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Nice Westbrook Article From Lenny P

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  • Nice Westbrook Article From Lenny P

    Thursday, January 4, 2007
    Westbrook embracing new role as vocal leader

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    By Len Pasquarelli
    ESPN.com

    Never exactly a shrinking violet in his first four seasons in the league, Philadelphia Eagles tailback Brian Westbrook nonetheless has blossomed even more in 2006, his growth spurt actually coinciding with the event that could have sown the seeds of disaster for a team in search of instant leadership.
    When quarterback Donovan McNabb went down for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament Nov. 19, leaving the Eagles without their most recognizable leader, Westbrook stepped up.

    More surprising to his coaches and teammates, however, was that Westbrook spoke up, too.

    "It's not like he didn't talk [before the McNabb injury]," said wide receiver Reggie Brown after the Eagles' victory over Atlanta on Sunday in their regular-season finale. "But he kind of knew his place in the [leadership] pecking order, you know? This second half of the season, though, he's been a lot more vocal. Guys have been surprised by it, I think, because it's been a different side of him. The stuff that he does on the field, nah, none of that surprises us. I mean, he's a great back."

    Indeed, when the Eagles host the division-rival New York Giants on Sunday afternoon, the wild-card matchup will feature two of the NFL's premier all-around tailbacks. The contest could represent the final game in the career of Giants star Tiki Barber. Not exactly the retiring type, Westbrook seems poised to assume Barber's spot as the top "small" back in the game.

    Actually, as with Barber, there really isn't much small about Westbrook. He just happens to be more vertically challenged, at 5-foot-8, than most NFL running backs. But he is thickly muscled, weighs in at 203 pounds, and has consulted with Barber in the past about conditioning philosophies and how to gird oneself for the rigors of an NFL season.


    Brian Westbrook finished the season with a career-high 1,217 yards rushing.

    And how, despite quarter-horse physical dimensions, to handle a thoroughbred workload.

    Westbrook, 27, bristles a bit at any suggestions that he and other smaller backs in the league should be regarded only as novelties, complementary-type players, change-of-pace runners or third-down specialists whose carries must be closely monitored. Barber certainly has demonstrated the past five seasons, when he averaged 317.6 carries and 378.0 "touches" from scrimmage (carries plus receptions), that tailbacks of his ilk can be the fulcrum of an offense.

    Not surprisingly, Westbrook -- probably not as physical an inside runner as Barber but incredibly elusive in space -- has taken note.

    "Guys our size have some built-in advantages," Westbrook said. "We're built a little lower, you know, like a sports car. We've got some maneuverability to us. [Defenders] don't get a lot of clean hits on us. That's just some of the stuff. I never saw [my size] as a negative. I didn't think it would hold me back."

    That said, there were concerns about Westbrook's durability among some Philadelphia staffers. And it's notable that in both 2004 and 2005, Westbrook missed four games, and considerable practice time, because of injuries.

    But when McNabb got up limping in the Nov. 19 game against Tennessee, and it was obvious the Eagles would have to make some offensive alterations, no one worried about increasing Westbrook's workload.

    In the five-game stretch after McNabb's injury -- a stretch that doesn't include Sunday's season finale, in which he was pulled after the first series -- Westbrook averaged 19.6 rushes and 24.2 touches per contest. His averages in the first 10 games were 14.1 carries and 19.4 touches. In his first four seasons, he averaged 16.2 touches in 35 starts. Westbrook logged 20 or more carries in two of the five games after McNabb's knee injury. In the first 35 starts of his five-season career, Westbrook had just four games with 20 or more rushing attempts.

    The emphasis on getting the ball into Westbrook's hands is just part of the big picture in Philadelphia, where coach Andy Reid, after years of criticism about the lopsided nature of his design, has made more of an effort to balance the game plans.

    Philadelphia rushed the ball on 49.5 percent of its snaps in the five games after McNabb's injury. In the 10 games McNabb started, the Eagles ran the ball on just 39.5 percent of their snaps. With Jeff Garcia as the starting quarterback, Philadelphia averaged nine fewer passes per outing. In concert with that, Westbrook's role has been enhanced.

    "He was always kind of the centerpiece [of the offense]," right guard Shawn Andrews said. "But, now, I guess he's he's the center centerpiece, if that makes sense. He's playing great."

    Westbrook, a third-round choice in the 2002 draft, finished the season with a career-best 1,217 rushing yards and six 100-yard outings. His 1,916 total yards from scrimmage were the sixth most in the league and represented a career high. To advance deep into the playoffs, the Eagles will need the same kind of production from the former Villanova star. And Westbrook seems to understand that he needs to not only walk the walk but also continue to talk the talk in the playoffs.

    "At first," Westbrook said, "when I got a little more [vocal], some guys were surprised by it. But I think, as the season goes on, guys get tired of hearing the same things being said by the same people. So I decided it was my time to speak up. It was just a natural thing, more for support than anything else. I'm still a player who wants to lead with his actions. But if I can make an impact with a few words here or there, well, I'm pretty comfortable doing that now, too."

    Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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