Post by EagleGene on Dec 10, 2005 18:14:37 GMT -5
UPDATE ON WESTBROOK, D-LINE
December 9, 2005
By BOB KENT
The Eagles are holding off on making a roster move with regard to the injured Brian Westbrook.
Head coach Andy Reid said Friday that his prized running back will have his right foot sprain re-evaluated again next week by foot specialist Dr. Mark Myerson in Baltimore. Myerson examined Westbrook earlier this week.
In fact, Reid says "there's a good chance" Westbrook will not require surgery for his right foot sprain.
"He wants to see it in a week when its calmed down a little bit," Reid explained. "We'll see what Dr Myerson says after that."
An MRI on Tuesday revealed that Westbrook sustained a Lisfranc sprain in his right foot in the first half of Monday's loss to Seattle.
Surgery is often needed to correct the condition, but maybe not in Westbrook's case.
"There's a good chance he doesn't need the surgery," Reid said. "That's the positive of this thing. Right now, most likely that will be the case."
Avoiding the surgery, Reid says, can significantly help in terms of the rehab.
"If you can stay away from the surgery, that's a huge thing," Reid said.
So for now the team is holding off on making a roster move. Westbrook has been declared "out" for Sunday's game against the division-leading Giants.
Reid will turn to a backfield-by-committee approach for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. That committee includes fourth-year pro Lamar Gordon, third-year man Reno Mahe and rookie Ryan Moats.
One of the team's most explosive weapons, Westbrook has accounted for 617 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and 61 catches for 616 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Westbrook had nine carries for 17 yards in the loss to Seattle. He was injured on the team's first possession when he caught a Mike McMahon pass and gained 10 yards before being forced out of bounds. As Westbrook stepped out of bounds, his right foot was hit from behind by Seattle's Jimmy Williams.
Westbrook immediately reacted, jumping up and grimacing in pain. He was treated on the sidelines, went back in the game, but ultimately left the contest.
An MRI on Tuesday revealed the sprain.
He'll be missed Sunday against a Giants team he's enjoyed tremendous success against. He has gained 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his last four games against the Giants, and has averaged over 5 yards per carry in seven career games against New York.
With his Lisfranc sprain, Westbrook joins a notable list of key Eagles players that suffered a similar injury. The most recent, of course, was veteran tight end Chad Lewis in last year's NFC title game.
"Lis Franc is not someone you want to get to know," Lewis said. "It's a tough injury, but he's going to be fine because he's Brian Westbrook."
Two seasons ago, free safety Brian Dawkins missed nine games because of the injury. Dawkins said it took him quite a while before he felt fully recovered.
"It took [one] year for me to get completely back to where I felt I was myself again," Dawkins said. "The nine weeks that I missed and a year after that. It was a year after the injury."
CHANGES ALONG THE D-LINE
Reid downplayed a change in his starting rotation along the defensive line for Sunday's game.
Reserve tackles Sam Rayburn and rookie Mike Patterson will start in place of Darwin Walker and Hollis Thomas.
"We feel like we have four guys that can start, so it's not as big of a deal as what you can make of it," Reid said. "We are rotating those guys, so we are going to give those two an opportunity to start it off.
"It's an opportunity for those guys to get in and see what they can do at the beginning."
Patterson, who has 3.5 sacks on the year, started three games earlier in the season when Walker was injured.
"It gives me the opportunity to go out and play and see the different types of looks and get some more experience under my belt," Patterson said. "It helps out that the coaches have confidence and believe in you. I just have to turn things up and go out and play like that."
Reid said the lineup shuffle does not indicate a future change at the position.
"They will equal out I'm sure, with maybe the starters getting between 5-10 more plays than the other two," Reid said.
Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson relies heavily on a rotation up front.
Patterson agreed: "We all get an equal amount of playing time, so it doesn't matter who starts and who goes out there first. It all equals out the same."
December 9, 2005
By BOB KENT
The Eagles are holding off on making a roster move with regard to the injured Brian Westbrook.
Head coach Andy Reid said Friday that his prized running back will have his right foot sprain re-evaluated again next week by foot specialist Dr. Mark Myerson in Baltimore. Myerson examined Westbrook earlier this week.
In fact, Reid says "there's a good chance" Westbrook will not require surgery for his right foot sprain.
"He wants to see it in a week when its calmed down a little bit," Reid explained. "We'll see what Dr Myerson says after that."
An MRI on Tuesday revealed that Westbrook sustained a Lisfranc sprain in his right foot in the first half of Monday's loss to Seattle.
Surgery is often needed to correct the condition, but maybe not in Westbrook's case.
"There's a good chance he doesn't need the surgery," Reid said. "That's the positive of this thing. Right now, most likely that will be the case."
Avoiding the surgery, Reid says, can significantly help in terms of the rehab.
"If you can stay away from the surgery, that's a huge thing," Reid said.
So for now the team is holding off on making a roster move. Westbrook has been declared "out" for Sunday's game against the division-leading Giants.
Reid will turn to a backfield-by-committee approach for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. That committee includes fourth-year pro Lamar Gordon, third-year man Reno Mahe and rookie Ryan Moats.
One of the team's most explosive weapons, Westbrook has accounted for 617 yards and three touchdowns on the ground and 61 catches for 616 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Westbrook had nine carries for 17 yards in the loss to Seattle. He was injured on the team's first possession when he caught a Mike McMahon pass and gained 10 yards before being forced out of bounds. As Westbrook stepped out of bounds, his right foot was hit from behind by Seattle's Jimmy Williams.
Westbrook immediately reacted, jumping up and grimacing in pain. He was treated on the sidelines, went back in the game, but ultimately left the contest.
An MRI on Tuesday revealed the sprain.
He'll be missed Sunday against a Giants team he's enjoyed tremendous success against. He has gained 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his last four games against the Giants, and has averaged over 5 yards per carry in seven career games against New York.
With his Lisfranc sprain, Westbrook joins a notable list of key Eagles players that suffered a similar injury. The most recent, of course, was veteran tight end Chad Lewis in last year's NFC title game.
"Lis Franc is not someone you want to get to know," Lewis said. "It's a tough injury, but he's going to be fine because he's Brian Westbrook."
Two seasons ago, free safety Brian Dawkins missed nine games because of the injury. Dawkins said it took him quite a while before he felt fully recovered.
"It took [one] year for me to get completely back to where I felt I was myself again," Dawkins said. "The nine weeks that I missed and a year after that. It was a year after the injury."
CHANGES ALONG THE D-LINE
Reid downplayed a change in his starting rotation along the defensive line for Sunday's game.
Reserve tackles Sam Rayburn and rookie Mike Patterson will start in place of Darwin Walker and Hollis Thomas.
"We feel like we have four guys that can start, so it's not as big of a deal as what you can make of it," Reid said. "We are rotating those guys, so we are going to give those two an opportunity to start it off.
"It's an opportunity for those guys to get in and see what they can do at the beginning."
Patterson, who has 3.5 sacks on the year, started three games earlier in the season when Walker was injured.
"It gives me the opportunity to go out and play and see the different types of looks and get some more experience under my belt," Patterson said. "It helps out that the coaches have confidence and believe in you. I just have to turn things up and go out and play like that."
Reid said the lineup shuffle does not indicate a future change at the position.
"They will equal out I'm sure, with maybe the starters getting between 5-10 more plays than the other two," Reid said.
Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson relies heavily on a rotation up front.
Patterson agreed: "We all get an equal amount of playing time, so it doesn't matter who starts and who goes out there first. It all equals out the same."
