Westbrook had Surgery?

Did you know Brian Westbrook had surgery on his ailing knee? I didn't, but he confirmed it to reporters at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

In Westbrook's case, a key step toward that front was taken recently when he underwent knee surgery and began a rigorous rehab he hopes will whip him back in the form he displayed for most of the 2008 season, during which he wore down in the home stretch.

''It's getting better all the time,' he said.

Link: Orlando Sentinel

You could tell that Westbrook was wearing down at the end of the season, so hopefully this minor arthroscopic surgery can relieve that situation. However, the Eagles fans have to be scratching their heads wondering about what is going to happen if Westbrook does indeed go down. Currently, the Eagles only have Lorenzo Booker on the roster and not only had trouble griping the offense, but he cannot block in passing situations either.

Derrick Ward was on the market, but he signed with Tampa Bay last night. Derrick Ward is not a bad back, but he is nearing 30 and most of his yards came in passing situations. He did have an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

Though it is unlikely, the Eagles could look at Cedric Benson. After being released by the Chicago Bears, Benson joined the Bengals and put up 747 yards in 12 games. Not exactly the most impressive numbers in the world with 3.5 ypc, but he might be an option. He's likely looking for someone to overpay for him, so that leaves us with the draft.

Beanie Wells and Knowshon Moreno are projected as first round backs, but neither guy is very good in the passing game. I would not expect the Eagles to draft a running back in the first round. I'd expect them to look at offensive tackle/line and go after Sean Smith, the free safety from Utah.

In the second round, LeSean McCoy and Rashad Jennings are two backs that might peak the Eagles interest. McCoy is built similar to Brian Westbrook and he can catch out of the backfield. They're likely not going to go for a big back because they never do, so McCoy fits. The problem is McCoy is likely going to go late first round or early second. Jennings would be your prototypical big back. He is 6'1" 231 lbs. He's got speed on him too as he ran a 4.49 40.

If they chose to go with a tight end or another position in the second round, I am not sure where the Eagles are going to address the backup running back position. Are they waiting for June cuts?

This has definitely been an interesting off-season for the most part. The Eagles have let more players walk from the team that played late in January than they have gained or resigned. Some of us do forget that they were still a 9-6-1 football team.

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Andrews/Jean-Gilles Likely Done; Westbrook Honored

When we were informed of Shawn Andrews' surgery on October 21, we were told his recovery time was 6 eeks to 3 months. Now that the Eagles playoff picture is getting very dim, so is Andrews' return. The Eagles website reported that Andrews may be done for the remainder of the season but is still hopeful.

His replacement has been Max Jean-Gilles who is also done for the rest of the year with a fractured ankle he suffered in the Eagles win vs. Arizona the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. His replacement was Nick Cole, the back up center. Andy Reid will announce later today if Cole or someone else will be the starting right guard.

I personally think they should just stick with Cole. He did a decent job and there is no one out there really worth looking at as a replacement. This season is pretty much in the bag as being another year with no title and Andrews shouldn't risk playing. Besides, it'll be a cheaper option for this frugal franchise.

On a lighter note, Brian Westbrook was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 2nd time this season. Westbrook ran 22 times for 110 yards and caught three passes for 20 yards against Arizona. He also scored four touchdowns, two each rushing and receiving. He deserved these honors as he was remarkable. However, Wesbrook's consistency has been very shitty.

Westbrook will need to have a similar performance like that vs the Giants if the Eagles want to have a prayer in winning this week. Hopefully that performance is a sign of god things. Not only has his total yards been down in the last 4 games prior to Arizona but he was also kept out of the end zone, including the first meeting vs. the Giants.

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To Make Bad News Worse...

Well Birds fans, if you are still swallowing the pill of realizing the Eagles have dug a deep grave, this news will not help it any more. You already know that with a tie to a poor Bengals team has kept the Eagles in the basement of the NFC East and no where near a playoff seed, that your quarterback and coach are completely clueless, and that your playoff hopes won't get any better this Sunday in Baltimore.

Well it gets worse. Brian Westbrook is 50-50 for this Sunday's game, said ComcastSportsNet.com. Not only has he been struggling with injuries and health, but he has also struggled against good teams. And when he isn't playing to his full potential, neither is the rest of the team.

