he tallied 20 times in 21 games with the Eagles -- the offense also had a formidable weapon in Westbrook.

Since Westbrook checked into the 2004 campaign as a full-time starter, he's contributed 18 touchdowns in 28 games.

Westbrook has 30 TDs in four NFL seasons. In the last three seasons, Westbrook has more receiving yards (1,651) and a better yards-per-touch average (5.9) than any NFL back. Last season he led all backs with 616 receiving yards and was second with 61 receptions despite being sidelined four games.

Westbrook has learned from Owens.

Owens, likewise, could learn from Westbrook.

After all, it was Owens who reported to training camp last summer, became a divisive distraction and didn't get the salary increase he demanded.

And it was Westbrook who held out of training camp the first week, returned, did his job and was rewarded.

"It's very ironic," Westbrook conceded. "But everybody does their business a little bit different. He does things a little bit differently than the way I do, and who's to say which way is right? I think in this circumstance, in this situation, it worked out for me. I think T.O. just went about it the way he felt was best and it didn't really work out for him."

[PhillyPhanInDC]

i r winar!

[MURP]

i r winar!

no full link, no article!   BAN! 

[SunMo]

sweet..he's on my fantasy team

[Zanshin]

Reasonably sure this is best viewed under the "believe it when you see it" category.

[ice grillin you]

a couple people named liz and achilles are supposed to be two of donovans best friends this year?

[MURP]

talk about a buzz kill dude.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Ryan Moats = Big Things.

Westy is going will be a ball catcher and will occasionally be given a handoff, but this year I think we see Moats emerge as the better pure runner, especially inside, and take serious advantage of his chances when he gets handed the ball.  I really like what the kid showed last year. I would bet that who sees the most touches each game will bounce back and forth, with Tapeh/Davis getting a fair share too. We'll Moats and Westy on the field at same time often I think.

When I look at what they did for the offensive line, in terms of big maulers, I really think they are going to run the ball a bunch, not 50/50, but maybe 55/45 or 60/40. I would be happy with either.

[SunMo]

Moats had 2 long runs last year and did nothing outside of that...don't count on him just yet.

[reese125]

this year I think we see Moats emerge as the better pure runner,

your kidding right?

[ice grillin you]

for rilla....moats isnt getting near the number of touches as westbrook...westbrook is so much more explosive than moats its not even funny...moats is an insurance policy for when westbrook goes down and also someone that will occasionally spare him

[PhillyGirl]

Westbrook's Lis Franc....did that even require surgery? I know it was far down the totem pole of seriousness from Duce's and Chad lewis'. I remember there was question on whether or not he'd have sat the rest of the season if they were in the playoffs.

[SunMo]

no surgery...just rehab

[MadMarchHare]

Yeah, I thought they benched him just as insurance.  Why risk him when the season is over?
And Westbrook sees 2-3x the touches of Moats this season.  Moats still has a lot to prove.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

We'll disagree, but that is one of my predictions for this season. Moats surpises.

Someone should start a season prediction thread, that way when I am proven wrong, there will be and easily found list of fodder to humilate my internet based alter-ego with.

** Also, I remember Al Michaels saying something during a game last year, about AR telling Moats that "he was the best pure runner on the team."