News Happens Fast When You Return Home From London: Westrbook Signs With Niners

Having watched Brian Westbrook for the better part of the last decade and having seen what he has been through the past couple of years, I can honestly that this petrifies me. He suffered 2 concussions last year and his leg has to be hanging on by a thread. Couple that with the fact that due to age and the injuries and the fact that his production has gone way down and my opinion that he can't play in the NFL anymore, and I feel justified in my fear. I like Westbrook and while I wish him success, I really wish he would have stayed out of the NFL. It just worries me that if he gets injured in the wrong spot (his brain, leg, ankle, etc.) it could lead to something serious that affects him for the rest of his life.

ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Bungling The Brian Westbrook Release

And you thought the prank call was as bad as it got.

If teams are actually interested in the services of ex-Redskin bust Michael Westbrook, then I think they need to have their head examined pronto for every memory disease known to man and the 343 memory diseases known to monkeys.

Brian Westbrook Looks Forward To A Future Of Worshipping The Prostate Of Howard Stern

In case you did not see it due to it being behind Ian Eagle commenting on a cheerleader being eaten by a Raptor or the live blog of a thrilling qualification round, the Eagles released Brian Westbrook today. As with any big story, ESPN wanted the first major TV interview with him to ask him if a business decision hurt him personally. They thought they had gotten him live in the late night edition of SportsCenter, only to find out that instead they crank called by a either a Howard Stern fan, or someone directly associated with Howard Stern. Prepare for hilarity.



Too too funny! And to think that guy did not even sound a thing like Brian Westbrook to begin with. You would think that they've heard enough Westbrook interviews to know what he sounds like, but apparently they bought it all the way until the caller declared that he wanted to worship Howard Stern's prostate.

I can't stop watching that and I can't stop laughing. Credit to SVP though for handling it professionally, even though he was a little shell-shocked that just happened.

BREAKING: Eagles Release Westbrook

From Jeff McLane of the Inquirer on Twitter


It's amazing how quick running backs just fall off the map. We've seen it with Shaun Alexander a few years ago in Seattle, LT getting released yesterday by San Diego (message to the Eagles: No! No! NO! Don't even think about LT), and now, the Eagles have released Brian Westbrook.

As good as Westbrook was, his days in the NFL are clearly over. Injuries have just caught up to him to a point where if he tries to play football again that there is a chance of suffering a much more permanent and/or longer-lasting injury. While this was the Eagles decision and not Westbrook's, I do hope that Westbrook sees the message being sent here and does the right thing for himself, his healthy, and his family and just retires. The risk just is not worth it.

While I always thought he was a tad overrated by the media, Westbrook did provide explosiveness out of the backfield when he ran the ball to the outside (Westbrook sucked up the middle) and on screen passes. While part of that will be missed, I feel that Shady can be an explosive running back and as Wade Phillips do brilliantly demonstrated in the Pro Bowl, screens to DeSean Jackson work. Did you see that Andy? DeSean Jackson is just as much a threat to break a big one by catching a dink and dunk screens as he is of breaking one by locating and catching one of those things that McNabb chucks up in the air every once and awhile.

With the release of Westbrook, thus continues the Eagles 2010 off-season of making the right moves. It's good to see Reid, Lurie, Banner, Roseman, and all the other FO idiots getting their act together and making the right off-season moves. I know you may think it is pointless that I constantly point out and bring up the little things that they do, but it is those little things that will eventually add up to a lot and lead the team to a Super Bowl championship.

Is Brian Westbrook's Career Over?

As much as the Eagles don't need Brian Westbrook to win games anymore, the fact that he very well may retire from football is not a thought that has me filled with glee. He was a great player, but age and injuries have caught up with him so much that according to Howard Eskin, he would not be able to pass a physical for any team in the NFL. In the video, Howard Eskin reports that it is not his head and the two concussions that is the problem though, it's his left knee.



Like I said, he was such a good player (even if somewhat overrated by the media) and such a team player that it absolutely sucks to see him fade as he has been this year, but there is absolutely no need for him to continually push through the pain and risk even further injury all at the detriment to the team for when Westbrook is healthy, Andy Reid knows no other options at running back. Now this is a Howard Eskin report that we are talking about and you should take everything he says with a grain of salt, but none of this news is hardly surprising given the events of this past season, therefore, I would be shocked if this is not true.

Coming out of Villanova and being drafted in the 3rd round of the draft by the Eagles, he was a Philly product through and through, and a part of me will miss him, but it is certainly best for everyone involved at this point if he just retires from the game of football.

Westbrook To Play This Sunday At San Diego

One of the big questions coming into the San Diego game was whether or not Brian Westbrook will be able to plahy or not. It looks like the we have an answer and that answer is yes. From ESPN.com

Westbrook, who also has been bothered by a sore ankle, practiced twice this week. He deemed himself ready to go Friday before the team left for its flight to California.

"I'm feeling a lot better," Westbrook said. "I'm ready to go."

Westbrook, already limited much of this season with knee and ankle injuries, suffered the concussion when he took a knee to the head in the Eagles' Oct. 26 win over the Washington Redskins.

Westbrook sat out one game and practiced last week before Philadelphia's game against Dallas, but ended up sitting out because of a headache. Reid said there should not be a similar problem this week.