Comcast:

“He has a sore ankle and a little bit of swelling in his knee and inflammation in both,” coach Andy Reid said. “It is gradually coming down. We’ll see how he does here over the next couple days.”

We will thankfully get to see more of Correll Buckhalter, who has not been used at all the past 2 weeks. He had an unbelievable catch for over 40 yards versus Cincinnati and then got 2 carries. He is a good back up and there is no reason to not use him.

At least our bozo coach realized that:

“Correll will have an opportunity to play,” Reid said. “We probably could have played him more last week and probably should have. That’s my responsibility, and he’ll get a few more opportunities this week.”

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Tuesday Morning Quarterback

Andy Reid should be fired, plain and simple. It has become widely seen that he can not call the right plays when it matters. His incompetence along with a lack of fire on the offense is burying the Eagles deeper and deeper in the NFC East, a division that will not get any easier.

The Eagles 27-23 loss to the Redskins was a knock down punch. These next games can be considered the "10 count." To add insult to injury, Brian Westbrook suffered two broken ribs Sunday and will be a game time decision for their game against the Niners.

Game Analysis after after the jump:

Offense:
They looked lost. Their ability to finish drives was nowhere to be seen. Even David Akers was unable to put the ball through the uprights on an easy 32 yarder. Donovan McNabb went 17-29 for 196 yards, no TDs and no interceptions. Brian Westbrook was held to 33 yards on 12 attempts for a TD and 6 catches for 50 yards. His TD came on a 9 yard run on the first drive. DeSean Jackson then returned a punt 68 yards for a TD and then got no looks for the rest of the game, another flaw in Reid's game plan.
Grade: C-

Defense:
They looked even more lost out there. Yea they got fired up by leader Brian Dawkins butt he execution was terrible and the #1 run defense got smoked by Clinton Portis. Portis ran for 145 yards and a TD. Ladell Betts gained 44 yards as well. TE Chris Cooly, who kills the Eagles, smoked the defense as well with 8 catches for 109 yards and a TD. The only good stat on the Eagles defense was Dawkins' lone sack on Jason Campbell.
Grade: C

Special Teams:
Only DeSean Jackson's 68 yard punt return saved this unit from getting a giant F. Quentin Demps was terrible on KR's and Akers missed an easy FG.
Grade: C+

Coaching: FAIL!

Yea I was hard on this game but what Eagles fan wasn't. Now I'm not saying the season is over or this team is a complete failure but these are problems that need to be fixed and need to be fixed now. They are burying themselves in a deep, deep hole and won't be able to climb out unless they make a complete U-turn. Their next chance is this Sunday in San Francisco.

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Sheppard "Hurt" By Lurie's Words

Often-injured corner back Lito Shepard is upset with his contract and has made the team known of that for a while. To make matters worse, he no claims he's "hurt" by owner Jeffrie Lurie's commitment to making running back Brian Westbrook happy. I guess it also won't help that Westbrook got his contract today.

In Lurie's "State of the Franchise Address" earlier this week, he said that Westbrook out-performed his 5 year, $25 million contract he received in 2005 and is considered one of Lurie's favorite players on the team.

Sheppard, on the other hand, hasn't played an injury free season since 2004, the same year he signed his 8 year, $26 million deal. But what irked the former Pro Bowl corner the most was that Lurie used a peculiar stat to discredit Sheppard, instead of his inability to stay healthy.

He said that Sheppard's YPA (Yards per attempt) was too high, a weak reason indeed. "I guess he has got to find something bad against me, huh?" said Sheppard. "If you have to dig that deep to find something I'm not good at than that shows you how good of a player I am."

Sheppard may be right. He is a very talented corner with play making ability. He is also a better athlete than Sheldon Brown. But he is injury prone. He can not stay healthy. He can not expect to be rewarded for being injury prone. If he played full seasons the last 3 years then yes he can complain.

It seems that Lurie and Sheppard both have no clue what they are arguing about for whether or not Lito deserves this deal. Lurie has always been cheap. He screwed T.O., almost pissed off Westy, and now has found a bull shit excuse to not pay Lito when he could have easily said, "Look. You get hurt too much."

Hey Lito. Play 16 games and perform the way you have when healthy and I can see that cheap son of a bitch actually rewarding you. But remember. You have to earn it.

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Quick News Updates

According to Pro Football Talk, the Eagles have restructured Brian Westbrook's contract. There has been no release of the numbers. Westbrook has told people that the agreement had been reached.