In the five games Westbrook has played this season, he has split time in the backfield with rookie running back LeSean McCoy, the team's second-round draft pick from Pitt. For the season, Westbrook has carried the ball 41 times for 197 yards, an average of 4.8 yards per carry, and has scored one touchdown. His longest run was 25 yards against Oakland. He has also caught 17 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown.

Asked what Westbrook was listed for Sunday's game, Eagles coach Andy Reid said, "Playing."

While he is officially listed as probable, by the looks of things there is no way he's not playing.

Despite that, though, I have mixed feelings about Westbrook. For one, I think he is the most overrated player on the Eagles. ESPN, Fox, and CBS like to talk about how critical he is to this team, and frankly, now that Shady McCoy is here, I don't see it. He is explosive on the screen pass (although if executed right, very many a running back can be explosive on the screen) and he is a really good blocker, which frankly, is the only skill that Westbrook has that Shady does not have. It also helps Shady's cause that I see him being an effective 30-carry a game back whereas with Westbrook, if he gets 15 carries in the game, chances are he'll go down with an injury his 16th. Now if Andy Reid really wants to get creative with the run game, what he can do is a New York Giants circa 2008 with an Earth, Wind, and Fire combination with Weaver, Westbrook, and Shady, but a 3-headed monster requires that Andy Reid stick with at minimum a balanced attack and we all know Reid's history with that. Shady would get most of the workload, Westbrook can get 5 carries to the outside and a bunch of screen passes, and Church Van Weaver can get the yards up the middle on 2nd and short and 3rd and short. This is the first time in his entire tenure at the Eagles that Andy Reid had a competent running full back who can get the yards up the middle, and from the way he has given him the ball in the past few games, that is something that Reid likes a lot.

Michael Vick And Brian Westbrook To Play Tonight

If there was ever such a thing as a pre-season game being must see TV, the game tonight between the Eagles and the Falcons is certainly that. Not only do we have the return of Michael Vick to the football field, but Brian Westbrook seeing his first action as an Eagle since last season's NFC Championsihp game. Via CSN Philly

It’s Michael Vick Night at Lincoln Financial Field. It is also – and, really, more importantly – probably the only night Brian Westbrook will see any game action this preseason.

Vick and Westbrook are the two primary reasons to watch the Eagles-Jaguars game.

But there are others.

The Eagles’ starters are expected to play three quarters. Joe Mays has to prove he deserves to be the starting middle linebacker. First-round pick Jeremy Maclin has to hold on to the ball and second-round pick LeSean McCoy has to hit the hole.

Kevin Kolb will have the fourth quarter to show how much he’s progressed since last season. Kolb, because of a sprained knee, has yet to play this preseason.

I for one have never been as psyched for a random pre-season game as I am for this one. Heck, I'm just curious to see the reaction to Vick now that the dust has settled down a bit and Brett Favre has signed with the Vikings. I'd still expect missed, but maybe 60-40 in favor of Vick.

In all likelihood (and by that, I mean 95% chance) I will be live blogging the game tonight using CiL. In the interest of full disclosure, I had picked this game to live blog to try out CiL with football a month or so ago, before Vick was an Eagle and before I knew that Westbrook would be playing tonight (I knew about Vick tonight, but I just found about Westbrook today; damn I've been out of the loop these past couple days). It should be good times, and even though as far as I know, it's only a local broadcast, I will be inviting everyone anyway (and all are invited to participate). I might even find a Justin.tv or UStream stream of the game and embed it here so even if you're out of market, you can watch the game and comment anyway. Aspeaking of site announcements, you can expect to see the Atlanta Falcons preview in a couple hours. I'm gonna get out and exercise a bit as it is my kind of nice day outside, and then I'll be back with the Falcons.

Reason #15 Why The Eagles Need To Draft Beanie Wells

This is like the 3rd or 4th time I've told myself that this is going to be my last post of the day, but good grief, stories are flying left and right in all directions that I just can't get away from it all. The latest is a report from Chris Harry on The Morning Call

But Sunday marked the start of March, which means NFL offseason programs are mere weeks away. Before long, work will be heavy on players' minds.

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.

Westbrook's agent is downplaying the situation considerably saying that he is already at 100% and this won't be an issue at all come the start of Mini-Camp. But there is a bigger issue at stake here.

Andrew Walter "Andy" Reid, you are losing your team. You lost the only credible back up to Westbrook to the Broncos (I have problems calling Lorenzo Booker credible; he's been an Eagle for a year now. Really. He has.), you lost your emotional leader, Brian Dawkins, to the Denver Broncos as well. But now, your starting running back is breaking down, Andy, he is breaking down! An injury-plagued season. Off-season surgery. The cruel, cruel monster that is age. It's all happening to Brian Westbrook. This is not the young team it used to be. Brian Westbrook, now, more so than ever, is not the guy for 3rd and 1 situations! The man is not equipped to plow through people and get a yard. And the outside pitch has been figured out by pretty much NFL team on that situaton when the Eagles are playing. Look, Andy, I know you have much better things to do than listen to some blogger who is calling for your job, but for goodness sakes man, get a grip! This team needs a back-up running back that can plow through the hole and get you those tough 2 yards every time he touches the ball. The Eagles need Beanie Wells, and I do not care how on earth you go about it, even if it means trading up to ensure that you get him, just get him!

Westbrook had surgery (Russakoff Rules)