In other news, the Phillies dove into another dumpster and acquired Scott Eyre from the Chicago Cubs. [Todd Zolecki]

It's official. The Phillies have traded Schlitter to the Cubs for Eyre. The Cubs designated Eyre for assignment this week after he went 2-0 with a 7.15 ERA in just 19 appearances because of two stints on the disabled list. He had 14 scoreless appearances to start the season before he got rocked in his last five. In the official team press release, the Phillies mention that six of the nine earned runs Eyre has allowed have come against American League teams, for whatever that's worth.

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Training Camp News 7-25

Purposely, I am not going in-depth regarding the Eagles training camp right now (maybe Sunday). Why? Well we have, sorry had, a first place baseball team at this point in the year for the first time in a long time. However, they're trying their best to get the talk off themselves and back on football with their poor play.

Good news: Lito Sheppard and Brian Westbrook both did the right thing and reported to training camp. I think they understand that good antics combined with good performance = monetary rewards.

Bad news: Shawn Andrews has been placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list today. Andrews did not report to camp yesterday for "personal reasons", but it is said that it was an unexcused absence. Also, McNabb's shoulder is still "tender" and being monitored.

And about Favre...

Andy Reid responded succinctly this morning to a published report that the Packers called the Eagles regarding a potential trade for Brett Favre. "They called and there is no interest on our part whatsoever." [Philadelphia Eagles]

The Eagles will conduct their annual conditioning test today.

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Westbrook Unhappy, Switches Agents

In hopes of getting a new contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Brian Westbrook fired Fletcher Smith as manager. Smith was also the manager of quarterback Donovan McNabb.

It is unsure who Westbrook will hire but it is definitely not going to be Lamont Smith and Peter Schaffer, who have been let go by Eagles corner back Lito Sheppard. Sheppard, in turn, hired Drew Rosenhaus. I hope he doesn't pull a T.O. because it would be stupid.

Both players are unhappy with their contracts but Westbrook is the only one out playing his. Westbrook is now considered one of the elite backs in the NFL and he should be getting a contract comparable to players like Ladanian Tomlinson, Clinton Portis, Stephen Jackson and a few others. He is made $6,000,000 last year.

Salaries at the jump:

2007 SALARIES (TOTAL of BASE, SIGNING BONUS, & OTHER)
Tomlinson - $12,400,000
Portis - $4,500,000
Adrian Peterson - $3,000,000
Jackson - $2,050,000
Edgerin James - $5,250,840
Joseph Addai - $500,000
Willie Parker - $3,750,000

The salaries show that Westbrook has made the 2nd most in the NFL among backs but he
he is making half of Tomlinson's salary. After Westbrook posted numbers almost as good as Tomlinson, he should be receiving a deal close to $10,000,000 a year.

Portis and Addai should probably be looking at a raise too but this isn't the Colts or Redskins. This is the Philadelphia Eagles, a team known for shafting it's best players (i.e. Terrell Owens). Westbrook is next.

And Westbrook isn't happy:

"I think if you play at a high level, you should be rewarded for that,” Westbrook said during last month’s organized team activities. “You see guys that are the best players in the league, traditionally they're rewarded for their play. I feel, as a player, and I'm sure a lot of other players feel like they should be compensated for the things that they do, and of course I feel the same way.”

We shall see what this organization does with him.

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Superman and the Eagles win

The Philadelphia Eagles finished off their season with a three game winning streak after beating the Buffalo Bills 17-9.

In the game, running back Brian Westbrook set two individual team records. First, he broke Wilbert Montgomery's record of 2006 yards from scrimmage with a total of 2104 yards [1st in the league]. Secondly, Westbrook broke the Eagles single-season reception record with 90; the previous record was held by Irving Fryar with 88.

Back to the game and the defense played great in the red zone again. They also delivered some big hits courtesy of J.R. Reed, Sheldon Brown, Chris Gocong, and the Sav Rocca.

Also, for the second straight week, Kevin Curtis recovered a teammate's [Reggie Brown] fumble in the end zone for an Eagles touchdown.



I will provide an off-season outlook next weekend.

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Puke Green

I just don't want to talk about the Eagles. They are filled with flaws and I am filled with frustration as a fan.

One positive from this team is Brian Westbrook. The guy is phenomenal.

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